Page 3 of Shadowface

She narrows her eyes, jerking her head in his direction. “Well…he wrote the textbook with your father.”

I keep my gaze on Lincoln, darkness shrouding him. “No. I don’t know him.” My father believed in the separation of church and state—his work being church, his family being state. Lincoln was like the son my father never had, a relationship I had no part of. An entire part of my father’s life I could never tap into.

“I’ve never met him.” I keep my voice low as we start to catch the attention of Professor Garcia. “He was my father’s protégé.” I can’t hide the hint of jealousy that laces my voice. “He helped my father with research and stuff.”

Which is part of the reason I’m here—I never had the chance to share that with my father. We lived only an hour away from here, so my father commuted all the time for visits. It’s like he lived a double life. When he was home, the dinner table was always about how brilliant Lincoln was. How much potential Lincoln had.

And I was just so…ordinary.

It was never my path to follow my father, even though I was fascinated by it all, too. But Lincoln…he was always top of mind for my father.

“You don’t have to follow his footsteps, Summer.”

My mother hated that I came here—hated it even more when I was awarded the scholarship and accepted it. My mom, for whatever reason, wanted nothing to do with this place, even though this is where my father grew up.

Evidently, my father has entrusted me with his legacy, and it is now my responsibility to seize it. He pulled the strings to get me here. He must have…

Dani looks at me and frowns. “Weekly reflections? Well, I’m fucked.”

I smile tightly as my nerves fire on end. “You’ll be fine. You just have to pass; it’s not like you want in this program.”

Dani plays with her braid falling over her shoulders. “You’ll be fine, too, but honestly, I can’t wait for office hours with Lincoln.” Her eyes flicker as she watches my reaction.

I can’t help but look at him again, the familiarity of him. It’s like he can sense me and looks right at me, and his soft features seem bored. I give him a weak smile, and I almost wave before he shifts his attention back to Dr. Garcia without returning it.

I am very curious as to what rumors she’s heard about him, though. From everything I can see, he’s extremely rigid. Awkward, even. Like he’s so nerdy, he doesn’t realize how attractive he is.

“Well, he seems fun,” I joke, and Dani laughs. Probably because I never joke.

Dani gives me a mischievous grin. “Maybe you could help him loosen his turtleneck.”

I can’t help but snicker.

Dr. Garcia clears her throat and glares at us, as if speaking to me. “You will do well to pay strong attention and keep up with your course readings. Don’t overthink your weekly reflections and use at least one external source to back up any claims. Each reflection should focus on the material for that week. This is an introductory class, but we will dive into the five major perspectives of psychology over the next twelve weeks.”

I catch Lincoln looking at us again as a blush hits my cheeks. He looks serious, too serious…and he’s staring right at me. I understand academia enough. Most professors or wannabe professors are doing this for the research, and grading papers is annoying for them.

And Lincoln, in all his Alt-Gothic glory, looks really fucking annoyed. As if being in this class is beneath him.

Dr. Garcia starts her lecture about research methods and the importance of study groups, and I scribble down everything she says.

I can’t take my eyes off Lincoln, and for whatever reason, he keeps glancing at me, too, like he knows he’s going to fail me. Unlike Dani, I not only need to pass this course, I need to excel in it. Because psychology is the major I’ve decided to pursue.

I can’t go home to my mother as a failure. She’s still angry at me for accepting this scholarship and for running off to Europe with Dani. Especially since she never approved of my friendship with Dani to begin with.

Dani’s family name is soiled. Her father went to prison when we were sixteen, but Dani won’t tell me for what. All I know is all the court records and proceedings are confidential, which means whatever he did was really bad.

I glance at the clock. Only ten minutes left, and I can’t wait to get out of here. I have hours of reading to do. I look down at my thick psychology textbook, the author’s name bleeding out of the pages, slapping me in the face.

K. Landry.

Suddenly, my attention is caught as my phone buzzes. Not just mine, but everyone’s phone in the vast room buzzes simultaneously. A soft murmur flows through the crowd. Intrigued, I grab it out of my bag, wondering if it’s an emergency text message. As I open the message, a shockwave courses through me, nearly causing my eyes to pop out of their sockets. It’s me… Someone sent a photo of me.

No, not me. This isn’t me.

But it could be me. There is an uncanny resemblance as I stare down at the photo.

“What the fuck?” I whisper and glance over at Dani, who is staring at the same photo.