I survived the weekend. Dylan took out the handcuffs one more time, but when I refused to have sex with him the rest of the night, he got the point.

On Sunday morning, he made us waffles. Hands down, the best part of the whole weekend was the food. It was nice having access to a kitchen and a grill again. Dylan tried to convince me to stay an extra night, but I wouldn't budge. I was definitely ready to get back to campus. After a quiet drive home, he dropped me off in front of my dorm. I lugged my suitcase up the stairs, ready to be in my own bed.

"How was the romantic weekend?" Tally spun around in her desk chair when I walked in.

"Ryan's so dead."

"Hey, that's my boyfriend you're talking about."

"Boyfriend? Since when?"

"Last night." She smiled coyly. Wow, she'd moved on from Gregg quickly. I guess a lot can change in forty-eight hours.

"Well, he's dead."

"What did he do to deserve that fate?"

"He told Dylan I was into BDSM."

She laughed so hard she almost fell out of her chair.

"I appreciate the concern."

"Sorry." She steadied herself on her chair. "That's too funny. What did he do, take out handcuffs?"

"Were you in on it?"

She laughed again. "Oh my god. That's so awesome. I wish I could have seen your face."

"It was horrible. He spent the rest of the weekend disappointed. He even asked me if I'd call him 'master.'"

"What? He asked you to call him 'master?'"

"Yes." I slunk down on my bed. "He is so incorrigible."

"So, you wouldn't try it at all?" She actually looked surprised.

"No! That is so not my thing."

"How do you know if you haven't tried?"

"Okay, we're not having this conversation."

"Sorry. I was just wondering. It might not be that bad."

"Feel free to try it on your boyfriend-make sure to whip him extra hard for me."

"How'd you know I'd want to dominate?"

"Too much info, Tally. Too much info." I grabbed my keys again and headed to Cara's room. I knocked, but no one answered.

I called her.

She answered right as I expected the voicemail to start. "Hey, you're back!"

"Yeah, just got here. Where are you?"

"We're at the Kappa house."

"Who's we?"

"You should have been at the mixer. It was awesome. I'm with Mallory and Claire." I heard muffled talking, but all I could make out was my name.

"Who are you talking to?"

"Reed."

"Oh cool." It felt funny to know that my friends were hanging out with Reed. I viewed him as part of a separate piece of my life.

"You have to come."

I debated it. Dylan would kill me, but I wasn't exactly thrilled with him at the moment. He deserved it after the handcuff incident, and I really wanted to see my friends. "All right, I'll come by." I went back to my room long enough to change into jeans and a black tank.

"Where are you going?" Tally asked.

"To hang out with some friends. You want to come?"

"What friends?"

"Cara, Mallory, and some Kappas."

"No thanks. But have fun." She didn't sound particularly convincing.

"I'll try." I grabbed my purse and headed out the door.

***

I knocked on the front door of the Kappa house. I was used to just walking in at Dylan's house, but this seemed different. I waited, but no one answered. I leaned in, and I could hear music playing and a lot of talking. I decided to go ahead and walk in.

"Hey, Juliet!" Mallory jumped off the couch and hugged me.

"Hey. I've missed you, too."

She laughed. "Everybody, this is Juliet."

"We know each other very well." Reed smiled, patting a space next to him on the couch.

There was something so comfortable about sliding in next to him. "Did you miss me, Reed?"

"I did at the mixer. I was hoping to wow you with my dance moves." He laughed.

"I bet. I wish I could have been there."

"Have a good weekend with Jerk Face?"

"Fine."

"Only fine?" I heard alarm in his voice.

I shook my head. "Pretend it's morning." I referred to my disinterest in talking early in the day.

"Oh, now I need to hear." He leaned back and put an arm behind me on the couch.

"You don't want to know."

"Oh, we do." Cara grinned. Aaron, the guy running things when we were at the Kappa house before, had his arm slung across her shoulders. She seemed perfectly happy to have it there.

"I repeat. It was fine."

"You'll give us all the details later." Mallory took a sip of her drink.

"And I'm getting them at work tomorrow. I have to hear this." Reed laughed, but it sounded forced.

"No to all of you." I already regretted telling Tally about the handcuffs. There was no way I was telling anyone else.

"Want anything to drink, Juliet?" Bill, another Kappa, asked.

"I'm actually fine, but thanks." I was still exhausted from my weekend and definitely not in the mood to drink.

"Okay." He smiled.

My phone vibrated in my purse. I pulled it out. Where are you?

