Chapter One
“Come on, baby, don’t you dare give up on me now.” I rubbed the dashboard of my old clunker as it rattled down the street. “Just a few more blocks and we’ll be home, sweet home.”
I pressed harder on the gas, but the piece-of-shit scrap metal clunker I called a car was rapidly losing steam. I made it over a small rise and then leaned forward in the seat as the car rolled gently down the slope on the other side, praying I could build up enough momentum to keep the vehicle in motion.
After standing on my feet all day, the last thing I wanted to do was walk home. Besides, I really didn’t want to leave my car abandoned on the side of the road.
The radio turned to static, and I had to give it a bang to get it to work again.
“Child homelessness is on the rise in—”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake! Thanks for that reminder.” I was well aware of the terrible state of the world, but I didn’t need any more reasons to be full of rage right now. I gave the radio another bang, and this time it just went dead. I fumbled with the dials, but to no avail. Shit. That wasn’t a good sign. “Come on… don’t do this to me, you stupid piece of crap!”
Suddenly, the car stopped altogether.
“What the hell?” I groaned.
It was my own fault for buying a seven hundred dollar used car, which was basically like buying a seven hundred dollar ticket to a flaming shitshow. I said a little prayer every time I got behind the wheel of the thing, and apparently, my prayers had run out.
I looked around the neighborhood, but it was already pretty late in the evening—there was no one out on the street to ask for help. And I wasn’t about to go knocking on any doors. It was no secret this was one of the sketchier parts of town, and I didn’t want to go interrupting some behind-closed-doors drug deals or whatnot. I’d rather keep my brains inside my skull, thank you.
So, I was left with one option—call Colin.
I tapped his number on my contact list and waited for the phone to ring. Impatiently, I drummed my fingers against the steering wheel. “Come on, Colin. Be my night in shining armor…”
It rang through and clicked to his voice mail. Shit.
I didn’t even bother leaving a message. Instead, I called again, blowing out a frustrated breath as I waited. Pick up. Come on, pick up.
Again, it went to voice mail—but faster this time, almost like he had declined my call on purpose. I looked down at the screen, brows knitted.
“That’s weird…” Maybe he was actually busy with something? Or asleep? It was after ten p.m.
Pfft, who am I kidding? He’s probably just trying to maintain his killing spree in some video game with his bros.
I was a lot closer to his apartment than mine. And luckily, I still had the key he’d given me when I took care of his place while he was out of town a few months ago. With no other choice, I gathered my textbooks and stuffed them into my bag. It weighed a literal ton. Did colleges really have to make these things so damned heavy? As if breaking the bank wasn’t enough—apparently, they were after our spinal columns too.
My feet felt like fire, but I kept up a fast clip as I walked, keeping my eyes and ears pricked for any signs of movement on the street. Colin’s apartment was about a mile away, and it was in a slightly better area than this. The quicker I could get there, the better.
Strands of my long, dark-chocolate hair drifted across my face as I speed-walked through the derelict neighborhood, and I reached up to brush them behind my ear. I tried his cell one more time, but it went to voice mail even faster this time. Fuck. He must be out. We hadn’t planned on meeting up tonight, so maybe he went to a bar with some buddies or something.
A little winded, I finally reached my destination. Shifting my weight from foot to tortured foot, I fished my key ring out of my pocket and fumbled through the keys until I found Colin’s. My mood was deteriorating by the second, but at least I had the promise of taking off my chunky boots and putting my feet up to keep me going.