Chapter 15 – Elias Confronts
Sam's POV
I’ve been walking around with a target painted on my back.
I know it. I feel it every time Elias Cross looks at me.
It’s not the way Declan looks, like a predator circling prey. Elias’s stare is quieter, sharper, like he’s dissecting me piece by piece, waiting for me to slip.
And tonight, he doesn’t wait anymore.
It starts after study hall. The dorm is loud, boys shouting over FIFA in the common area, chips scattering across the floor. I slip past them with my hoodie pulled tight, heading straight for our room.
I need space. I need to think. The paper in my pocket—Locker 7C—is burning a hole in me.
But when I open the door, Elias is already there.
He’s not lounging like usual, not stretched out with that lazy posture that says he doesn’t care about anything.
He’s sitting on the edge of his bed, elbows on his knees, lighter clicking open and shut. His eyes lift the second I step inside.
Sharp. Focused.
Waiting.
My stomach drops.
“Hey,” I mutter, heading for my side of the room. “You’re back early.”
“So are you,” he says, calm as ever.
The lighter flicks. Flame. Snap. Darkness.
I set my bag down, forcing casual. “Didn’t feel like hanging out. Place was too loud.”
His gaze follows me, steady and unblinking. “That’s not the only reason.”
My chest tightens. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’ve been… restless,” he says slowly. “Always moving. Always watching. Like you’re looking for something.”
I bark out a laugh, too sharp. “Or maybe I just don’t like living with a bunch of idiots.”
“Maybe.” He tilts his head, studying me. “But idiots don’t make your hands shake.”
My breath catches.
He saw that?
I drop onto my bed, back turned to him. “You’re imagining things.”
“No,” he says softly. “I’m not.”
Silence stretches. The air between us hums, tense, charged.
Finally, I snap, “Why do you care, anyway? You don’t even talk to half the guys here. You act like you’re above all of it.”
“I notice things,” he says simply.
“Good for you.”
The lighter snaps again. Click. Flame. Darkness.
“You were in the common area last night,” he says. Not a question. A statement.
Ice shoots through my veins. “So what? I couldn’t sleep.”
His eyes narrow. “Near the locked door.”
My throat goes dry. “I didn’t go near any door.”
“You lie badly,” he murmurs.
Heat rushes to my face. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
But my voice wavers, betraying me.
Elias stands. The room feels smaller instantly. He’s taller than me, broader, and even though he isn’t moving fast, every step toward me feels like a threat.
I press back against the wall, hoodie clutched tight.
“Why are you really here, Hale?” he asks. His voice isn’t loud, but it’s sharp enough to cut.
My pulse hammers. “What kind of question is that?”
“You don’t fit.” His eyes bore into mine. “The way you talk. The way you move. The way you react when Ward even breathes near you. You don’t belong here.”
Panic claws at my chest.
If he pushes harder, if he says the wrong word—my whole cover could shatter.
“I’m just… different,” I force out. “So what? Everyone’s different.”
“Not like this.” He leans closer, voice dropping. “You’re hiding something.”
The words hang heavy in the air.
I want to scream, to deny it, to push him back. But I can’t. My body won’t move, won’t speak.
Because he’s right.
And the worst part?
Some part of me doesn’t want to deny it.
I swallow hard, forcing my voice lower. “You think too much, Cross.”
His lips twitch like he almost wants to smile, but doesn’t. “And you don’t think enough.”
He steps back finally, breaking the tension, but his eyes never leave mine.
“You should be careful, Hale. Secrets don’t last long in Dorm 9.”
That night, I lie awake long after Elias’s breathing evens out.
Every word he said claws at me.
He knows I’m different. He knows I’m hiding something. He’s circling closer and closer, and I don’t know how long before he tears the truth out of me.
And worse—
I don’t know what he’ll do with it when he does.
I clutch the paper tighter in my pocket. Locker 7C. The next piece of the puzzle.
I can’t let him stop me.
But what if he already has?
The next morning, I wake to find Elias already dressed, leaning by the window with the sunlight cutting across his face.
He doesn’t look at me when he says, “Whatever you’re planning, Hale—don’t get caught.”
My stomach twists.
“What do you mean?”
Finally, he glances over, eyes like steel.
“Because if Ward finds out…” His voice drops to a near whisper. “You won’t survive it.”
My heart slams against my ribs.
He knows.
He knows enough.
And now I have to figure out if Elias Cross is a warning—
Or a threat.