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Almost.
God, I’m messed up.
Nothing makes sense anymore.
My hand flattens against my stomach. I’ve had a nagging twinge all day. It isn’t pain as such, just a dull ache.
But I’m sure it’s nothing.
The nausea is the worst. I haven’t actually been sick, but the feeling never abates. It was taco day in the cafeteria yesterday, and I thought I was going to puke right there in the line. I grabbed a bag of chips instead and sat outside in the chilly air, trying to shake off the feeling.
I don’t know how long I lay here, still and silent. My thoughts drift to another life, a better life. Where Cole isn’t broken, and I’m not tainted. A future where we can love each other without repercussion. A future where we can raise our baby with love and security.
But all too quickly, the fantasy bleeds into something violent. Monstrous flames engulf the image of the three of us, burning us to nothing but ash and smoke.
Tears roll down my cheeks. The pain I’ve carried since being sent to Sterling Bay bends and shifts, growing into something darker. If my parents hadn’t exiled me, I wouldn’t be here now, heartbroken and lost, scared and lonely.
But then you wouldn’t have met Cole.
My cell vibrates and I lean over, snatching it off the nightstand.
Unknown: Hadley, please... we should talk.
Panic slams into me as I quickly type a reply.
Me: Who is this?
Unknown: Tim.
I bolt upright, staring at his name.
Me: How did you get this number?
My parents confiscated my old cell phone, replacing it with a new one. As far as I’m aware, they monitor my calls—not that there have been many over the last couple of years.
Unknown: It doesn’t matter. We need to talk.
Me: You need to stop, Tim.
Unknown: Come on, Dove... you owe me this.
Anger explodes inside me, and I let out a frustrated cry. I owe him? What the hell does that mean?
Me: Don’t ever contact me again, or I’ll tell my parents. And that won’t end well for anyone.
I stare at the screen, waiting. But no reply comes.
>
Thank God.
Turning it off, I shove it under my pillow. I thought Tim would stop, I thought he would take the hint that I can’t ever let him back into my life.
Curling into a ball, I inhale a shaky breath. I must have been a horrible person in a past life to deserve so much pain and heartache.
I find little peace in the darkness, my tears like a symphony to the desolation I feel inside. My eyes flutter closed, and I hope sleep will find me, but the rattle of my door startles me. I freeze, my heart beating wildly in my chest. There’s only one person who would let himself into my dorm room in the middle of the night.
Cole appears, like a dark prince sent to collect my soul.
