Chapter 5 – The Roommate Reveal
Sam's POV
The dorm quiets down after midnight, but not enough.
The walls are thin, and laughter still filters through the halls. Someone’s music plays faintly two doors down. A burst of shouting cuts off with a slam, followed by muffled curses. Dorm 9 doesn’t sleep—it just changes gears.
And I’m lying on my new bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering how the hell I’m supposed to sleep with Elias Cross less than six feet away.
He hasn’t said much since the rich boys left earlier. Just sat there, cool as ice, flipping through his book like nothing had happened. Now, with the lights off, he lies on his side of the room, shadows cutting across his face.
But even in the dark, he doesn’t look like he belongs here.
Not in the same way the others do.
Declan and his gang—arrogant, loud, entitled. They fill the air, suffocate it with their presence. Elias is different. Quiet. Controlled. Like he’s holding something back.
And that makes him more dangerous.
I turn on my side, pretending to get comfortable, but really just watching him from the corner of my eye. He’s propped up on one elbow, staring out the window. The moonlight paints his face silver, sharpens the angles of his jaw, and I hate myself for noticing.
What are you thinking, Elias Cross?
Why are you in Dorm 9 if you’re not like them?
He shifts suddenly, and I snap my gaze back to the ceiling, heart racing. Did he catch me staring?
Silence stretches. Too long.
Then his voice cuts through the dark. Low. Calm.
“You don’t talk much, Hale.”
My throat goes dry. He said my name like he’s testing it, like he’s rolling it around in his mouth to see if it fits.
I force my voice steady, low. “First day. Not much to say yet.”
There’s a pause. I swear I can feel his eyes on me, even though I can’t see them.
Finally, he hums, noncommittal. “Hmm.”
That’s it. Just one sound, and my skin prickles like static.
I clutch the blanket tighter. Why does his silence feel worse than Declan’s threats?
Minutes tick by. The room creaks and settles, the sounds of the dorm dull to a distant hum. My eyelids grow heavy, but I don’t dare fall asleep first. Not here. Not yet.
Then I hear it—rustling fabric. A zipper. A drawer sliding open.
I crack one eye. Elias is moving. Quiet, deliberate. He kneels by the dresser, pulling something out. The moonlight catches on metal, a glint sharp enough to make my stomach drop.
I freeze.
Is that a knife?
No. Too small. A lighter. He flicks it once, flame blooming and then dying as fast as it came. Flick. Spark. Out. Again and again, like he’s testing it. The soft light flashes across his face, highlighting the shadows under his eyes.
Why is he doing that?
He sits back on his bed, lighter still in hand, rolling it between his fingers. Then he looks at me.
I shut my eyes fast, heart slamming in my chest.
Did he see? Does he know I was watching?
The silence drags. I count my breaths. One. Two. Three.
And then—his voice again, low enough I almost miss it.
“You’re not like them.”
My eyes snap open.
He’s lying back now, staring at the ceiling, the lighter resting on his chest. His expression is unreadable in the dark.
My throat closes. He doesn’t mean the scholarship thing. He means something else. Something sharper.
I force a laugh, weak and scratchy. “Yeah, well. Guess neither are you.”
That gets his attention. His head turns, eyes glinting in the moonlight, locking on mine. For a second, I can’t breathe.
Then, slowly, he smiles.
Not the smug, polished smile of Declan’s crew. This one is smaller. Colder. Like he knows something I don’t.
“You have no idea what I am, Hale.”
The words send a chill straight down my spine.
Before I can answer, he clicks the lighter once more, flame flaring bright in the dark room. The firelight dances across his face, carving his features into something dangerous, almost unholy. He holds my gaze for one heartbeat, two—
And then blows it out.
Darkness swallows the room whole.