Chapter 4
GO SAVE HUMANITY
Lexi
Damn it! Ten o’clock? A pit of dread sank to the bottom of my stomach as I glared at my traitorous alarm clock.
The framed photo of my mom, the one thing I’d managed to unpack last night, stared back at me, blue eyes shining with disappointment.
How the hell did I manage to miss my first class on my first day of school?
Shoving the comforter back, I leapt out of bed and the entire room spun.
Oh right, vodka.
I turned my wrath toward my new roommate who was still sprawled across the bed on the opposite side of our grand chamber.
“Cordelia,” I growled. Nothing. I trudged across the dark wood floor and shook my new friend.
Strands of black and purple hair streaked across her face.
“Wake up. It’s ten o’clock, and we already missed our first class. ”
She mumbled something incoherent and buried her head under the pillow.
“Fine, whatever,” I mumbled. “I’m going to my next class.” Some of us had a scholarship and a minimum GPA to keep up. Missing a Geology lecture wouldn’t kill me, but Biochemistry? That was a big deal.
I dragged my hungover ass to the bathroom, thanking all the gods for private facilities in this uber fancy university.
Turning the faucet to the coldest I could handle, I shed my pajamas and hopped in.
The icy chill was like a slap in the face.
Just what I needed after the copious amounts of alcohol I’d sucked down last night.
I’d learned from an early age it numbed the pain and the gaping hole in my chest. The upside of this particular bender?
I’d discovered Cordelia seemed like a pretty decent girl, so I definitely lucked out in that department.
It had been a while since I’d had a best friend.
A pair of deep green irises flickered across my mind, stealing all the air from my lungs.
Killian.
Laughing and chasing each other at the playground.
Nights huddled together, hiding out in the treehouse with his dad’s drunken shouts echoing from the back porch.
His big hand closed around mine at Mom’s funeral.
My heart punched at my ribs as the dark memories rose to the surface. The scent of cigars and scotch filled my nostrils, and my gut roiled. Squeezing my eyes shut, I shoved the darkness back, burying it and my once-best friend in the murky recesses. Nope, not going there.
I quickly finished up, toweled off and tiptoed back into the bedroom.
Cordelia’s quiet snores floated through the air.
A swirl of jealousy pricked at my insides.
I’d never had it easy, never been able to not give a hundred and ten percent.
From what my new roommate had shared with me last night, she hadn’t exactly been born into money.
Her dad had developed some reading app and struck it rich when bought it a few years ago.
She’d gone from middle-class, small-town Maine to yacht clubs and private jets.
Cordelia hadn’t said it in so many words, but I had a feeling the old-money families of Stonewall weren’t particularly fond of the nouveau riche any more than they were the scholarship kids. Stuck up assholes.
I tugged on a vintage Rolling Stones t-shirt and wiggled into a worn pair of jeans, then slumped onto the bed and laced up my ratty Converse.
Cordelia’s Valentino studded sandals scoffed at me from across the way.
How would I ever fit in with all the rich sorority girls and their designer everything?
A rush of nerves churned in my gut, and the mixture of that and the wicked hangover had my stomach roiling.
Do not puke, Lexi. I drew in a deep breath and forced myself off the bed. My backpack and textbooks sat by the door, ready to go, but my feet were rooted to the floor. The stack of books stared back at me, taunting.
Biochemistry.
Endocrinology.
Genetics.
I had to maintain a 3.6 grade point average to keep my scholarship, and Stonewall was known to be hard as fuck. Imposter syndrome kicked in, and my heart pounded out a manic beat. What if I couldn’t cut it?
Cordelia rolled over and mumbled something again, jerking me from the downward spiral.
Shoving back the panic, I crept closer and poked her in the shoulder. “You awake?”
“Blah,” she muttered.
“We missed our first class.” After Cordelia mentioned she was taking Geology too, I’d actually been looking forward to having someone I knew in class.
“It’s just Rocks for Jocks. No one cares about that class.” She rubbed her eyes and let out a yawn. “On the plus side, all the hot jocks take it.”
“Now I get the name.”
She sat up and dragged a hand through her messy bob. “Last night was fun. I have high hopes for you, bitch.”
“Thanks.” I smirked. Nothing like inappropriate language to force me out of my head. After only one night with my roommate, I was starting to love the curse word she used as a term of endearment. “I guess I should go. I don’t want to be late for Biochem.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’ve heard Williams is a hardass, but that’s what you get when you go for a major like pre-med. Overachiever much?”
I shook my head at my new friend. I hadn’t told her about Mom yet. It didn’t feel like a first night, getting to know you type conversation. I’d let her see all my dark, broken parts when I was good and ready. “I just want to make a difference in the world.”
“Oh stop, you’re going to make me puke.” She shot me a grin. “Go save humanity, Lexi. I’ll be right here planning our costumes for tonight.”
