He was a coward and a liar and he knew it. He could only hope that she would have mercy on him. Her eyes fluttered and searched for him, and he felt a crushing weight on him. He couldn’t ruin who she thought he was, but he was terrified of their future, for he learned as a child that every lie made in the dark becomes an evil truth in the light.
The sounds of laughing and a dog barking wake me from my three-hour sleep. I never get much sleep anyway, but I would appreciate a little peace in the hallways, considering it’s a Monday morning and I have class in . . . I reach for my phone and check the time.
8:43.
Fuck.
I have less than thirty minutes to get to my Literature class—and why the hell is there a dog in the house, anyway?
Grabbing last night’s black jeans from the floor, I pull them on, stumbling slightly and cursing at the tight fabric. My legs are just too damn long to wear baggy jeans without looking like fucking Gumby. I tossed my keys onto the floor last night, so I’m subjected to the ordeal of rummaging through the clutter of shit to find them. Black T-shirts, dirty black jeans, and filthy socks crowd the floor.
I make my way through the house, ignoring the telltale signs of last night’s party. Logan waves to me, bags under his eyes and an energy drink in his hand.
“I feel like shit, man,” he groans, trying to smile. He’s always smiling, and I catch myself wondering what that would feel like. To be happy all the time like he is. Even this hungover. I never managed it.
“You’ve got the right idea, not drinking.” He walks over to the fridge. He pulls out a half gallon of milk and drinks it straight from the container.
“Nice.” I shake my head at him, and he smiles, then drinks some more. The kitchen starts to fill up with other members of the fraternity, and since I’m not in their clique, I grab a piece of pizza from the detritus of last night’s drunken decision to order ten pizzas at 4 a.m.
As I’m leaving the room, I hear Neil asking everyone if they want to go to some restaurant tonight before the party. I didn’t expect them to invite me . . . they never do. It’s not that I would ever be caught dead hanging out with a bunch of dumb-ass frat boys with too much gel in their hair outside of a party or two.
My mum’s always giving me a hard time about “making friends,” but she doesn’t get it. It’s not that fucking easy, or remotely entertaining. Why would I put myself out there to get the approval of people I can’t stand, just to feel slightly more important in life? I don’t need friends. I have a small group of people I can slightly tolerate, and that’s more than enough for me.
By the time I get to campus, the parking lot is almost full and I have to cut off some douchebag in a Beamer to take his spot.
The professor is already blabbing when I enter the lecture room. Looking around the space, I search for an empty seat and notice the girl in the front row. Her long blond hair is mildly recognizable; it’s the long skirt touching the floor that confirms it. Tessa, Steph’s prudish roommate.
Sitting next to Landon Gibson. Of course she is. This should be fun: Tessa trapped in a classroom with me, an empty seat next to her. This has quickly become the highlight of my day.
As I get closer, she looks back at me and her eyes go wide. She turns around quickly, and I move quickly to sit next to her. Just like I knew she would, she ignores me. She’s wearing a blue button-up shirt that has to be at least two sizes too big, and her hair is pinned back away from her face.
Just as I approach them, my phone vibrates in my pocket.
A text from my sperm donor: Karen’s making a nice dinner, you should come by.
Has he lost his damn mind? I look over at Landon, who happens to be Karen’s perfect son, all fresh in his polo shirt.
Hell no, I’m not going. Like I would ever, ever go to his shiny new house for dinner with his girlfriend and Landon. Perfect little Landon, who loves sports and kisses everyone’s ass to be the nicest, most respectful boy in the land.
Bleh.
I wait for dear “brother” Landon to say something to me, but he doesn’t. So much for my dad’s promise of “blending our family.” Fucker.
“I think this will be my favorite class,” Tessa says to him once the professor has dismissed us.
Weirdly, it may be my favorite, too, even though I’m sitting in the class for fun, really. I got away with classifying it as an elective even though I’ve taken it before.
She turns to me when she realizes that I’m following them. “What do you want, Hardin?”
.gnikrow ydaerla s’tI
.tsaf os toN .su sessimsid rosseforp eht erofeb pu gab reh gnikcap strats asseT dna ,eb ot ti ekil dluow I erofeb revo si ruoh ehT .ti evol I—pu elir ot ysae os s’ehS .ylbatrofmocnu stegdif ro sffuh ehs emit hcae hsur a gnitteg ,ssalc eht fo noitarud eritne eht yaw reh erats ot eunitnoc I .llor eye na htiw msacras ym sdrawer ehs dna ,gnikcom si enot yM ”.rehtegot ssalc a evah ew dalg os tsuj m’I .gnihtoN .gnihtoN“ .niks reh rednu teg ot gniyrt ton m’I fi sa ,elims tneconni na ,reh ta elims I
.reh fo tnorf ni gnidnats su fo htob gnivah suovren skool ehS .asseT ot snrut nodnaL ,yawllah eht hcaer ew nehW .tey tsuj dne ot nuf ym rof ydaer ton m’I .gnidliub eht fo tuo nodnaL dna reh wollof ot ydaer ,teef ym ot pmuj I
.em ot drow a tuohtiw syas nodnaL ”,asseT ,retal uoy ees ll’I“
.supmac dnuora yaw rieht dnif ot gniyrt nemhserf fo dworc eht otni sraeppasid eh sa reh esaet I ”,dneirfeb ot ssalc ni dik tsemal eht dnif dluow uoY“
.taht ekil dnah s’mum ym dleh eh nehw emit elgnis a rebmemer t’nac I .egnirc em sekam ,raeY gnikcuF eht fo rehtaF aka ,ttocS neK ,rehtaf ym fo taht gnidloh dnah s’mum siH .yaw ”rehto hcae evol ew hcum woh ta kool“ ,yreehc a ni sdnah gnidloh dad ym dna mum s’nodnaL erutcip I
.spans ehs ”,uoy ekilnU .yug teews a s’eh ;mih tuoba taht yas t’noD“
?mih ekil ehs seoD ?reh wonk eh seoD ?ydaerla mih wonk ehs seoD .mih ot ytlayol tnemehev reh yb desirprus ,reh ot nrut I
?erac I dluow kcuf eht yhW
”.aserehT ,evah ew tahc hcae htiw ytsief erom gnimoceb er’uoY“ .erom snottub reh hsup ot egru cirtcele na evah I ,dnim ym morf raf snoitseuq eht gnihsuP
.ecap reh hctam ot pu deeps I os ,em morf yawa teg ot retsaf klaw ot snigeb ehS
.xaler ot strats ydob ym sa enips ym pu gnipeerc gnihtemos ,ti leef I .sredluohs ym morf spils noisnet eht dna eulb elap a otni yarg morf gnitfihs ,eralg-dim mraw seye reh tuB .em ta eralg a stpmetta ehs dna ,rehtegot esrup spil lluf reH ”. . . emit erom eno aserehT em llac uoy fI“
