Treacherous Read Online Free PDF Page B

and
he seemed okay with that, so I slipped away.
    In my haste to get out of the
suffocating mosh pit, I didn’t see him until it was too late. I
crashed right into Nathan, spilling the drinks he held all over
us.
     
    Nathan
     
    “ Oh My God, Charli, I
didn’t see you.”
    “ You really are making
a habit of this, aren’t you?”
    I couldn’t tell if
she were mad or not. She shook her hands of the liquid, splashing
me in the process.
    “ Yes. I’m sorry. Let
me buy you another drink. Or help you get cleaned up.”
    “ This is why I don’t go to concerts much. I’m going to the
bathroom.” She pushed past me. She was mad at
me.
    “ Charli, wait.” I
discarded the empty cups and followed her as she ran into the
ladies bathroom.
    I hesitated outside for a second before
barrelling through the door after her.
     
    Charli
     
    I leaned into the
basin and washed my face and neck, before looking up at my
reflection in the mirror. My hair was plastered to my right cheek,
and my top was totally soaked through. I also smelled like a bar.
Ugh, I looked like a nightmare. I began peeling off my tight
leather jacket as I heard the door open behind me. Another face
joined mine in the mirror.
    “ Nathan! What are you
doing in here?”
    “ I had to make sure
you were okay.” He was looking at me, at my wet tank top, which was
beginning to turn transparent. You could now see my black bra
through the material. I covered my chest with my jacket and
continued to wipe myself down with some paper towels. My wristbands
were also soaked through and were beginning to unravel themselves.
I knew I had to remove them too but I couldn’t do it in front of
Nathan.
    “ You’re far prettier
than your photograph,” I heard him say quietly. I tense, and I turn
around to face him.
    “ What did you
say?”
    “ Uh... nothing. I saw
your picture online.”
    “ Stalking me, too?” I
turned back around to face the vanity.
    “ Everything I think of
to say in my head sounds much creepier in real life. Let me start
over—I lied.”
    I looked up at him in the mirror.
“About what?”
    He stepped closer. “I didn’t see your
picture online.”
    I turned to face him
again. There was now less than a metre separating us. Neither of us
moved any closer. I waited. But it didn’t come.
    “ Well? Are you a
friend of a friend on chat, or something? Where did you see my
picture?”
    He didn’t answer. Instead, he looked
down at his sneakers.
    “ I have to go.” I
grabbed my jacket and left the bathroom. Nathan didn’t move to stop
me.

Chapter
Nine
     
    Charli
     
    Why was everyone
being so secretive? Everyone seemed to be lying to
me , or keeping secrets from
me, these days. As I worked my way back out into the venue, I
suddenly didn’t feel like moshing anymore. I exited through the
glass doors out into the cool night air. With thoughts to myself, I
didn’t notice him leaning against the wall in the dark.
    “ Is everything
alright?”
    I jumped. “F...
Frankie. You scared me.” He stepped out of the dark and I saw his
face—well, half of it. The other half was hidden by
shadows.
    “ So, are you alright?
I was looking for you.”
    “ Yeah. I’m fine. But I
think I’m going to go back to my dorm.”
    He moved in front of me then, his voice
deep and low in my ear. “I saw what that jerk did to you. Want me
to go speak to him?”
    I looked up and met his gaze. There was
concern there, and something else.
    “ No. It’s fine. I can
handle it.” I tried to move past him, but his hand came out and
grabbed my arm. I found myself flush against his chest for the
third time that night. What was he doing to me?
    “ Frankie. I’m fine.
Let me go.” The way he was looking at me, it frightened me for some
reason. It was intense. He finally let me go after a few tense
seconds, and I hurriedly made my way to the dorm
building.
    With all the
intensity Frankie’s gaze held, I hadn’t noticed how wet I really
was. I shivered as I fumbled for my