Reed leaned over to look at my screen. "Does Dylan keep tabs on you constantly?"

Out with my friends. Why?

Friends? That's not what I heard.

I groaned. Not this again. How did he even know? Tally-I was going to kill her and her boyfriend. If Dylan knew who I was with, he probably already knew where I was. I hoped he wasn't stupid enough to come and try to get me to leave.

I'm hanging out with my friends. I didn't see them all weekend. Feel free to do the same with your friends.

Where are you?

I put my phone away without answering.

"You need to break up with him." Reed said it quietly, making sure no one else heard.

"No, I don't. It's none of your business."

"Can we take a walk?"

"A walk?" Leaving didn't bother me, but it would just make it harder to dodge his questions.

"Yeah. A walk. You're not drinking anyway."

I crossed my arms. "I just got here."

"Let's go for a walk. Hear me out, and afterward, I'll try to keep my mouth shut."

"You've promised that before."

"I'll try harder."

I shook my head. "Fine."

Reed put his beer down on the floor next to the couch. "If you'll excuse us, we're going for a walk."

"A walk?" Aaron raised an eyebrow. "Don't get lost."

"We won't."

I shrugged when my friends gave me confused looks. We walked out the front door and turned left in the opposite direction of my dorm. He must have wanted a long walk.

We walked in silence for a minute or two before Reed finally spoke. "I know you think I'm just trying to annoy you, but I'm serious."

"Reed, I appreciate the concern, but everything's fine."

"You say that, but do you actually believe it? You have to admit he's controlling."

"I stand up for myself. If you didn't notice, I never told him where I was."

"It's great that you don't give in all the time, but that doesn't change what he is. He's controlling and manipulative. Everything he does is an attempt to dominate you."

I so did not need to hear the word dominate in association with Dylan ever again.

"I can't just stand back and watch this."

I groaned. "Then don't watch."

"Shut up!" His hands fisted at his side. I'd never seen him so angry.

I shuddered. "Calm down, Reed."

"No. This is bullshit. I'm not letting this happen again."

"Again? What is this about?"

He put his head in his hands. "You're so much like my sister. Too pretty for your own good, and you're so needy. You want to be wanted so damn bad that you'll put up with crap."

"Your sister? What does your sister have to do with me?"

"She was like you at your age. She dated an older guy-and six months into their relationship, she was engaged and living with him."

"And? Was it the biggest mistake of her life?" I said sarcastically. I immediately regretted it when I saw the look that crossed his face.

"You know what? Forget it. You want to fuck up your life and destroy your family, go ahead. Do it."

"What? Destroy my family? What happened to your sister, Reed?"

He shifted his weight from foot to foot. In the darkness, I thought I saw a few tears. "She got in too deep. Everyone loved the guy-my parents thought he was a prince. From a well-known family, tons of money. Sound familiar? They got married when she was only nineteen."

I nodded. I needed to hear the rest.

"Eventually, things got worse, and she wanted out but felt like she couldn't leave. I'm the only one who believed her when she said he'd become abusive." He got this far-off look on his face. "My parents told her to be loyal to her husband. He started talking about kids. I don't think she wanted to bring kids into her world." Reed was a mix of anger and hurt, and I didn't know which one was harder to watch.

"Wait? What happened?"

"She killed herself. I guess she thought it was her only way out."

I touched his arm. "I'm so sorry, Reed." I couldn't even imagine how hard that must have been for him.

"Don't be sorry. Just don't make the same dumb mistake."

"I'm not going to do something like that, and I'm not planning a wedding anytime soon."

"Please be careful."

I still hadn't moved my hand. "I will."

"Promise me something."

"Okay." I would have promised him anything in that moment. He looked so vulnerable.

"If you ever feel like you're trapped, talk to me. I couldn't help Shannon, but I can help you. I'm not a puny sixteen -year-old anymore."

"Puny? You could never be puny." Without thinking, I moved my hand up to touch his bicep. Reed was a giant. The last thing he could be described as was puny.

"I make it my business to make sure I never am again."

It all clicked. The obsession with lifting weights, his issues with his parents, living with Al. "I promise."

"Good. Want me to walk you home?"

"Yeah, that would be nice."

We walked in silence. Neither of us spoke until we reached my dorm. "I know I say this a lot, but take care of yourself."

"I will. You, too. And just so you know, if you ever want to talk, I'm here." I hugged him.

"I'll keep that in mind." He rubbed my back gently, as if he was comforting me rather than the other way around.