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CHAPTER 1
BRYNN
Idon’t often getmy way, but when I do, victory is so much sweeter. Especially when said victory is in spite of enemy number one.
I smile as my mother pulls into the parking lot of Hyde Hall. The tall brick building towers above us, a symbol of new beginnings, fresh starts, and the promise of an amazing four years that will inevitably kick-start my future. I have a whole plan mapped out for myself. Win my roommate over, make a ton of friends, go out, socialize, date, and hopefully find a nice boy to call mine. High school might not have gone as planned, but I’m determined to make college my bitch, and nothing is going to dull my burning optimism.Nothing.
Not even Jace Taggart.
I’ve come to terms with the fact I’m attending the same college as my brother’s best friend, but there is zero reason I ever have to see him. Ann Arbor University is a large, sprawling campus with a bustling student life, and nearly forty thousandin attendance. As long as I stay away from the football field, I should be fine. AU is my oyster, and I’m ready to crack it open and find a pearl.
I practically vibrate with excitement as my mother finds a spot in the visitor lot and turns off the ignition. “Ready?” She glances my way, beaming.
I inhale a steadying breath through my nose and smooth a hand over my blonde hair before I agree. “Ready. I’ll just go sign in and tell them I’m here while you text Dad, and then we can unload everything.”
“Sounds good.” She reaches out and squeezes my hand. “Good luck.”
I swing the door open and step out onto the pavement with my sandaled feet and straighten, ignoring the swoop of birds’ wings inside my chest. This is it. My chance at independence, a normal life without the fear I’ve lived with for more than two years.
I cross the pavement, taking in my surroundings as a sense of peace washes over me. The sun is bright in the blue sky. Somewhere in the distance, I hear the faint hum of music. Trees dot the sidewalk and parking lot, their large clusters of white blooms a stark contrast to their dark leaves, while birds sing from their branches.
When I enter Hyde Hall, I find a girl at the desk. She’s older than me, probably in her early twenties, and pleasant but not very chatty. Once she finds my name in the computer and confirms my room assignment, she slides over a key. I take it, along with a list of rules and a flyer about the events going on this weekend for students reporting for the summer semester. When asked if I need help with my stuff, I tell her no and thank her before I spin around, almost running into another girl with dark, chin length hair and a friendly smile.
“I’m so sorry.” I reach out and steady her, only to find a genuine smile in return.
“No, it was my bad,” she says, waving off my concern. “Are you a freshman, too?” She eyes the stuff in my hands.
“Yep. Brynn Nichols.” I extend a hand for her to shake, and with a grin, she accepts it.
“I’m Charlotte. What room are you in?” she asks, peering down at the slip of paper I’m clutching.
“One-twenty.”
“Oh, cool!” Her expression brightens. “That’s right across from me and my roommate, Samantha.” Then as if something else occurs to her, her eyes darken like a cloak dropping and she shifts on her feet, her voice noticeably more subdued as she asks, “Have you met your roommate yet?”
“No. Actually, I don’t even know if she’s here yet.”
But if her expression is any indication, maybe I should be worried.
Charlotte nods. “Right. Well, if you need anything or want to go to dinner with us, come knock on our door. I met Samantha in freshman orientation, and we hit it off, so even though I wasn’t friends with her before college, I already know she’s pretty cool.”
“That’d be great. Thanks,” I say, wishing I had made it to freshman orientation, but my father and mother each run their own business and being in the wedding industry means spring and summer are their busiest time of year. Pulling either one of them away in May for orientation would have proved impossible, so unless I wanted to hitch a ride with Jace (I’d rather pluck my eyes out with a dull blade, thank you very much), it meant going into this blindly. Even being here today took preparation and string-pulling on my mother’s behalf, and still, her time is limited.
After I wave goodbye, I push any negative thoughts I have aside, and head for the exit with a smile on my face. I’ve only been here five minutes and already, I can tell Charlotte and I will be fast friends.
Off to a good start.
The balmy morning air kisses my skin as I step back outside and turn for the car. I can hear my mother’s voice carrying on the breeze and assume she’s on the phone with my father. When I clear the cars on the corner, I fully expect to see her with an ear pressed to her phone. Instead, I freeze.
There is no phone pressed to her ear. She is not talking to my father, or even one of my siblings or an employee. Instead, she’s withhim.
How?
Why?
None other than Jace Taggart is standing in the parking lot ofmydormitory, schmoozingmy mother.
A prickling sensation claws up my spine as I take in my opponent. Armed in a backward baseball cap, a black AU football T-shirt, and athletic shorts that ride low on his hips, he somehow looks fitter than he did the last time I saw him strutting around our house with my brother like a virus with no cure. It’s like he made it his life’s mission to gain ten pounds of muscle in my absence so he could show up on move-in day and rub it in my face.
