Dangerously Mine

Emily's POV The quad at Willow Creek University was more than I'd imagined… too much enthusiasm for a Monday morning. From my perch on the cold stone steps of the Humanities building, I watched it all unfold like a movie I wasn’t sure I wanted to be in. It was weird.. I felt… detached like someone had put a pane of soundproof glass between me and the rest of the world. Every shout and every burst of laughter was just a muffled noise. My heart was doing this weird skittery pump against my ribs in a nervous rhythm I knew all too well. Crowds.. Ugh. I focused on taking a slow breath and tried to melt into the stone behind me. My brain.. always happy to distract me from the present, replayed the greatest hits of my life. Mom, Dad, the big split.. the classic tale of a family divided. Dad got me and mom got my brother, Bernard. It wasn’t a custody battle and it was more like a quiet, sad divvying up of the pieces. He went with her, I went with him. Simple, clean and it left a hole that never really closed up. Now, Dad was gone and the old house was sold. The money was the only reason I was back here, in this town that still felt like a ghost in my peripheral vision. Willow Creek. The place I’d run from. “You planning on growing roots there or are you coming to your orientation?” I jumped with my head snapping up. Bernard stood over me with a familiar, slightly annoyed look on his face. My big brother.. all grown up. It was still strange to see him without the scrawny twelve-year-old frame I remembered. “I’m appreciating the architecture,” I deadpanned, not moving. He rolled his eyes. “You’ll appreciate failing your first semester even more. C’mon, Em. It’s in the Student Center. Five minutes.” With a groan that came from the depths of my soul, I pushed myself up. “Fine. But if I die of boredom, I’m haunting you specifically.” “Duly noted.” He gave me a little nudge. “Just… try to have a good first day, yeah? Don’t do anything… you know. Stupid.” “Me? Never.” I offered him a weak smile. That was the plan, after all. Blend in.. be a ghost.. get the degree and get the f**k out with no waves and no trouble.. a nice simple non-shitty day. How hard could it be? Famous last words.. The Student Center was a river of bodies all flowing in what I hoped was the same direction. I kept my head down with my gaze locked on the scuffed toes of my boots, mentally chanting my new mantra.. Just blend in, just blend in, just blend... WHAM! The impact was sudden and solid, knocking the air from my lungs and sending the folder I was clutching flying. Papers... my carefully printed schedule, a campus map... fluttered to the floor like wounded birds. I stumbled back, my carefully constructed calm shattering into a million irritated pieces. Standing over me was a wall of expensive-looking charcoal-gray wool and an even more expensive-looking sneer. “Watch where you’re going,” a deep arrogant voice drawled. He didn’t even look at me. He was too busy brushing a nonexistent piece of lint off his sleeve as if my mere contact had contaminated his obviously designer outfit. He was handsome, I’ll give him that.. He had chiseled jaw, perfectly messy dark hair, eyes the color of a stormy sky and he smelled incredible. But his attitude? A total d**k. My plan for a peaceful day went up in smoke. The old me woke up and took the wheel immediately. “Oh, I’m sorry,” I said, my voice dripping with a sweetness so fake it could cause cavities. “I didn’t see you. I’m not used to looking that far down from the high horse I assume you rode in on.” The chatter around us vanished you could have heard a pin drop in a cotton field. The guy’s head snapped toward me, his eyes wide with shock. Apparently, nobody talked to him like that. His surprise melted away, replaced by a slow mocking smile that didn’t reach his eyes. He took a step closer, using his height to try and intimidate me. “What did you just say to me?” The old fear was buried under fresh annoyance but I held my ground, meeting his gaze without blinking. “I said, you might want to get your eyes checked. And your personality. Both seem to be severely impaired.” A few snickers erupted from the guys he was with. His cool, amused mask slipped for a second and the sound of his friends laughing at him… I saw it hit him. His jaw tightened. “You’ve got a mouth on you,” he said, his voice low and dangerous now. “And you’ve got an attitude problem. Looks like we’re both full of surprises.” He leaned in close, so close I could see the cold flecks in his grey eyes but the nice smell couldn’t hide the menace rolling off him. “You have no idea who you’re talking to, do you?” “Should I be impressed?” I shot back. “Does your ego need a name tag?” The crowd around us was captivated. I’d basically poured gasoline on the campus king and struck a match. For a long second, he just stared at me with a silent war raging behind his eyes.. then, he let out a short harsh laugh. “Consider this your official welcome to Willow Creek, sweetheart,” he growled. “You just made your first day here a world of pain. Remember that.” With one last searing look, he turned and shoved his way through the crowd, his lackeys scrambling after him. The spell broke and the noise of the hallway rushed back in. I stood there, my heart pounding, not from fear this time but from adrenaline. So much for blending in. By the time I dragged myself through the front door that evening, my brain felt like mush. My new house.. my mom’s house still didn’t feel like mine. “Emily? Is that you?” Mom’s voice floated from the kitchen. “No, it’s a burglar,” I muttered, kicking off my boots. She appeared in the hallway, wiping her hands on a floral apron. Caroline. I hadn’t called her ‘Mom’ since I was ten. It just didn’t fit anymore. “How was your first day?” she asked cautiously like she was walking on eggshells. We were still strangers trying to remember how to be family. “It was… an event,” I said, heading for the stairs. “I’m just gonna go crash for a bit.” “Dinner will be ready soon!” she called after me. “Bernard’s bringing his best friend over! It’ll be nice!” I just grunted in response and shut my bedroom door behind me and I flopped onto the bed, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling. I must have dozed off, because the next thing I knew, a sharp knock jolted me awake. “Emily! Dinner! Come on down, everyone’s here!” Bernard’s voice echoed through the door. Groaning, I peeled myself off the bed and shuffled downstairs. The smell of roasted chicken hit me and my stomach growled despite itself. I could hear the murmur of voices from the dining room... Bernard’s loud laugh, Mom’s lighter tone and a deeper unfamiliar one. I rounded the corner into the dining room, ready to put on my best “please-just-let-me-eat” face.. and then I froze. There, sitting at our table and leaning back in his chair like he owned the place was him.. the Wool Jacket d**k from orientation. He had a easy charming smile plastered on his face as he said something that made my mother laugh.. he hadn’t seen me yet. Bernard grinned. “Em! Perfect timing. You remember Blake, right? Blake Beaumont? My best friend since, like, forever?” Blake Beaumont. I did know that name! The memories that came with the name were… shameful ones too…!