Year One

20

“Yeah. Sorry I didn’t call last night, but it was so intense.” I wasn’t about to tell them what happened. “I just got through my first day of training, and I’m wiped.”

“Well, I’m just happy to hear your voice.” Mom sniffled.

“I’m glad to talk to you too.” I hadn’t even realized how bad I needed to talk to them until now.

“Greg stopped by today,” Dad said. “He apologized for his actions and said he felt really bad.”

“He texted me earlier.” The last thing I wanted to do was call him, let alone talk about him. “I wanted to call you two first.”

“That’s my baby girl.” Pride was evident in Mom’s words. “Is everyone being nice down there?”

If she only knew the truth. “My roommate is great. We seemed to have hit it off.”

“That’s great.” I could hear the smile in Dad’s voice. “Is she a shifter?”

“Uh … No, actually she’s a fae.” I didn’t want to give too much information away.

“What?” Mom was shocked. “They intermingle y’all?”

“I don’t know about everyone else, but she and I are.” I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way now. “It’s working so far.”

“That’s good dear,” Dad spoke up.

They were acting weird, but I didn’t really want to analyze it. Even though it was all mind exercises today, I was completely exhausted both mentally and physically. “Guys, I hate to do this, but I’m exhausted.”

“Give us a call in the next couple of days.” Dad paused for a moment, and he whispered something to Mom. “We love you.”

“I love you both too.” I hadn’t ever been away from them like this before, so it was new for all of us.

“Be careful, and call us soon.” Once Mom finished the words, their line went dead.

The last thing I wanted to do was call Greg, but the longer I put it off, the worse it’d be. I pulled his name from my contacts, and my finger hovered over it. All I wanted to do was go change into my pajamas and lay in bed.

Before I did just that, I pushed his name. The line began to ring, and I hoped that he wouldn’t answer. Right on the fourth ring, he picked up. “Hey.”

Dammit. I thought I’d be home free. “Hi.” I didn’t know what to say to him and instantly regretted calling him.

“How are you?” For the first time ever, he sounded awkward and unsure of himself.

“Okay. You?” If he thought I was going to start pouring out my heart or tell him what had been going on here, he was gravely mistaken.

“Not great.” A door shut, and there was a shuffling of the phone on his end. “Look, I’m sorry about yesterday.”

Had it only been a day? It felt like a whole lot longer now that I thought about it. “You thought they were coming for you.”

He chuckled darkly. “I just want you to know that I realized I was acting like an asshole. Maybe I could come down and visit after you get settled. I’d like to see you.”

My gut reaction was to tell him ‘no,’ but he was trying to be sweet. “Maybe, we’ll have to see how it goes.”

“What are you saying?” His tone hardened.

Great, now he was getting pissy. “I’m saying that it’s a lot different down here, and I don’t know when I’ll get settled.” I didn’t fit in was what I wanted to say, but I wouldn’t be admitting that to him, considering how he was acting.

The distance between us felt more like worlds apart instead of just states.

“How is it?” He seemed interested in what I was saying.

“I don’t know how to explain it.” All the people seemed to be assholes to one another, and no one seemed to like me. I wasn’t sure if Cole’s interest was genuine or not. The only one I felt comfortable with was Jess.

“Well, you could try.” The edge to his tone was back.

The door to our dorm room opened, and Jess came swaying in. Both hands held plates that were piled high with steak, potatoes, and a huge piece of blackberry cobbler. My stomach rumbled in anticipation.

“Girl, get off that phone, and come eat with me.” Jess glided into the kitchen and set the plates on the table.

“Who’s that?” Greg’s voice was sullen and made him sound like he was a toddler.

“My roommate, Jess.” I was ready to get off the phone. “She brought dinner to me, so I’ve gotta go.”

“Oh, will you call me tomorrow?”

“Yeah, sure.” I wanted off the phone and now.

“Love you.”

“Bye.” He always proclaimed his love, but his actions didn’t mirror it. I hung up the phone and walked into the kitchen.

“Who was that?” Jess pulled her plate of food in front of her.

I had to hold back a laugh. There was one large difference between her plate and mine. Her steak was cooked while mine was rare. “Sure you don’t want to eat this one?” I pushed my plate toward her.

“Oh, hell no. I prefer my steak not mooing.” She pointed her fork at mine and wrinkled her nose.

“Aw, then it’s no good.” Not able to withstand it any longer, I grabbed my fork and knife before tearing into it. When I placed the steak in my mouth, I seriously considered whether I’d died and gone to heaven.

For a few minutes, we ate in amicable silence. That was until Jess took a drink of her water and cut another piece off her steak. “How was training with Damien?”

“I’m pretty sure it was his normal.” I finished the piece of food in my mouth and swallowed. “He grunted a lot, told me to do better, and even pushed me and my wolf to bond like a shifter should really be.”

“Everyone is talking about how you’re the first to train with Damien and how the elite Cole seems to have taken an interest in you.” She pushed back from the table and grinned. “For once, people wanted to talk to me instead of their usual shunning.”

If this was them taking a shine to someone, I must not have had a clue how they treated others. “Why do they shun you?”