“Mind if I sit here?” he asks.
I furrow my brows. “Well, you’re already sitting, so it’s probably a little too late to ask if it’s okay.”
He chuckles. “I’m Hunter Duran.”
“Cove Lawson,” I say, not offering him anything else. I’m really not in the mood to chat, even to a boy as beautiful as Hunter.
As much as I hate to admit it, it does sting to be blown off. I know that Preston could still show up tonight, but something tells me he won’t be here.
“Why aren’t you joining the party?” Hunter raises an eyebrow. “You’re way too pretty to be sitting over here by yourself.”
My cheeks grow warm. “Why aren’t you at the party?”
He shrugs, stretching his legs out in front of him. “Parties aren’t really my thing.”
“Me either.”
Usually I skip them, but…
Preston.
Stupid boy.
Honestly, I shouldn’t even try to get a boyfriend. Boys are overrated anyway.
Still, I do turn and look behind me in hopes that Preston might’ve shown up. Maybe then I wouldn’t feel so silly. Even though nobody knows but Liam and me, I feel like everybody can tell that a boy blew me off tonight. I feel so… embarrassed.
Hunter nods. “I get it. You came here for a boy.”
I whip my head up to look at him.
Can he really tell? Do I really look that pathetic?
Without a word, I push myself off the ground, stomping away from Hunter Duran. I spot Liam standing by some girl—Arabella, I realize.
Arabella and Hunter could be twins—not because they look alike, but because they’re both evil.
Okay, maybe Hunter isn’t evil, but I still don’t like him. It’s like he can read my thoughts. Maybe he can.
“I think I’m going to head back,” I say to Liam, completely ignoring the glare from the tall blonde next to him.
“What’s wrong, Coco?” Liam furrows his brows, clearly concerned about me.
Arabella sneers. “Did somebody take your juice box away?”
I turn to glare at her.
Arabella puts her hands on her hips. “It’s pathetic that you came up to flirt with Liam anyway—he’s way out of your league.”
Liam and I both laugh.
“He’s my brother, but thanks for the advice.” I grin entirely too big at her mix up.
Now that she’s been mean to me in front of Liam, she doesn’t have a shot. He’ll always choose me over random mean girls in high school.
Arabella’s face turns red with embarrassment. She mumbles a quick apology before stumbling off. Liam and I laugh as soon as she’s gone.
After a moment, Liam looks at me, concern on his face. “Are you all right, Coco?”
“I’m fine. I just…” I wave a hand. “All of this just isn’t my thing.”
He nods. “All right. Do you want me to walk you back?”
But he’s already looking at another girl.
He doesn’t want to go, and I don’t want him to go.
“I’ll be fine,” I assure him. “Go have fun. I’ll just see you tomorrow.”
“If you insist.” He grins, turning to walk off toward another leggy blonde.
He really does have the worst taste.
After that, I turn and head back down the path, toward the dorm rooms. As I’m walking through the woods, I hear a twig snap behind me. I jerk around to look and see what made the noise, but it’s too dark to see.
It’s probably just a squirrel. Or maybe even other students.
Still, I can’t quite shake the feeling that somebody is watching me.
I turn around, picking up my pace as I sprint toward the dorms. I’m not much of a runner, so I am out of breath by the time I get back to my building. I manage to heave myself through the window, only breathing a sigh of relief once my window is locked in place.
I put a hand against my racing heart, looking around my room to make sure that I am alone. Once I know that I am, I change into my pajamas and head to bed.
I don’t know what is wrong with me. I’m never paranoid like that. Still, I can’t shake the eerie feeling.
Reaching over, I shut off my light, attempting to go to sleep.
Saturday, August 22
Don’t blow me off again.
I sleep in on Saturday morning since I was up so late last night.
Well, sleeping in is probably a bit of an exaggeration. I slept until seven, which is pretty late for me. Usually, I am up by six o’clock in the morning. Liam thinks I’m weird for it, but I think he’s weird for staying awake until three o’clock nearly every morning.
Still, knowing Liam won’t be up before noon, I skip breakfast and opt to hide out in my room. I’m not much for eating breakfast anyway. At noon, I get a text from Liam asking to meet me in the dining hall. I slip on my shoes quickly, glancing in the mirror at myself. As much as I want to say I don’t care what people think of me, I do want to make a good impression.
I was bored earlier, so I took the time to curl my long brown hair. I think it looks pretty, but what if the others think I’m trying to hard?
I groan, stepping away from the mirror.
It doesn’t matter. People here will just have to like me for me.
Heading out of my dorm, I make my way to the dining hall.
It’s nice outside today—the sun is shining and it’s warm. I know that soon the leaves will be changing and the weather will be turning cold. I want to soak up as much sun as I possibly can.
“Coat!” I hear somebody yell and then I hear footsteps run up beside me.
I look over to see Preston Lomax panting beside me.
“Hey,” he says.
I narrow my eyes at him. “Did you call me Coat?”
“Is that not your name?” He raises an eyebrow.
I shake my head. “It’s Cove.”
“Cove?” he repeats.
I nod.
“Huh.” He rubs a hand at the back of his neck. “So, what are you up to?”
“Heading to get lunch with my brother.” I motion ahead, toward the dining hall.
“Nice, I’m hungry too. I’ll walk with you.”
I roll my eyes, but keep my mouth shut.
Preston is the boy who can’t even remember my name. He blew me off last night. I just met him, so he’s hurt my ego more than my feelings, but Preston is the kind of guy who could crush a girl. He’ll pretend to be interested just enough and then just completely ditch you.
“Are you mad at me?” Preston opens the door to the dining hall, motioning me to walk through first.
“What gave you that idea?” I ask, as I walk inside, going to get in the short line.
“Just the glares and eye rolls.” He smirks, bumping his shoulder against mine. “Come on, Cove. You can’t stay mad at me.”
I huff. “You blew me off last night.”
His eyes widen. “Right. I did tell you to meet me at the lake.” He puts a hand on my arm. “I’m sorry. I completely forgot about that. A buddy of mine arrived late and I hung out with them—I hadn’t seen them all summer. We had a lot to catch up on.”
“Uh huh.” I turn away from him, picking out what I want to eat.