Like I’d never had sex before Jeremy at the after prom. Poor Mom. What she didn’t know couldn’t hurt her, or freak her out.
“Mom,” I cut in, giving her a look. No, not just a look. The look. The look that said I can handle this. “Everything will be fine. I promise.”
She laughed, shaking her head softly. “I’m supposed to be the one telling you that, Ash.”
I gave my mom another hug after walking her to the door. Hillcrest University wasn’t too far from my hometown—four hours—but it was a hell of a long drive just for a weekend. I doubted I’d be going home for normal weekends. Only weekends that involved holidays, maybe.
Standing in the hallway, my mom watched as other parents and students walked by in the hall, moving in just as we’d done earlier. “Be safe,” Helen whispered, her eyes locking with mine. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” As I watched her go, I grinned to myself. I thought I’d be sad, anxious, something, but I wasn’t. I was just here. If anything, I was excited. I was in college, finally, almost like an adult but not really. This was the start of a new chapter in my life, and I was more than ready for it.
Hillcrest University, then soon the world. I’d take it all on, and I’d enjoy doing it.
Once my mom disappeared down the hallway, I heaved a sigh and closed the door. I didn’t want to hear the hustle and bustle in the hallway, and I didn’t need constant interruptions as people looked in to snoop. If they didn’t already hear that HU had accepted a single girl as a trial run, well, they’d find out soon enough.
I unpacked my suitcases, putting my clothes in the dresser and hanging my shirts in the closet. I placed my TV above the dresser, hooked it into the wall outlet, and had it surfing for channels as I started to make my bed. My gaming systems would remain in their boxes until later. I was tired, and I honestly wanted to take a nap. Unpacking was hard.
I glanced over my shoulder, looking at the other side of the room. I hadn’t met Declan before, but he seemed…normal enough. A part of me had been expecting a goth or someone weird who I couldn’t get along with, but judging from his stuff, he seemed alright. His bed was covered in a brown comforter, nothing but his laptop sitting on his desk.
When my bed was made, I meandered to the small kitchenette area, bending inside the small fridge to see if Declan had brought food. If not, we’d have to get some. I didn’t want to eat out constantly. It was pretty well-stocked with food, though. We wouldn’t have a problem with food for a few weeks, at least, depending on how much he ate.
I grabbed a cold water bottle and unscrewed the cap, about to walk back to my side when I heard the door open. It was not Declan who walked in, but his father, Dean Briggs. The man was near fifty, his hair a greying brown and his eyes kind. I liked him, even if the suit he wore cost as much as my mom’s used car. A goatee sat on his face, the majority of it still brown, unlike the rest of his hair.
“Ah, you’re here,” Dean Briggs spoke, giving me a smile. “Your mother?”
“She just left,” I said. “She had to get back to her work.”
Dean Briggs studied the room. “I see Declan’s not here. He’s probably in the library, wishing he was old enough to graduate already.” Right. Because Declan was in his second year here. He was a sophomore rooming with a freshman. I didn’t know why my mom was worried about me getting mocked. Declan was the lame one.
I watched as Dean Briggs reached into his suit jacket’s pocket, pulling out a small card and handing it to me. Plastic, looked a bit like a credit card, but I knew it wasn’t. It had the Hillcrest University symbol on it, and then in big bold letters Meal Card.
“I didn’t choose a meal plan,” I said. My tuition here wasn’t covered one hundred percent, so I had to take out a few loans to be here. I’d opted out of everything that wasn’t mandatory to save costs.
“I know. This is from me,” he said, giving me a smile. “You can use it anywhere on campus, and a few places on Main Street, too.”
Free food? The man was offering me free food? Well…how could a girl say no to that?
“Thank you,” I said, doing my best to hide my shock. Maybe rooming with the dean’s son wasn’t going to be too bad after all. I wasn’t going to deny some special treatment.
Dean Briggs fiddled with the top button on his suit jacket. “I did hope to catch you before classes began. I hope it’s not too much, but I was hoping to ask if you’d look after my son.” Traces of hesitation lingered in his voice, and when I met his benevolent, warm eyes, I didn’t know what to say.
He wanted me to babysit his son?
“Declan didn’t have a good time last year. There was…let’s just call it an incident. I’m worried about him. If you could watch him, make sure he doesn’t do anything…wrong, I would be forever grateful.” When I said nothing, he went on, “Having the dean of HU owe you is not something any other student could say.”
If I babysat his son, the dean would owe me? When he put it like that, how in the world could I say no?
“Of course,” I said.
He nodded once. “Thank you. Now, I should go before Declan comes back. It should go without saying but…” Dean Briggs quieted, a darkness flashing behind his gaze. “Please don’t tell him I asked you to look after him. It would only embarrass him, I think. And if anything should happen, do not hesitate to call my office. At night, I have the line forwarded to my cell, in case of emergencies. You’ll always be able to reach me.” He said nothing else as he left, closing the door behind him.
Still holding onto the meal card, I felt my eyebrows coming together. A strange sense of foreboding rose within me. What in the world did I get myself into?
Chapter Two - Ash
Declan didn’t come back for hours, and I got tired of waiting for him, so I hopped in the shower to rinse off the day’s sweat. After I planned on blow-drying my hair and heading out. Hey, I had a meal card now—one I didn’t have to pay for. I wasn’t not going to use it. There was nothing better than free food.
Once I was out of the shower, I dried myself with a towel and grabbed my brush, getting the knots out before I started to blow hot air on it. The hot hair wasn’t good for the pink ends, but I brought more than enough dye to redo it for the next two months.
I dressed in another pair of shorts and a t-shirt that was a bit holey. From the bits and pieces I’d seen of the others in the hall, I was going to stand out for what was between my legs and what I covered my body with. Oh, well. These guys needed a taste of the real world.
Leaving the bathroom, I went to grab the meal card and my skateboard, but the instant I left the safety of the bathroom, I froze.
Declan had returned sometime while I was in the shower. He was…not at all what I’d been expecting the dean’s son to be like.
For starters, he didn’t wear nice clothes. I knew that with the salary his dad was making here, he could afford those shirts that cost a few hundred dollars and those jeans that were rubbed with fake dirt to make it look like he was a working man. He was clean enough, I supposed, but normal.
Declan Briggs looked normal.