Chapter 2
Tessa
I make my way slowly back to my dorm trying not to feel too much.
Evie’s already been spending most nights at Zane’s, so I should be used to it.
But my best friend is officially moving out today.
I already knew today was going to be rough and then I had that weird run-in with Slater Thorne.
But I remind myself that it’s not a bad morning; it’s just a bad few minutes.
Add to that, it’s Sunday, and I don’t have classes today.
“This is going to be a good day,” I tell myself right as I walk inside my dorm.
I make my way up to the second floor and make a plan for my day.
I'm not going to let my circumstances get me down. I’m almost to my room when I see two girls standing right outside my door with suitcases.
They're talking to each other and don’t see me coming.
When I’m about to open the door to the room I share with Stephanie, one of them notices and turns to me.
“Oh, do you live in this room?” she asks, nodding at my door.
“Yes.”
“Oh. Great. We’ll be suitemates.”
The other one turns around, and I do a double take.
“You’re twins,” I blurt out. They grin, and it’s so similar, it’s almost creepy.
They’re both tall redheads and gorgeous.
“I’m Tessa.” I stick my hand out, and the first girl looks at it a moment before offering her hand.
..sort of. She kind of just lets me grasp her fingers; it’s really kind of odd.
“I’m Felicia.”
“And I’m Faith.” Thankfully, Faith’s hair is much shorter, so I can tell the two of them apart.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you both. Welcome. Are you both new, or are you moving from another dorm?”
“Oh, we’re not new,” Felicia explains. “We were supposed to room together at the beginning of the year, but somehow they messed it up.” She rolls her eyes. “We’ve been waiting for something to open up, and it looks like this room just did.” She beams a smile at me that’s so...bright.
“That’s great. Do you have more to bring in?” I ask, trying not to be sad that they’re moving in. It’s not their fault that my best friend is no longer living in the next room.
“Well, we certainly have more than one suitcase each,” Faith says with a laugh.
“I can help you bring in your things,” I offer.
“Really?” Felicia says with a big, bright smile. “That would be so amazing. Look at that; we’re going to be besties in no time flat.” Faith smiles and nods, and they both look back at me.
“I’ll show you where our old rooms are,” Faith tells me and starts down the hallway.
I follow after her, hurrying to keep up with her long-legged stride.
When we get outside, she turns to me. “Thankfully, it’s not too far.
” We end up walking to one of the dorms that’s not what I would consider close, but I guess that’s just me.
Literally, everyone we pass greets Faith by name.
Nobody pays any attention to me, but I’m fine with that.
The sooner we get this done, the sooner I can get back to enjoying my Sunday.
I need to study this morning and then get some sleep before I have to work tonight.
Thankfully, I didn’t have to work last night, so I got some good sleep.
A nap today will set me up really well for tonight.
“All right,” Faith says when we get to the second floor.
“My room’s right down here.” She opens the door to her room, and my eyes widen.
“This is all yours?” I ask as I take in the stacks of boxes.
“It’s not all that much,” she says with a laugh. “Wait until you see all of Felicia’s stuff downstairs.” She picks up a box and then holds the door open, and I move quickly to grab a box. It's heavier than I thought it would be, and I have to adjust my grip to avoid dropping it.
“Okay. I'm good.” I follow her out into the hallway and make the trek back to our dorm. When I make it back to their room, I’m already sweating. “Where do you want it?”
“Oh, right on the floor there is fine,” Felicia says. “Thank you so much, Theresa; we couldn’t do this without you.” She gives my arm a squeeze, and I don’t bother to correct her on my name because she’s already out the door. “I’ll take this next trip with you.”
I follow her reluctantly out into the hallway.
I wonder briefly if there’s a way to get out of helping, but then I feel bad.
I had help moving in; the only right thing to do is offer help to others.
So, I hurry to catch up with her. It doesn’t take me long to work up a sweat and an appetite, but I don’t stop.
Faith was right; Felicia has even more boxes in her room.
It doesn’t escape my notice that I take far more trips than either of them do, but I don’t give up.
When we finally finish, I escape to my room and crash face first onto my bed.
“What’s wrong with you?” Stephanie asks.
I turn my head to her but keep my body in the same position. “I helped move in our two new suitemates.”
Her eyes light up. “Oh, are they nice?”
I only pause a second. “Yeah. I think so.” I hear my phone ding and lift it in front of my face. “Is it really already almost three?”
Stephanie nods. “Yeah.” I groan. “Why? What’s wrong?”
I sigh. “Nothing. I just didn’t realize how late it was.
” I give up on the nap I was going to get and grab my textbooks instead.
I grab everything I need and spread them out on the floor and then get settled.
I put my headphones in and get started. I come up for air around six.
Stephanie’s already left for dinner, so I’m alone.
I decide to forgo dinner and take a quick nap before I have to clock in.
