14. Thea
14
Thea
S ince college had never been on my to-do list, I was woefully unprepared for the workload expected of me. If I’d been a regular student desperate to get good grades, I’d have been panicking by now.
Quite a few students in my classes had shit a brick when our accounting professor informed us we had our first exam next week. To assess the holes in our knowledge, he said, which in my case were extensive. Seeing as how accounting was new to me.
Not that I cared. I had always been good at math, and accounting was math-based. I figured I’d hit the books for a few hours, learn the basics, and I should be fine.
Eden didn’t have to worry about this stuff. She was an art student and spent her time painting and drawing. It sounded like a lot more fun than my stupid degree, but since I’d had no input in the course selection process, I was stuck doing business administration. Yawn .
I was on my way to meet her for lunch. Despite my reluctance to make friends, Eden was growing on me. She was funny, didn’t mind my antisocial tendencies, and was happy to carry the conversation.
Having spent so much of my childhood with only my sister for company, it was nice to have a friend. Someone to sit with at lunchtime. A friendly face to hang out with at student mixer events.
Neither of us walked around in Dior and Chanel. We didn’t hail from families with double-barreled surnames and mansions in the Home Counties. Nor were we second cousins twice removed to minor members of the British royal family.
Eden understood the life I’d grown up in, even if she had no clue about my fucked-up family. From what little she’d told me about her uncle and cousins, Eden was a mafia princess born and bred, but unlike me, she had a father who cared enough to ensure she wasn’t part of that world.
My phone buzzed in my pocket as I walked past the athletic field where a bunch of guys were playing soccer. The sun had disappeared behind a gunmetal gray cloud and rain was imminent, but the soccer players didn’t seem to care.
They tore across the pitch in pursuit of the ball, yelling at each other. I thought I recognized the tall blond guy at the front of the pack, but Eden’s message distracted me.
Eden: Picked up a chocolate brownie for you. Best hurry before I eat it…
Me: Be there in 5
Eden: *thumbs-up emoji*
Just as I shoved my phone back into my pocket, a ball came flying at me. It smacked me hard on the side of my head and I stumbled, almost falling. It was only my quick reaction that stopped me from face-planting on the concrete pavers.
“You fucking idiot!” a furious voice yelled as a tall blond vaulted over the fence. “Shit, are you OK?” the blond asked. I looked up and realized it was Landon. We’d not crossed paths since the party, although I’d caught glimpses of him a few times. Usually surrounded by adoring female fans.
“I’m fine.” I rubbed my cheek and tried not to wince, although I was no stranger to being hit in the face.
No doubt I’d have a colorful bruise by this evening.
“It was an accident,” a bulky guy with cropped hair scoffed as he appeared next to Landon. He looked me up and down dismissively and rolled his eyes. “She’ll be fine.”
Landon went still for a moment before spinning around to face the guy.
“Apologize, now.”
“What the fuck? I said it was an accident!”
“Fucking apologize, Charlie.” I almost smirked at the way Charlie swallowed hard and averted his gaze. It was pretty obvious who the alpha male was in this little pairing.
“Um, sorry for…um…hurting you…” Charlie’s apology lacked sincerity, but I didn’t care. It wasn’t as if he’d kicked the ball at me on purpose. At least, I assumed not.
I’d never met the guy before today.
“Now fuck off,” Landon growled, slipping an arm across my shoulder, startling the hell out of me.
“What are you doing?” I hissed as Charlie sprinted off. I shoved him back with a snarl and Landon had the audacity to look surprised.
“I’m taking you to the medical room for a check-up. You might have a concussion!”
For fuck’s sake, what was wrong with him? “Look, I’m fine, no harm done.”
Being so close to a sweaty male should have repelled me, but the scent of citrus and sweat was apparently my new favorite cologne.
“No, you’re not fine,” he insisted, tugging me down the pathway, despite being halfway through a soccer game. “You need to get checked out. Traumatic brain injuries are serious, Thea.”
I shoved him away again and folded my arms across my chest. The only thing giving me a headache right now was him! “Enough! I am fine! I’ve been hit a million times, Landon, and guess what? No brain damage.”
“What do you mean you’ve been hit a million times?” Dammit, I should have kept my mouth shut.
