Chapter 38

ELIZABETH'S POV

I narrowed my eyes at Damon, crossing my arms. "What do you mean you're looking for answers too?"

He smirked, leaning against the lamppost like he had all the time in the world. "I mean exactly that, sweetheart. You're not the only one curious about what’s happening in this city."

My heart pounded, frustration bubbling to the surface. "How could you possibly know what I'm looking for?"

Damon tilted his head slightly, his blue eyes glinting under the campus lights. "Let’s just say… we’re on the same side. But unlike you, I know when to back off."

I scoffed. "Oh, please. You don’t even know what I’m trying to find out."

His smirk widened, his voice dropping into something almost amused. "Oh, but I do. You want to know why people are dying. You want the truth, but you have no idea what you’re actually dealing with."

A chill ran down my spine. How the hell did he know that? It was one thing for Vanessa and Chloe to be in this with me—we were all there that night. But Damon? Damon wasn’t supposed to be involved. I frowned maybe it was just a coincidence. Maybe he was just one curious individual, but I didn't need him. I didn't need his help he would just annoy me to death anyway . All I had to do was stay away from Damon,he wasn't good news. His whole family just didn't feel right.

I swallowed, my voice quieter now. "And you do?"

He held my gaze for a second too long before shrugging. "I know enough to tell you that it’s not safe for you to be poking around."

I let out a humorless laugh. "Oh, great. So you can be cryptic and mysterious, but when it comes to actually helping me, you’ve got nothing?"

"Not nothing," he said easily. "Just… not yet."

I rolled my eyes. "If you’re not going to tell me anything that makes sense, I might as well go home."

Damon pushed off the lamppost. "Let me take you."

"Yeah, no thanks." I turned on my heel before he could argue.

In the parking lot, I pulled out my phone to text Vanessa, but I saw I already had a message from her.

Vanessa:Hey, I wasn’t feeling well. Had to rush home. Can you get a ride with Chloe?

I frowned. Me:Of course. Hope you’re okay.

I looked up, about to text Chloe, and caught Damon watching me. He was leaning against a sleek, black BMW—the latest model, of course. Because of course Damon had a stupidly expensive car to match his stupidly smug attitude.I narrowed my eyes at him. If he thought I was going to walk up to him and beg him for a ride he had another thing coming.

Just as I was about to text Chloe, her name popped up on my screen.

Chloe:Hey, I left earlier. Matt and I had dinner plans. You good?

I groaned. Of course. Of freaking course.

The last bus was already pulling away from the stop. "Are you kidding me right now" I almost face palmed. Our university was so far from the next bus bus stop and it was getting late. I sighed as I checked my Uber app . The network was acting up, and it also showed that there weren't any ubers close by . The next Uber was going to take about an hour to reach my destination. I groaned ,just my lucky day!

Damon’s car rolled up beside me, the passenger door swinging open like he had just been waiting for me to realize I had no other choice.

I sighed. The universe clearly had other plans for me. Without a word, I slid into the seat, the door shutting behind me.

The ride home was… oddly comfortable. The hum of the engine, the soft purr of the tires against the road, and the way Damon didn’t feel the need to fill the silence—it was kind of nice. Annoyingly nice.

I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. He was completely relaxed, one hand on the wheel, the other resting against the gear shift. His profile was sharp under the glow of the streetlights, and his damn cologne filled the car, making it way too hard to focus on my irritation.

I cleared my throat. "So, is this the part where you tell me why you’re suddenly in my life? Because I feel like we skipped a few steps."

Damon smirked but kept his eyes on the road. "Maybe I just enjoy your company."

I scoffed. "Yeah, right. You don’t strike me as the kind of guy who does things without a reason."

He tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. "Maybe. Maybe not."

I groaned, turning to face the window. "You are so annoying."

"And yet, here you are, in my car," he teased.

I glared at him, but he just chuckled, clearly enjoying himself.

When we finally pulled up to my house, he didn’t drive off immediately. He waited, watching as I walked to the door. I could feel his eyes on me, and it sent an unexpected shiver down my spine.

Inside, the house was tense. Too quiet.

Joe was in the kitchen, eating a bowl of noodles. He barely looked up. "Hey. Just a heads up—Vanessa and Claire had some kind of argument earlier. So, you know, we’re on our own for dinner."

I sighed. Great.

"I'm not really hungry," I said, heading upstairs.

Vanessa’s door was slightly open. She was already in bed, her back turned toward me.

I hesitated before whispering, "You okay?"

She nodded.

I didn’t push. Tomorrow. I’d ask her tomorrow. Right now, I needed sleep.

But as I lay in bed, I couldn’t stop thinking about Damon. About the way he seemed to know more than he let on.

And about the way, no matter how hard I tried to ignore it, I felt like I already knew him too.