Page 8 of Twilight of Embers
“Tell the professor to take it easy on me this year,” Frank muttered.
“I do that, and he’ll grade you twice as hard.”
Frank cursed. “Never mind. Should’ve known your friendship didn’t have any perks.”
I chuckled as he and Jason headed inside. Pulling out my phone, I hit Maddox’s contact. He answered on the second ring. “Knox.”
“We might have a problem.”
Maddox was instantly on alert. “What kind of problem?”
My jaw worked back and forth, trying to think of how to explain. “I met a girl.”
Maddox sighed. “I’m prepping lesson plans. Can we talk about your love life when we get home?”
I let out a low growl. “This is important.”
He was quiet for a moment, then simply said, “Tell me.”
“I—she—she crashed into me on campus. New freshman. I didn’t realize it at first, but then the wind shifted. I scented her. Mad, she smelled like one of us.”
4
HAYDEN
I swore I felt eyes on me as I moved through campus. There was that telltale itch at the back of my neck. But when I turned around, no one was there.
Thankfully, the packet I’d been given with my temporary student ID, key card, and class schedule also had a map. I’d memorized the path between the student center and Ridge Hall before shoving it into my bag. I didn’t need to advertise just how bad my sense of direction was.
I made my way down the brick path. There was some sort of frisbee game happening on one of the grassy areas, and a group of girls sat on a blanket, talking and laughing. I wondered if I’d ever have that. Friends. A sense of true belonging.
There was a chance here. A chance to start fresh. To erase the hard past and become someone new.
A sign on the building up ahead held my dorm’s name. It was just as beautiful as all the other buildings. It held that same air of prestigious history.
Reaching into my back pocket, I pulled out my key card and swiped it over the reader. The red light flashed to green, and I opened the door. There was a lounge to my right, where a couple of students were chatting and eating pizza. They all seemed perfectly at ease in their new surroundings. No first-day jitters like the ones thrumming through my body. Or maybe they were just better at faking it.
I headed for the staircase, rubbing a spot along my sternum. Knox had that same ease. As if he were completely comfortable with who he was. Of course, he was. Gorgeous and charming was the kind of combination that likely meant life came easy for him.
I gave my head a little shake. He was older and had an established group of friends, from what I glimpsed while waiting in line. I likely wouldn’t see him again for months, even though the school was relatively small.
Reaching the third floor, I searched the doors for room numbers. Three-zero-three was what I needed. My packet told me that my roommate’s name was Delaney Barlow. But that was all I knew about her.
I headed in the wrong direction at first and had to turn around. A few bends in the hallway later, I found an open door. Girls’ excited chatter spilled out into the hallway.
Peeking at the number on the open door, I saw I was in the right place. A cascade of nerves tumbled through me. Forcing a smile, I stepped inside. The chatter came to a stop as three girls looked up at me.
A blonde was perched in a desk chair, leaning back on two of the legs. A redhead and a brunette sat on a bed that had perfectly matched bedding in a pretty, floral design. There were matching pillow shams and even a bucket chair in the corner made of the same material.
Everything about the image was perfect. Everything about it said I didn’t fit.
The brunette leaned forward, her eyes roaming over me assessingly. “Hayden?”
I nodded. “Hi. Are you Delaney?”
“Yeah.” Her lips pursed as soon as she spoke the single word. “I hope you don’t mind. I just picked a side. I wanted to get set up.”
“Sure. That’s no problem.” I preferred the side I’d gotten anyway. While hers had more space and a bigger closet, there was a window next to my bed. I’d be able to see out to the beautiful forests surrounding the campus.