I sucked in a calming breath. Getting worked up wasn’t helping the situation. Landon clearly had a White Knight complex. Saving helpless girls must be a turn-on for him. What a pity I was as far from helpless as it was possible to be.
“Look, I’m fine, I promise. Eden’s waiting for me, so I have to go. If I feel sick, I’ll get checked out, OK?” He scanned my face to make sure I was telling the truth.
“Give me your phone.” He stuck his hand out expectantly.
“Why?”
He rolled his eyes like I was a dumb bimbo on Love Island, the stupid reality TV show Eden kept waffling about. “So I can add my number to your contacts, obviously.”
I’d never escape if I didn’t do as he asked. It was a miracle Eden hadn’t sent out a search party by now, as her break was nearly over.
I pulled out the cheap phone I’d bought on the shopping trip with Eden, unlocked it and handed it over. Sure enough, there were about 20 messages from Eden asking where I was, each one more frantic than the last. She was even more of a drama queen than Landon.
He opened the contacts and frowned. “You only have Eden’s number in here?”
I shrugged. “I broke my old phone. Not had a chance to move all the info over.” The truth was far sadder - I had no friends - but he seemed to believe my half-assed explanation.
After adding his number and sending a message to his phone, he passed the phone back to me.
“Call me if you feel dizzy or ill. Anytime, OK, gorgeous?”
“Even in the middle of the night?” I teased.
His eyes lit up. “Especially in the middle of the night.” Then he smirked. “Maybe I should come and stay with you tonight. Just in case you feel ill.”
The thought of Landon in my bed was… way too much. I needed to shut this down before he got the wrong idea and thought I was into him.
I definitely wasn’t into him.
Not at all.
No way.
God.
I was so into him.
“I have to go. Bye.” I shot off toward the cafeteria, hoping like hell he hadn’t seen me blush like a schoolgirl.
By the time I reached the table where Eden sat waiting, I’d calmed down. She took one look at my bruised face and shoved a chocolate brownie at me. To her credit, it had no visible bite marks. The girl had cast-iron willpower. There was no way the cake would have been intact if it had been me left waiting for her.
“Glad I saved it for you, you look like you need the sugar.”
“Thanks.” I shoved it in my mouth and chewed. Not quite as good as the cakes our cook back home made, but still delicious.
“So what happened?” She lowered her voice conspiratorially. “Have you been beating up assholes again?”
“No, I got hit in the face by a football.”
Eden looked almost disappointed. Maybe her home life was more violent than I thought if my beating up random men was entertainment for her.
“Did you kill the guy?”
From the hopeful expression on her face, I wasn’t entirely sure she was joking.
“No, I figured it would be too difficult to hide a corpse in the middle of the day,” I deadpanned.
She nodded with understanding. “God, yes, that would be tricky. Declan has a team he calls when things get, um, messy. He calls them the cleaning crew. They drive around in a small refrigerated van.”
My jaw nearly fell open but I managed to school my expression. “That sounds… useful.” Maybe I should get their number. The way my life panned out, I needed people like that in my corner.
Eden grinned. “He uses them a lot.”
It sounded like meeting Declan Kelly would be an interesting experience given he seemed even more violently inclined than me.
My burner phone buzzed with a message alert and I pulled it from my pocket with a frown. Eden was the only person who knew this number. I made sure I kept my official phone on silent mode, well out of sight in a hidden pocket in my bag.
Eden looked at the screen. Her eyebrows shot up toward her hairline when she saw the name ‘ Landon your future husband ’ on the screen. “Why is Landon Rothmore texting you?” She looked worried on my behalf. “And why does he think he’s your future husband? He’s a total fuckboy!”
I sighed and stood, pushing the phone back into my pocket without replying. I’d read his message later. He was probably worried about the state of my brain. Frankly, I was too.
“Long story.”
“Oh no, you’re not walking away without explaining, Thea!” I ignored her and trotted off toward my next class, which I was now very late for.
“Catch you later!” I called, feeling a bit bad that I was running out on her, but not bad enough to slow down.
“You better, bitch!” she yelled. “I want the full story!”
There was no story, but I doubted she’d believe me. She was the kind of girl who swooned over celebrity showmances and read OTT mountain man novels for fun. OK, I did too - the romance novels, not the celeb gossip pages - but there was nothing remotely interesting going on between me and Landon.
Nothing whatsoever.