Blind Spot - Katana Collins Page 0,12

car being forty-seven years old, the leather of the steering wheel was still silk-smooth beneath my palms. She had bought this thing brand new in ’69 with every penny she had. It was her baby—well, up until I entered the picture. But even then, this car was always a close second. Almost every memory we had together centered around this hunk of junk. Beautiful junk, yeah…but junk all the same. It broke down constantly, could never handle any temperature below forty-five and though having a convertible kicked ass, it was dangerous. Extremely dangerous.

If I closed my eyes and thought really hard, I could almost smell traces of her perfume on the seat. Sorrow seeped in, but before it consumed me, I grabbed my messenger bag from the passenger side. Locking up, I looked into the morning sky, streaked with blue and frothy white clouds. Humidity sat hot and heavy on my shoulders, and the clouds swelled with moisture.

I was fifteen minutes early for my first class of the semester—exactly how I liked it in life. There was plenty of time to choose my seat for the year, relax, and grab a coffee from the cart outside—

I stopped in my tracks as Harrison walked toward me with two paper cups in hand.

“For you.” He dipped his head in a bow. “As a peace offering.”

My mouth tipped into a smile, and I took a sip of the creamy, foamy cappuccino. It was perfect. “If anything, I should be the one bringing you the peace offering. Oh, wait…” I pulled a small box of mini glazed doughnuts out of my messenger bag. “I did.” I opened the box, offering him one.

Harrison grinned, and with that one smile, I knew we were totally okay. “Doughnuts?” he asked. “Feels like some sort of crack about my criminal justice major.”

“Look, if you’re going to enter the justice system, you need to start incorporating these into your diet.”

He took a bite as we walked across the parking lot. “We should both say stuff we don’t mean more often.”

“You mean I’m not stubborn?” I asked with mock incredulity.

“You are as stubborn as I am handsome.”

I scrunched my nose. “So not at all, then?”

“Ha ha,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Serious moment?” he asked with a change of tone. I nodded. “I’ll try to keep you and my dad as separate as possible, if I can help it.”

I opened the heavy front door, flashing my student ID at the guard sitting out front. “Thanks. I know it has to be hard for you—”

Harrison slid my messenger bag from my shoulder, relieving me of its weight. “Nothing compared to what you go through, I’m sure.”

I managed to shrug his comment off casually. “Really, I’m fine. I just want to avoid him, if possible.”

Harrison nodded. “I get it. I’ll try.”

We approached Room 106, and Harrison pulled the door open for me. After a brief pause, he cursed under his breath.

“What?” I turned to find a sunglass-wearing Tate walking directly toward us. His plump lips twitched—was that little half smirk meant for me? Did he even see me standing here? He veered off toward the coffee cart, and I exhaled the breath I’d been holding. “Oh.” I turned back, pretending as though him not seeing me didn’t hurt a tiny bit. As I slipped into the classroom, Harrison followed closely behind.

“I don’t like that guy,” Harrison said, shutting the door behind him.

“Like him or not, he’s my neighbor.”

Just as I had hoped, no one was here yet, not even the professor. Harrison and I settled into our seats by the windows on the other side of the room.

“Feel like grabbing some dinner tonight?” Harrison kicked his feet onto the seat in front of him, slouching into the chair.

“No. I’ve got to work, and then I don’t know how much homework I’ll have after that.”

“At Magnolia’s Manor?”

I shook my head, a face splitting grin stretching from ear to ear. “Nope. I won’t be at Magnolia’s much this semester—only if and when I need the extra cash.” Thank God, the manager there loved me and was willing to let me pop in whenever.

“Hell, yeah, Stevens!” He offered me a high five, and I had to stretch to reach his hand. Damn these tall guys. “So tonight you’re…”

“Still working at the tutoring center.” I shrugged. “Only because I love it there. And they need me.”

He nodded. “Well, let me know if you change your mind. Reagan and I can bring you something to eat if