Bet My Life

Chapter 1

"Miss, are you alright?"

"Should we do something?"

I was vaguely aware of people talking around me, but I couldn't acknowledge any of them. Heck, I could barely raise my head.

Now you all must be really confused. Let me start from the beginning.

I am Zoey Hart, currently panicking, but a mostly chill 19 year old. See, the reason I am acting like a basket case right now is that I am miles away from home, on my way to Uni in Chicago. My stupid ass thought that it would be easier if I didn't cry while saying goodbye to my parents and brother. I practically snatched my stuff from my dad's hands and ran without as much as a second glance. I know that they could easily make me change my mind, but I needed to get away. Pushing my emotions down (big mistake), I boarded my flight, saying goodbye to my home, my Los Angeles, and everything I know.

So my current scenario, that is, me, outside the Chicago airport, sitting on the ground, with my hoodie over my head, trying to breathe through my panic attack, is all my doing. I could feel my fingers clam up while I was trying to rake my brain to remember where I kept my pills. Wow, this must be a really embarrassing view.

"Alright, I got you. I got you"

I felt those familiar arms lift me, and carry me away from the place. That soothing voice finally calmed me, and I peaked from my tear-soaked lashes, to see Jay.

"Thank you" I winced at my own croaky voice.

"Anything for you, dork", he said, with a sad smile. Jay is the oldest of the three Hart siblings. He was older than me by 4 years and was currently running dad's Chicago office. My youngest brother, Zach, was 16, and still in high school. Jay and Zach looked a lot like dad. Gifted with his dad's blond hair, and mom's blue eyes, these guys really won the lottery with the genetics. I, on the other hand, had a rather dull shade of brown hair, and dad's hazel eyes. My dad, Charles, has his own company, and mom, Maya, is a college professor. Despite their busy schedules, our parents have always managed to make time for us.

Breaking my chain of thoughts, Jay handed me a tissue.

"Feel better?"

I managed to give him a weak nod, before being pulled into a bone-crushing hug.

"I am glad, squirt. You gave me quite a fright there."

"Well, I guess it could be a little freaky when your sister resembles a homeless person", I joked, in a sad attempt to make him smile.

"Only you, Zoe, only you", Jay cracks a smile and leads me to his car. "So, you are staying with Izzie, right?"

Isabella Martin, known to the world as Izzie, had been my best friend since forever. Our parents were close friends since high school, and later became neighbors. They moved to Chicago 5 years ago, but somehow, our families never lost touch. She is the whole reason I applied to Chicago University. And the fact that my brother was a few hours away, was just an added bonus.

If Izzie knew that Jay was asking about her, she'd be squealing my ears off. Izzie always had the hots for Jay, which according to her was totally "platonic". Even the fact that Jay was engaged to his long term girlfriend Layla, didn't seem to faze Izzie.

I nod my head, feeling all the energy drain from me. As though on cue, Jay handed me an apple. "Eat, you look like you're gonna pass out any minute."

"Shoot! I forgot to text mom and tell her that I landed" I started biting my fingernails, thinking about how irresponsible I had been.

"Don't worry, I already spoke to her and informed her that you were with me. I didn't tell her about the attack, though. Thought you'd wanna tell her yourself." His knuckles, that were gripping the steering wheel hard, turned white.

"Hey", I held his hand and spoke in an almost whisper. "I'm alright now. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

We reached the campus, and he parked his car near the dorm parking space.

"I still don't know why you don't just stay with Layla and me? She loves you, and I'll personally feel a lot more relieved", Jay nagged again, carrying my luggage to the room.

I rolled my eyes and recited my practiced speech again, "Because your house is 2 hours away from the campus. I'll be late for all my classes. Izzie is really looking forward to this, and I want to have a complete college experience. Also, I want to let go of the past."

Jay just sighed and kept walking towards my room. "Just promise me you'll be safe, alright? If anything happens, call me or Layla, and we'll be here within an hour."

After the incident, my entire family became super protective of me. The only people who knew what happened were my family, a few friends back home, and Izzie. I chill passed through my body, just thinking about it.

I hugged my brother tight, and finally, let some tears flow.

"I'll miss you Jay-Jay"

"I'll miss you too Zoe-Zoe"

A scream broke apart our emo moment.

"Zoeyyyyyyyyy!! Oh my god. I can't believe we are finally roomies"

Taking that as his cue, Jay slipped though the sides, into our room with my luggage.

I was taken into a bone-crushing hug by none other than a blonde hurricane, Isabella Martin.