Until Alex - J. Nathan Page 0,22

cliques. I just hoped I could avoid all the nonsense and graduate on time.

I circled the parking lot in my dad’s BMW. If the campus wasn’t ten miles away, I would’ve walked. I had no desire to give off a false first impression that I was some rich snob.

But I hadn’t been given much of a choice. A month ago, when I received the news that devastated my world, I totaled my Jeep with me in it. Preston thought it was a brilliant idea to break the news to me while I was behind the wheel. I guess I couldn’t fault him. He’d just learned he’d been dealt the same unfair hand by fate.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t called to comfort me. He called because he needed someone to blame. Someone to hate. After two years of dating, I never expected his parting words to be, “This is all your fault.” Yet they were. And I still hadn’t heard from him.

Tears welled in my eyes as I located a spot at the far end of the lot. Before I could even consider stepping outside, I rummaged through my handbag and found a crumpled tissue at the bottom. I dabbed below my eyes as people passed by, shooting quick glances my way.

I took deep breaths, filling my lungs before exhaling. Anything to ward off the tears.

Once I pulled it together, I stepped outside. The sweltering heat was such a bitter contrast to my air-conditioned car. I tossed my bag over my shoulder, smoothed my pink peasant top, and straightened my faded jeans. Here goes nothing.

I freed the trapped pieces of hair from my bag’s strap as I walked to the path that led to the small quad. My head whipped around, taking in the four brick buildings surrounding the grassy area. From the looks of their modern décor, they couldn’t have been more than a decade old.

Having no idea where I needed to go, I pulled up the campus map on my phone. Ten minutes and two wrong turns later, I sat in the back of Lit 350. No one even noticed me tucked in the back corner as the professor ran through her class syllabus.

Calculus followed and was definitely not my strong suit. It’s why I’d put off taking it. The teacher spoke a mile a minute and his syllabus looked like a different language. Again, I sat in the back remaining unnoticed, until the girl beside me with the retro glasses and severe black bangs shared a smile.

I had an hour before Adolescent Psychology, so I located the Social Sciences building on the opposite side of campus, then stopped for an iced latte at a coffee shop I’d noticed on my walk in. After grabbing my drink, I stepped back into the bright sunlight, searching my bag for my sunglasses.

“Nice legs, babe,” a guy called out.

My head flew up. Three guys occupied a patio table calling out to the girls passing by. With their devilish good looks and tattoos peeking from the sleeves of their fitted T-shirts, two of them clearly had no trouble getting girls.

My head withdrew.

The third sent a shiver up my spine. He was the guy from Jake’s. The one with the piercings and tattoos who stared at Hayden and me then left. With his major drug-induced glare, he was downright creepy and likely struggled with the girls.

Giving up on my sunglasses, I took another step, but my body stilled.

Leaned up against the wall, behind the cat-calling trio, stood the last person I expected to find on campus. A guy with his hands buried in the pockets of his khaki cargo shorts. A guy who disappeared from the face of the earth three days ago. A guy whose crystal blue eyes were locked on mine.

Unexpected relief flooded my body. The tension I’d been feeling released in one fell swoop. I couldn’t hide my smile at the sight of a familiar face. I practically floated over to him.

Brushing by the trio, I planted myself at Hayden’s feet. It was ridiculous how quickly his presence comforted me. And though I had a strong desire to, I refrained from throwing my arms around him again. “Hey.”

Given his deer in headlights expression, he was equally surprised to see me.

“What happened?” I lifted my hand, indicating the black and yellow bruise under his left eye.

“What’s this?” Creepy guy pushed his wrought iron chair noisily back and stood. His dark sunken eyes crept over my body, putting me on edge. “Oh, I guess you