The nap will do me far better than dinner, especially if it’s not a good dinner.
I’ll just eat a pack of crackers from my stash.
I put my books away and crawl under the blankets on my bed.
I close my eyes and let my body relax. I’ve barely closed my eyes when the music starts.
There’s a heavy thumping beat, and I open my eyes slowly.
I throw back my covers and head into the bathroom.
The volume increases, and I wonder how they have any hearing left.
I knock on their door but don’t hear anything.
I knock again, but there’s no answer. I open the door and step into their room.
“Hey,” I call out. Felicia’s the first one to notice me.
She turns to me with a grin. “Can you turn the music down?” I ask.
“Oh.” She turns around and finds the speaker and mutes it. Instant relief pours through me.
“Sorry. I have to work tonight, so I need to sleep for a little bit. I wanted to see if it was possible to keep the music turned down. It doesn’t need to be turned off, just not quite so loud.”
“Oh, sure. Of course.”
I breathe a sigh of relief. “Thank you. All right. I’ll see you.”
“See you,” Faith calls out over her shoulder from where she’s currently hanging up her clothes.
I walk back over to my room. I close my bathroom door and make my way over to my bed.
I try the whole process again. It takes less than thirty seconds.
I squeeze my eyes shut when I hear the music start up again.
It sounds just as loud as it did before, and I wonder what exactly they missed.
I grab my headphones and put on quiet music, but it’s kind of pointless.
I can literally feel the bass beat thrumming through my body.
I finally give up and get out of bed and start getting dressed for work.
I throw my hair up into a ponytail and don my ugly-as-all-get-out security outfit of black men's pants, an ugly gray polo, and a yellow reflective vest. It’s obvious the outfits weren’t designed for women, especially short women.
I have to roll the pants up several times.
I pack my bag for the night, eat a pack of peanut butter crackers, fill up my water bottle, and start making my way across campus.
My shift runs from eight at night to six in the morning.
I make the walk across campus to the security shack where I’ll need to check in. “Hey, Dan.”
“Tessa,” he greets with a smile.
“Easy day?”
He nods. “Yes.”
“Good; that’s what we like to hear.” Dan has the shift right ahead of mine, and is almost always in the guard shack when I’m ready to clock in. He usually gives me a rundown of the day. “I think they’re moving you tonight.”
I finish clocking in and turn to him. “Yeah? Where to?”
“I’m not sure exactly; I just heard Bill say that they were moving a few people around. Yours was one of the names he said.”
“Thanks for the heads-up, Dan. I appreciate it.”
“Of course, Tessa.” I put my flashlight in my pocket. “Have a good night.”
“You too.”
I start towards my regular area. I've just made it there when my radio comes to life. “Tessa.” I instantly recognize Bill’s voice. He’s the head of the college division of security and my boss.
“Yes,” I respond a moment later.
“We’re making some changes tonight.” I’m glad Dan gave me a heads-up. “You will be taking the south end tonight. Meet up with Hayes; you’ll shadow him tonight. He's waiting for you at the soccer field.”
“Will do. Thanks.” I redirect to the soccer field across campus in the other direction. When I get to the field, I see Hayes.
“Hey, Tessa.”
“Hey.”
“We’ll be covering the Southern quadrant tonight. I’ll show you the ropes tonight, and then I think tomorrow you’re on your own.”
I nod. “Sounds good. Thank you.”
“Shall we get started?”
Hayes is a good teacher. He’s very detailed, and I appreciate it.
Because it’s a new assignment for me, it helps the time to pass quickly.
There’s not a lot of down time like there will be other nights.
Tonight is all about showing me everything I need to know to be able to run this route on my own.
By the time the sun starts to rise, I’m exhausted and ready for my bed.
“We start the night and end the night with soccer,” Hayes says.
“The soccer team works out here at six. Some of them will start showing up early.” I follow him inside the facility and do a check with him.
When we finish, he steps back outside. “I usually wait for the first player to arrive, make sure they get in okay, and then leave. I do that so I don’t leave and then get called back a few minutes later.
” I discreetly check my phone and breathe a sigh of relief when I see it’s almost 5:45.
I'm almost done. “Thorne is usually the first to show up. He shows up every morning at 5:45 like clockwork.” He turns to me. “He shows up every day, even on days they don’t have practice; so, you can’t ever be late. ”
I take in his words, completely unsurprised that Slater Thorne gets here early every single morning. I take his warning seriously. “Okay, I will.”
“And there he is.”
Hayes had warned me that Slater Thorne showed up every morning at 5:45 on the dot, but somehow it wasn’t computing.
It is now. Slater Thorne strides towards the entrance to the weight room with his bag slung over his shoulder with that almost arrogant confidence he always possesses.
He’s still several yards away when he stops suddenly and lifts his head.
He locks eyes with me, and I can’t seem to move.