Karlie
I bit back my groan as I entered my dorm room.
Today was the worst.
Not only did I fail my psych midterm, but I also got into a fight with my mother about my declining grades. She expected far too much from me, more than I could deal with at the moment.
It had always been this way; nothing I did was ever good enough. I had figured that when I went off to college, she would let up and stop treating me like I was some big disappointment of a daughter.
Nothing changed except the distance.
Face-planting onto my bed, I sighed into the pillow. I had only closed my eyes momentarily before the sound of keys turning in the door snapped me out of my despair.
I turned onto my back just as Cassie, my roommate, walked into the room: arms filled with books, blonde hair all over the place, and looking worn out as usual.
“Hey Cas, been studying?”
She let out an exasperated sigh.
“Always.”
That was the thing about Cassie. She always had her head in a book, whether it be for class or entertainment; it was guaranteed she would be off in her own little world. She was smart as hell, more so than I could ever hope to be.
From the moment we met freshman year, I knew we were going to get along just fine, and not soon after, she became the closest thing to a sister I would ever have.
“I failed Professor Harp’s Midterm.”
My voice was barely a whisper as I confessed what would most likely be her worst nightmare; she had never once judged me for my bad grades, but I knew Cassie would freak out if she got anything lower than an A herself.
“Kar, what are you going to do?”
I groaned into my hands.
“I talked to her after class, and she told me I could write a paper for extra credit.”
Writing a paper was the last thing I wanted to do, but I was glad I had a chance to redeem my grade.
“Well, that’s a relief, don’t screw it up.”
Cassie gave me a smirk as I rolled my eyes.
Briefly mentioning that she would be out studying with her boyfriend, Cassie grabbed her bag and headed out the door. I would’ve loved to say that was code for her hooking up with him, but I knew she meant they would actually be studying.
How boring.
I decided to head out for a little while myself; maybe getting a coffee and some fresh air would do me good.
Well, that’s what my father would have advised anyway.
I miss him so much sometimes.
My father was my best friend, a man with a heart so big it killed him…well, that’s at least what I would’ve liked to think.
He died when I was 15; one minute, I was in the middle of my algebra class, and the next, I was being called down to the Principal’s office.
The look on Principal Langley’s face had told me all I needed to know…something terrible had happened.
My mother rushed to get me from school and bring me to the hospital, but by the time we got there, it was too late.
I never even got to say goodbye.
It was hard without him around. My mother got more and more irritable as the years went by, and deep down, I knew she resented me for not being able to see him for the last time.
Avoiding her whenever possible had been the goal of surviving in our house after he was gone. The pictures of him all boarded up, his memory stored away; it was an unspoken rule to never bring him up in her presence.
It was like he never existed.
I don’t think I’ll ever really be able to get over his death; he’ll be with me forever, and that was something my mother could never take away.
I swallowed my grief as I walked across campus, keeping my head down every step of the way; I always hated being perceived, and that’s probably why I didn’t have too many friends.
As I entered, the coffee shop was quiet. The few students sitting in here had their heads buried in work, unaware of anything surrounding them, and that’s precisely why I liked the place so much.
No one would bother me here.
I ordered a small black coffee and headed to the empty booth in the back. Cassie always tells me I’m crazy for not getting cream or sugar.
‘How can you enjoy the bitter taste?’
It usually made me laugh. Why order coffee if you don’t like the taste of coffee? Her drink orders always ended up being some sugar-filled dessert rather than a beverage, and the thought of all that sweetness made me gag internally.
The two of us were completely opposite in every way, but I liked that; she balanced me out, and I did the same for her.
I sipped on my coffee, letting the steam burn my tongue as the liquid filled my mouth.
I have never been a patient woman.
The sky outside darkened as the hours passed. I checked my phone and saw it was already 6 p.m. I should probably head back to my dorm; walking alone in the dark freaked me out. I knew it was unavoidable, especially with daylight savings being over and the sun setting closer to 5 p.m. every day.
The dangers that lurked in the dark, the fears that have been instilled inside me for as long as I could remember of terrifying men who got off on raping and murdering their prey.
The perks of being a woman.
I headed down the dark path back to my dorm. Not a lot of people were out, which caused my anxiety to intensify. I tried to calm my nerves, walking with my keys tucked between my fingers.
I should probably invest in some pepper spray…
I wasn’t quite sure how efficient my makeshift weapon would be if the need arose to use it. I had my fair share of unpleasant encounters with predatory men throughout my life, but thankfully, I had never been in any serious danger.
I relaxed a bit as I approached my building, feeling more secure that I was almost home.
“Don’t you know it isn’t safe for pretty girls to be out all alone in the dark?”
Internally rolling my eyes, god, I’d recognize that voice anywhere.
“Caden, fuck off.”
I growled, not in the mood to deal with him tonight.
Caden was the typical bad boy: tall, attractive, a little sadistic, and the girls on campus fawned over him like he was a Greek god or something. He was aggravatingly charming, never settled for anyone, only ever indulging in one-night stands, always loving a good game of cat and mouse, and the girls he seduced never had a chance at winning against him.
He was the type of guy you kept your distance from; otherwise, you would end up heartbroken and harboring resentment for the entirety of the male species.
I should know that better than anyone.
“Deep down, you adore me, no matter how hard you try to convince yourself otherwise.”
Caden was now in front of me, wearing his signature smirk, and boy, did I want to slap it off his face. His cocky attitude was nothing new; this was our thing, after all, him toying with me and me denying him the satisfaction.
“Hell would have to freeze over before that would ever be true.”
I shook my head, wishing he would just go away tonight.
“What do I have to do to win you over, Karlie?”
His words dripping with lust.
Yea...not going to happen again.
I learned my lesson well enough last time.
“Let me think…be somebody else.”
I snarkily replied, pushing him out of my way before continuing into the building. He followed behind me, continuing to annoy me with every step.
“Ouch, that really stung.”
I shook my head, ignoring his faux sadness, and pushed the key into my door. I was so not in the mood for this. He roughly turned me around before I could open it.
My back now pressed against the door, Caden’s arm caged me in, his hand against the frame above my head. I gulped at the proximity of our faces.
Fuck, he was way too close.
I tried not to focus on his other hand playing with a lock of my hair. His intimidatingly green eyes stared deeply into mine, and I shook off the tingly feeling in the pit of my stomach.
While I hated his guts most of the time, I was still human, which meant I wasn’t completely unaware of how attractive he was and the effect he always seemed to have on my body…it was a shame he didn’t have the personality to match his looks.
“Caden, what are you doing?”
My voice came out shakier than I intended.
Caden leaned in closer, his lips almost touching mine, and for a second, I forgot how to breathe. I froze as I imagined how they would feel again—would they be just as soft as they had been in the past?
A gnawing disappointment ate at my gut as he moved his mouth close to my ear instead; his hot breath sent shivers down my spine.
“Did you think I was going to kiss you, Karlie? I’m not going to lay a finger on that sexy little body of yours, not until you’re begging me for it…on your hands and knees.”
I shook off my sudden lapse in sanity and roughly pushed him away from me, making him stumble backward a little.
He smirked as I slammed the door in his face.
I locked it behind me before sliding to the floor; my hands tugged at my hair as I contemplated how I could get away with his murder.
Caden always knew how to push my buttons; he knew exactly how to drive me insane, and I hated him for that.
He was my own personal nightmare brought to life...
Fuck my body for spiraling every time he got too close to me.
