I DARE YOU

Chapter 7-The Skull

ISLA’S POV

I woke up hungry, angry, and determined to pretend last night had never happened.

Unfortunately, my brain had other plans.

The moment I opened my eyes, the memory came rushing back like a slap. The kitchen. The spilled milk. Ryder’s bare chest. The towel. That thing hanging right in front of my face. And that f*****g stranger laughing at me like I was the punchline of the best joke he’d ever heard.

I groaned and buried my face in the pillow.

“I’m going to kill him.”

I wasn’t entirely sure which one I meant. Ryder for making my first night in this house a living nightmare, or his friend for laughing like he’d just witnessed the funniest thing in the history of mankind.

Probably both.

I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling. There was no way I was going to let one embarrassing incident ruin my stay at Blackridge. I hadn’t come all this way to run home with my tail between my legs because Ryder had decided he didn’t want me around.

I had a mission.

And unfortunately, that mission involved the most infuriating man I had ever met.

With a determined sigh, I threw the covers aside and got out of bed. My stomach growled loudly.

“Okay, I get it,” I muttered. “You’re starving. But we’re going to have to be brave a little longer.”

I walked into the bathroom and took a quick shower, scrubbing harder than necessary like I could wash the whole night off my skin. I got dressed in jeans and a light pink top, then slipped on black flats. Simple. Clean. Nothing that said “I almost died of humiliation last night.”

My stomach growled again.

I had to get something to eat before I passed out from hunger. I stood in front of my door, hand on the handle, and braced myself. One deep breath. Then I opened it.

Silence met me.

For a second I actually breathed in relief. The hallway was empty. No laughing friend. No half-naked hockey captain. Just quiet.

I reached the front door and was about to open it when his voice came from behind me.

“Sleep well?”

I spun around so fast my hair whipped across my face.

Ryder was sitting on the couch like he owned the entire world. Fully dressed this time. All black. Black jeans. Black shirt. Black boots. He looked like trouble just sitting there. He stood up slowly and walked toward me. My heart started pounding so hard I was sure he could hear it.

I hated that.

“Oh, I slept very well,” I said. The bitterness was clear in my voice and I didn’t even try to hide it.

He stopped right in front of me. Close enough that I had to tilt my head back to hold his gaze. Then he bent down until his face was only inches from mine. His green eyes were cold. Emotionless. Dangerous in a way that made the air feel thinner.

“I hope you can still sleep well tonight,” he whispered.

My brows furrowed. “What the hell are you planning?”

He didn’t answer. He just straightened up, still looking at me like I was already a problem he had solved.

“I have a little surprise for you.”

Before I could ask what the f**k that meant, he opened the door and walked out. The door clicked shut behind him.

I leaned against the wall, heart still racing. His presence was too much. It was like the second he got close, my body forgot how to breathe properly.

“Get it together, Isla,” I scolded myself under my breath.

I opened the door and stepped outside. The morning air was cool against my skin. I put the keycard in my bag and started walking toward the school. Orientation was supposed to start soon. I just needed to find where it was happening.

That’s when I noticed it.

Everyone was getting out of my way.

Not casually. Not politely. They were moving away from me like I had some kind of plague. Students who had been walking toward me suddenly changed direction. A guy who had been looking at his phone almost tripped trying to create distance. A girl literally grabbed her friend’s arm and pulled her to the other side of the path.

What the hell?

“Hi, please—” I started to say to one student, but he ignored me completely and turned the other way like I didn’t exist.

I tried again with another person. Same thing. Complete silence. Like I was invisible and poisonous at the same time.

This is ridiculous. I just got here yesterday.

I reached the main hallway and the staring got worse. People looked at me with pure disgust. Someone muttered “freak” under their breath as they passed. Others looked at me the way you look at something that should already be dead.

My skin prickled.

I was so f*****g confused.

Then a group of girls suddenly blocked my path when I tried to take a turn.

The one in the middle had long blonde hair and perfect blue eyes. Barbie-doll pretty. The one on her right had short black hair. The one on her left had dyed red hair. All three of them looked at me like I had personally offended their entire bloodline.

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. Did they think this was high school?

“What gives you the right to think you can live with Ryder?” the blonde spat, pure anger in her voice.

I looked at her like she was wasting my time. Because she was.

“Excuse me. Have we met before?”

“Valerie, she’s trying to seduce Ryder,” the redhead said, like she had just uncovered a national scandal.

I shook my head.

“Listen, ladies. I have no interest in a jerk like Ryder. If you all want to fangirl over him, be my guest. Just don’t insult me while you’re doing it.”

Valerie’s eyes filled with pure rage.

“You b***h. You think you’re worthy? Don’t think for a second I don’t know what you’re trying to do. I know girls like you. Ryder will never be interested in someone like you.”

I gave a dramatic sigh.

“Don’t you guys have class or something? You’re out here fighting over a guy that probably doesn’t give two shits about you.”

“You know nothing,” the short-haired one said defensively.

“Ryder and Valerie are the perfect couple. Everyone at Blackridge knows that,” the redhead added.

“Whatever is going on between you and Ryder, I don’t care. I have somewhere to be.”

I tried to walk past them.

They pushed me back.

“We’re not done with you.”

My hands clenched at my sides. These minions were getting on my last nerve.

“Get out of my way,” I said as calmly as I could.

Valerie folded her arms. “Or what?”

Something was boiling inside my chest. I was calling on every single bit of self-control I had left. A few people had already gathered around us, phones half-raised, waiting for something to explode.

Valerie looked me up and down with nothing but disgust.

“People like you don’t even belong here.”

I opened my mouth to answer—

Then every single phone in the hallway pinged at the exact same time.

The sound was sharp. Loud. Impossible to ignore.

Valerie and her friends looked down at their screens. A wicked smirk slowly spread across Valerie’s perfect face. Around us, every person had their phone in their hand. And every single one of them was looking at me.

My stomach dropped.

I was so confused and lost.

Valerie folded her arms again. Her smirk widened.

“You have no idea, do you?”

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

The redhead answered like it was the best news she had heard all day.

“You just got the skull.”

Valerie clapped her hands together, eyes bright with pure excitement.

“Oh, this is going to be fun. So much fun.”