Surge - Maya Nicole Page 0,5

arms around myself as we walked down the path to the dorm building that was for girls only. He followed me inside, and I stopped to face him.

"I don't think you're supposed to be in here." I looked around, but the building was quiet besides the faint sounds of televisions coming through the thin doors.

"It'll be fine. The adults are probably off drinking." He brushed past me and went up the stairs.

We got to my room and I unlocked the door. "Well, thanks."

I knew as soon as I opened the door a crack that something was wrong inside. The smell that hit me made my stomach curdle, and I put my hand over my mouth as I flicked on the light.

"What the hell?" Jax put his hands on my arms as I backed up into him. "Who would do something like this?"

He moved me to the side and walked into the room. I gagged and brought the hem of my shirt up to cover my mouth and nose.

There were dead fish covered in oil everywhere. They were covering the bed and in my suitcase, which had been shut. I choked on a sob and Jax grabbed a folded white piece of paper from the desk.

"Ms. Kline, you've been canceled." His mouth was set in a tight line and he threw the note onto the bed. "Sounds like a threat. Why would someone do this?"

Tears filled my eyes and I backed all the way into the hall and against the opposite door. "I don't know." My voice was muffled from the shirt and my tears.

He stalked toward me and stopped abruptly, his eyes falling to my left side. I quickly let go of my shirt and pulled it down to cover the faint silvery flesh of my burn scar. It wasn't bad, but it was noticeable.

"What happened?"

"Burned it on a buoy." It sounded ridiculous, but I didn't need to relive the trauma from that day by explaining further. The burn hadn't been as bad as it could have been.

He looked slightly taken aback, and then he stepped forward and took my face in his hands. I tried to ignore the fact that they had oil on them from him picking up the note. "Why would someone threaten you? You have to have some idea. Dead fish and oil? That's specific."

The tears were falling freely now, and he swiped them with his oily thumbs. "My father, but I-"

"You need to call and tell him. The fish and the note are definitely a threat. He should come pick you up." His posture was stiff and he sounded angry. If anyone should have been angry about the fish, it should be me.

Instead, I was numb.

"What's going on here?" A female teacher rounded the corner of the hall and glanced into my room. "What in the world?"

Jax stepped away from me, his beautiful features marred with a sneer. He was looking at me as if he were disgusted with me, but it was probably from the smell emanating from the dorm room.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Someone broke in."

"Jesus. Let's call your advisor and get you to a new room." She wrapped an arm around my shoulders and looked at Jax. "And you need to leave."

Jax walked ahead of us to the stairs and glanced at me over his shoulder. His eyes flashed with an emotion I couldn't pinpoint, and then he was down the stairs without a word.

Chapter Two

"This year is going to be the best year ever!" My best friend, Ivy, slid into the passenger seat of my car, her long red hair nearly smacking me in the face as she whipped her head around to grab the seatbelt. "My goal this year is to be more organized, so let's hit up school supplies first before we go to the mall."

I laughed and pulled away from the curb. Ivy and I had been friends since elementary school, when we discovered our shared love for the Jonas Brothers. We both decided early on to stay out of drama at school, especially when everyone was team Nick or team Joe and we were the only ones that were team Kevin.

It had been three weeks since the fish incident and school would start the following week. I was normally excited for school, but my stomach had been in knots wondering what would be in store for me. I was foolish to think that no one would connect me to my father. My last name