Chapter two

A knock on my dragged me out of my dream.

“Jenna?” Anna’s voice floated through the door, soft and overly excited for 7 a.m. “Sweetheart, it’s your first day. You have to get up!”

Right, First day of school in these new town.

I shot up from bed with a burst of energy I definitely didn’t have last night. “I’m awake!” I yelled, even though I was very much still tangled in my blanket like a human burrito.

It had been a week since I landed here. A long, painfully quiet week.

Alec had been MIA for most of it, drifting in and out like a shadow with a motorcycle.

His best friend, Roman was nowhere to be found either.

So it had been just me and Anna, baking muffins I didn’t ask for and watching interior design shows together. She was lovely, but I needed people my own age before I lost my mind and started naming the chairs.

I rolled out of bed, grabbed the crisp shirt and trouser Anna ironed with too much love, and showered quickly. As I tugged my shirt into place, Anna slipped into the room, smiling.

“When you’re done, check your brother. He’s taking you to school,” she said.

My stomach dropped a little.

Alec? Taking me?

I nodded anyway. “Sure.”

I smoothed my shirt, took a breath, and crossed the hallway to the door almost directly opposite mine.

Alec’s room.

I knocked once.

Twice.

Four times.

“Alec,” I called, trying to sound polite instead of irritated. “Are you awake?”

Nothing.

I sighed and wrapped my fingers around the doorknob and pushed the door open.

The room was dim, curtains half-drawn, morning light slashing through in quiet stripes. The air smelled like cedar and something sharp, and metallic, like engine oil mixed with rain.

My eyes adjusted, and I froze.

Alec was sitting on the floor beside his bed. Head bowed. Forearms resting on his knees. Shirtless, but not in a sexy, oh-no-I-walked-in-at-the-wrong-time way.

No.

He looked… exhausted. Chest rising and falling slowly, like he’d been up all night. His knuckles were bruised. His hair was damp like he’d showered, but his eyes—

His eyes flicked up at me suddenly, dark and unwelcoming, pulling me straight into a stare that made my pulse skip like it tripped over a step.

“What,” he demanded, “are you doing in my room?”

I opened my mouth but my thoughts had left the chat.

All I managed was, “Uh—Anna said—wake you—I knocked—you didn’t—your door—”

He raised a brow. “English, Jenna.”

Right. English.

My native language.

“You’re supposed to take me to school,” I blurted, suddenly aware my face was probably the shade of a ripe tomato. “Which you clearly can’t do right now because you’re….”

My eyes darted up and I saw a punching bag at the corner of the room, that was when it clicked.

“Ohh..” I muttered.

His eyes narrowed slightly. Not angry, more like bothered. Or amused. I couldn’t tell.

“Get out.” he snapped, watching me like I’d stepped into a place I absolutely shouldn’t be.

Heat crawled up my neck. “I—I was just checking. You weren’t responding.”

He pushed himself up to his feet, stepping towards me slowly and I suddenly felt too small in the doorway.

Water or sweat, whichever gleamed on his skin. His shoulders were broader up close than I remembered. And that stare… God.

I stumbled back a step, bumping into the doorframe.

“I’ll—um—yeah. I’ll go.”

He didn’t get to say anything else before I turned and walked out way too fast, trying to ignore the way my heartbeat was sprinting like it was training for the Olympics.

Downstairs, Anna peeked up from her cup of tea. “Is he ready?”

“Definitely not,” I said, maybe a bit too quickly. “Dad said he’ll take me.”

Dad didn’t actually say that but he nodded like a man who already regretted parenting.

The car ride was mostly silent. Classic Dad. He never filled air unless he absolutely had to.

Finally he said, “Don’t get distracted. Get your grades up. Make good friends. Stay out of trouble.”

Standard parent speech.

“Sure,” I said.

I wasn’t sure at all, but lying made life peaceful.

Dad pulled into the parking lot and killed the engine.

“This is it,” he said simply.

I unbuckled my seatbelt. “Thanks for the ride.”

He nodded once. I stepped out and waved him bye, watching until his car disappeared past the gates.

I turned to focus on the matter at hand.

Finding my department.

Okay, I might have underestimated this college because it was big as hell. Like, aggressively big.If I didn’t ask for help, I could actually get lost.

Tragic.

My eyes scanned the area until they landed on a girl leaning against a pillar.

Black boots. Black skirt. Black eyeliner sharp enough to cut glass. Dark lipstick. Silver rings stacked across her fingers.

Unusual makeup style.

Definitely a gothic baddie judging by the all-black outfit and energy that screamed “I bite first, ask questions never.”

Weird. But she’s exactly my type of person.

I walked toward her before my social anxiety could stop me. “Hey, excuse me.”

She turned, blinking once, then looked around like she was checking if I was talking to someone behind her before pointing a finger at herself.

“Me?”

“Yes,” I said, holding up my paper schedule. “I’m trying to find my department. Can you help?”

Her lips curled into a grin immediately.

“Oh, fresh meat.”

Great. Love that for me.

She pushed off the pillar and strutted toward me, then casually snatched the paper from my hand without asking.

“Let’s see…” her eyes scanned the page. Then her brows lifted. “Oh. Cool.”

She looked up at me again, grin widening. “Same department.”

Well, that was suspiciously convenient.

“Follow me,” she said, already turning.

I hurried after her before she vanished into the crowd and I’d have to find her.

“I wasn’t even planning to attend class today,” she continued casually, weaving through students. “But because of you, I will.”

I blinked. “Because of me?”

She glanced back over her shoulder. “Yes, because I love you already New girl and I think we can be friends”

…Well me too.

“I’m Liza,” she added.

“Jenna,” I replied.

She nodded like she was mentally storing my name in a folder labeled entertainment.

“So where are you from Jenna?”

“Boston”

“Boston?” She turned looking at me wierdly. “Then why don’t you go college there”

“I did, I transferred…for some reasons”

If I told her would she judge me, I mean she looked like she could do what I did to.

“Oh, must be a very good reason because I would never”

I smiled then changed the topic . “So why were you surprised I talked to you earlier?”

“No one talks to me here. They all think I’m a freak”

What?

“Girl, I had friends like you in Boston and no one called them a freak”

“Well people think I killed my mother. Which I would have loved to because she was a bitch but nah I didn’t, she was probably unalived by one of her ex”

Finally! A friend with a shitty mother that I could trauma bond with. Thanks universe, I owe you a bottle of champagne.

“I’m sorry you had to —“

“Please I'm over it, and besides I have a friend now” she grinned, pulling me into a hug and I couldn’t hold back my giggle.

Okay I think I’m loving it here.