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Prologue
Ihad never known a panicked day in my life.
I’d grown up with a fairly normal upbringing. No absent parents, no abusive siblings, no anxious health disorders. No school bullying.
No anything.
Both my parents worked hard, and I’d always done well in school. I’d been popular, seemingly well-liked, and I’d even gotten along with most of my teachers during my tenure living in Lakeside. Even my cousin, Kenzlee, coming to live with us hadn’t been a hardship. Sure, I’d gotten kidnapped a couple of times because of her crazy boyfriend, but I could hardly blame that on Kenzlee.
So, apart from the whole kidnapping thing, I hadn’t had any real hardships in life. I’d grown up in a three-bedroom house in a nice neighborhood, and my parents had been involved parents. They’d been harsh when they’d needed to be, but also understanding when the occasion had called for it.
As for not having any siblings, that hadn’t mattered much in the scheme of things. I’d grown up with lots of friends, and I’d been involved in a lot of extracurricular activities for school. So, I’d been busy when I’d wanted to be, and an introvert when I’d needed it.
There was also the fact that, while I wasn’t a brainiac, I was smart enough. Though I had to study like most of the world’s population, tests and final exams hadn’t freaked me out. I’d been a firm believer in just doing my best, then dealing with the consequences like a rational human being.
Honestly, my life had been pretty tamed when you compared it to my cousin’s. I’d had no stress, no tears, no panicking, and no drama. Hell, even my parents didn’t seem to worry about me much. Sure, they cared about me and worried like any decent parent would, but they hadn’t ever hovered over my life. They had trusted me completely and still did.
After all, why wouldn’t they?
I was boring.
I was safe.
I was predictable.
Now, was I complaining? Absolutely not.
Hell no, in fact.
Ilikedboring, safe, and predictable. After seeing everything that my cousin had gone through last year, Iembracedboring, safe, and predictable.
I was a big, big, big fan of no drama, and thinking back on the whole kidnapping thing, that’s probably why I’d lost my shit on those goddamn Finley brothers so badly.
Yeah, no.
I’ll pass.
Looking around my room, I realized for the first time that I was on my own now. Sure, there were signs everywhere on campus with contact numbers for help or direction, but that was mostly foracademichelp or direction. They had help for getting lost on campus, but they didn’t have any for being a dork.
Now, while I knew that I wasn’t the only freshman on campus being consumed by nerves, that didn’t really help me. The last thing that I was going to do was dump my anxiety on someone that was already doing their best to deal with their own panic attacks.
I sat down on my bed, and it was stupid to have to share a room with a stranger if you could afford different. Sure, super rich and famous kids were allowed to live off-campus during their freshman year, but I was neither rich nor famous, so I was stuck doing my best to mesh with a complete stranger inside this little ass room, something that I prayed would work out.
Letting out a hollow laugh, I thought about Kenzlee, and I was almost ashamed of how dramatic I was acting. After everything that she’d been through last year, if anyone had a right to panic over anything, it was her. Granted, she had Talon, but still.
I let out another hollow laugh when my hands started to sweat at the sound of the doorknob rattling. My roommate was here, and when a tall blonde with blue eyes walked in, I couldn’t help but feel immediately inferior because the girl was really pretty. She even had those envious curves that came with most blondes. With my luck, she was probably also smart as hell. Suddenly, I felt like a plate of leftovers, and that was just stupid. Still, it didn’t change how I felt.
Like I’d said, I had never known a panicked day in my life.
Until now.
Chapter 1
The direction that we take.
Alexandria~
Iwas luckier than most, and I knew that. I’d been raised by parents that had invested in me since the day that I’d been born. I had also benefitted greatly by being an only child. While my parents, Allen and Sheri Grant, had good jobs, they still hadn’t had to divide their income amongst three or four kids, so I’d never had the burden of trying to figure out a way to pay for college when the time came.
