AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“She is alone here, Xave, but not like me. She is so innocent and nice, but she has been bullied because of who her father is. When she looked at me like she was waiting for me to tell her to fuck off, I just couldn’t do it. And after spending a few hours with her while she helped me unpack and I listened to her story, I went from telling her I wouldn't avoid her to telling her we would walk together. I felt…protective? Ugh, I don’t know. All Idoknow is that I want to keep her away from thisCrew, who apparently run the place.”
I hear his laughter down the phone.
“Ahh, Kenz. After all these years are you making afriend?” He laughs again. “Fucking hell, I never thought I’d see the day that Kenzi Scott actually made a friend.”
“Fuck off, Xave,” I growl at him. “I’m friends with you.”
“That’s not the same and you know it. Kenzi, this could be a really good thing. You are away from everything you have ever known and I’m not there. You’re going to need someone to keep you grounded when I can’t. Maybe Poppy can be that for you.”
“Shit, Xave. I don’t know how to do this. I don’t have friends for a good fucking reason and you know that. How do I keep her from finding out about me if I’m spending so much time with her? How can I expect her to keep me semi-sane while I’m herewithouttelling her anything? And from what I’ve heard so far, this is a place full of rich kids that believe mummy and daddy’s money can get them out of anything without consequence. It’s going to be hard enough to keep the demons quiet, let alone trying to fucking hide them from someone at the same time. Oh, and I’ve got to do all that while trying to figure out who wanted to kidnap me.Fuck!”
“Kenz, just calm down. It’s not that bad. You won’t have to tell her anything as long as you keep your head down like you always have and stay off of the bullies’ radar. We’ll figure out the rest. There is a reason you were drawn to her, and you never know, this Poppy could become someone you can trust and rely on while you’re there.”
“Right, easy fucking peasy. I’ll remind you of those words when it all goes to shit and I end up massacring everyone, shall I?”
Xavier laughs down the phone. “You’re not going to massacre anyone, Kenz. You are so dramatic.”
“Uh, have you met me, Xavier Ambrose? I’minsane, remember?” He chuckles again. “Ugh, okay, okay, we’ll try this your way. But with everything going on, I’ve got a feeling the last bit of my sanity is going to be tested this year. I’m just that fucking lucky.”
“Look, get some rest, Kenz, it’s been a long day. Get me those details tomorrow so we can get your place set up, and I’ll try and find you a contract to take on at the weekend, how does that sound?”
I let out a little laugh.
“It sounds like this is going to be a long-ass, first fucking week. I canalreadytell.” I hear him cough as he tries to hold back his laugh. “I’m so glad I amuse you, arsehole. Ugh, I’m going to bed. This day has already been long enough. Night, Xave.”
“Night, Kenz. And remember, I may be five hours away, but you know you canalwayscount on me. I’m here for you. We’ll get through this just like we do everything else.”
“Yeah, I know. You’re the only one who ever really has been. Night, Xave.”
I place my phone back on the table and think over what Xavier said. Maybe he’s right. Maybe I can trust Poppy, and she will be good for whatever sanity I’ve got left. Maybe it won’t be as hard to continue being invisible while having an actual friend as I think it will be.
Butas I drift off to sleep later, little do I know my sanity is going to be pushed to its limit on the very first day of lectures.
CHAPTER THREE
KENZI
The alarm on my phone goes off and I wake from a dreamless sleep.
I spent most of Sunday exploring the town of WinterHill and the surrounding area, finding the perfect place for Xavier to kit out for me, which he assured me would be done by the end of next week.
Now it’s time to get up and face the first day of lectures.
I grab a shower and get dressed, looking at myself in the full-length mirror on the bathroom door. The black and purple uniform is a perfect fit. The black skirt sits mid-thigh, with a fitted white shirt and black blazer with the university’s logo embroidered on the left breast: three purple snow-tipped mountains with ‘WinterHill University’ surrounding it. It’s all topped off with a black and purple tie.
I pair it with some black knee-length socks and my favourite pair of black combat boots, along with my favourite knives tucked down the side of each boot. I twist my hair into two low buns and add a bit of makeup so I don’t look like a ten-year-old. At seven am on the dot Poppy’s knocking at the door. I grab my bag and we start making our way down to breakfast.
“So, are you excited for your first day at WinterHill?” Poppy asks with a huge smile. She is way too peppy for this time in the morning.
“Yep. Being the new girl is going to be so much fun,” I reply with a roll of my eyes. I went to school with the same people my whole life, so I’ve never been the new girl before, but I’ve seen how the new kid is usually treated. It’s a good job I can go about unnoticed. “Let’s just try to get through the day without drawing attention to ourselves. First, we get breakfast and I get an I.V of coffee mainlined into my system. It’s way too fucking early."
“Yeah, sorry about that, but it’s the only time it’s empty.” I look over and the smile falls from her face. “The Crew and their friends like to show everyone who runs the place when it’s crowded. It’s easier to eat in there before anyone else gets up if we want to avoid any attention on your first day.”
“So you always eat early in order to stay off the Crew’s radar.”
“Um, yeah. Not lunch and dinner though. The only thing we can do for those meals is either eat somewhere else or hope to get into the dining hall when they are distracted with someone else.”
You don’t need to be insane to figure out how they like to lord over their adoring masses, and it makes me angry once again that Poppy has been subjected to their bullying. As we leave the room building, I decide to change the subject so I won’t get stabby over my bacon.