My brows slammed together. “Costumes? Tonight?”
“I didn’t tell you about the infamous masquerade the Sigma Delts put on every year?”
“No, no you did not.”
She waved a nonchalant hand. “It’s only the biggest event in all of Copper Cove.
The Sigma Deltas are notorious on campus.
They’re all secretive and shit, and the house is hella creepy.
All the guys are gorgeous, smart and wealthy, of course, which means they’re assholes, but they’re hot as fuck and know how to have fun. ”
“On a school night?”
“Hell yes. Trust me, you’re going to need it after Biochemistry and all those other mind-numbing classes you signed up for.”
My thoughts whirled to my one suitcase overflowing with no-name clothes. “But I don’t have anything to wear.”
Cordelia jumped up, hangover seemingly forgotten, and a huge smile split her lips.
“Lucky for you, I’ve attended every year and have quite an array of masks and costumes.
Don’t you worry your pretty little head, I’ve got you.
” She pushed me toward the door, despite my protests.
“Now, go! The sooner this day is over, the sooner we can get to the party.”
An unexpected laugh slipped out as she shoved me into the busy hall. Sure, a masquerade on the first night of school. Sounded like just what I needed.
“Psst.”
Tearing my attention away from the professor, I glanced at the guy beside me.
He pointed at the floor, to the silver pen rolling down the aisle between us.
I bent down and grabbed it before it darted past. The cold metal felt heavy in my palm.
The damned thing probably cost more than my computer.
I glanced at the fancy script engraved along the side of the pen: Micah Preston.
Warm hazel eyes met mine through dark-rimmed glasses, and the guy’s lips slid into an easy grin. “Thank you,” he mouthed as I handed him the pen.
The remainder of the class flew by in a blur, my fingers manically tapping across the keyboard of my old laptop. I definitely wasn’t at San Carlo CC anymore. One look at the syllabus had my anxiety through the roof.
“Class is over, you know.”
A warm male voice drew me from my panic attack, and I glanced up to find those light, hazel eyes watching me beneath a tumble of blonde hair.
“Oh, right.” I slammed my laptop closed and stood.
“You’re new, huh?”
“Is it that obvious?”
He smiled. “Stonewall’s pretty small, and I’m fairly sure I would’ve remembered you. There aren’t that many hot biology majors.”
Heat raced up my neck and spread across my cheeks. I whipped my hair across my face in a lame attempt to hide behind the crimson curtain. “How’d you know I was a bio major?”
“Not many other students would be in a third-year biochemistry class.”
“Good assumption.” I turned toward the door, and he stepped into stride beside me.
“I’m Micah by the way.”
“Lexi,” I replied, pretending his name was new information. “So are you pre-med too?”
“I am. My dad’s a neurosurgeon, just like his father and his grandfather.”
“Ah, gotcha.”
He held the door open, and I led the way into the bustling corridor.
“You sound a little bitter.”
“Am I that obvious?” He smirked, echoing my earlier words. “Nah, it’s just that journalism is my real passion. I’m a double major, actually.”
“How very ambitious of you.”
He shrugged as we walked down the hall. “For me, there’s nothing like the thrill of the chase. Unearthing all the dirty details of a story, uncovering the hidden agenda, the whole investigative process really.”
“It’s kind of like being a doctor though, right? Finding an answer, discovering a cure...”
“Exactly.” His smile grew wider as he regarded me. “You really get me, pre-med. Want to grab some lunch?” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder at the university cafeteria. I’d walked by it yesterday, and it was more like a five-star restaurant than the assortment of fast-food places I was used to.
“I can’t actually. I have another class in ten minutes.” I tugged my schedule out of my pocket.
He scanned the print-out, his lips twisting. “Ooh, I feel sorry for you. Mirkoff for Genetics is brutal.”
“Great.”
Micah ran his finger over the black type. “But... we do have Endocrinology together tomorrow, so that’s something.”
“Whoopee.”
“I’m going to pretend that sarcasm wasn’t directed at me.” He pulled out his cell phone and handed it over. “Give me your number so we can hang out sometime.”
“Uh, sure.” Damn, rich guys were way more sure of themselves than the typical dirtbags who hit on me back home. I typed out my name and digits as he watched expectantly.
“You going to the Sigma Delta party tonight?”
“I guess I am. My roommate, Cordelia Chesson, is dragging me.”
“Oh, sure, I’ve seen her around. She used to hook up with a friend who graduated last year.”
“She seems cool.”
“She’s definitely down for a good time,” he said. “Just watch yourself, pre-med. The academics here are no joke.”
“I pretty much figured that out after my first hour.” I’d been number one in my class at San Carlo Community College, but here, I was no one. Just the new scholarship girl. “Speaking of, I should go.”
Micah dipped his head and threw me a warm smile. “I’ll look for you at the party tonight.”
Right. A frat party on a school night, what could possibly go wrong?