Time didn’t ease a broken heart. At least it hadn’t for mine. The shattered parts hadn’t been miraculously put back together with the distance I’d put between myself and SoCal. I walked around with a gaping hole in my chest that was slowly killing me.
Before I could reach my class, my phone started going off. I didn’t have to look at the screen to know who it was. The ringtone was a soothing classical lullaby that brought me what little peace I’d fought to find. Without pausing, I pulled my phone out of the messenger bag and hit connect. “Hey.”
“Two more exams and your first semester is all over,” she said with a happy note in her voice. “You’re going to do great, baby.”
“Thanks, Aunt Emmie.”
“Your flight information is in your email. Kin is picking you and Marcus up, right?” She didn’t sound distracted, but I could picture her multitasking in her office in L.A.
“Yes,” I confirmed.
“Okay. Are you sure I can’t steal you away for a quick dinner or something after graduation?”
“You get me the day after graduation,” I reminded her. “I’ll be there for a few days before we leave for vacation.”
My parents were taking me and the twins to Florida for a few weeks. It would give us all time to catch up before I returned to Georgetown for the six-week summer semester. I was looking forward to getting to hang out with my little brothers and spend time with my parents, but at the same time I was dreading it.
“But I miss you,” she muttered, the pout in her voice coming through loud and clear.
“I miss you too. I promise we can have a day just for us before we leave.”
“Okay.” She was quick to jump on my promise. “I’ll make plans for us. Now…” I grimaced at her change of tone because I knew what was going to follow. “I finally got your credit card statement this morning. Why were you at a Med Express two months ago?”
I didn’t even blink at her question. I’d known it would come when she saw my statement, and I’d prepared myself for her inquisition. “I had a bug. Half the campus is still fighting it.”
“I wish you would’ve told me you were sick. I would’ve sent you a care package.”
I rolled my eyes, knowing what her care packages included. Soup from one of the best restaurant in D.C., a shipment of some of my favorite books from Amazon, and enough meds to see ten college students through a flu epidemic. Emmie Armstrong was just as overprotective as my parents were and I loved her for it.
When she wasn’t driving me crazy.
“I didn’t want to bother you,” I told her as I paused to open the door to the English department and stepped into the air-conditioned building.
Aunt Emmie made a disapproving noise. “You couldn’t possibly bother me even if you tried. I love you, baby. If you need anything you know I’m just a phone call away.”
I lowered my eyes, watching my feet as I took each step toward my class. “I know,” I murmured. “I-I love you too, Aunt Em.”
“Okay. Glad we got that covered. I’m going to let you go. Can’t wait to see you on Sunday, Lu. I’m so proud of you, sweetheart.”
Why was everyone trying to make me cry? I swallowed
the lump that was forming and cleared my throat. “Thanks, Aunt Em. See you soon.”
Hitting disconnect before she could say anything else that would have the tears flowing, I turned off the phone and stuffed it at the bottom of my messenger bag. Reaching out, I pulled open the door that led into my class and my eyes landed on the leather band on my wrist. I didn’t want to think about the lie I’d just told my aunt, or what was under the leather bracelet I’d gotten to cover up my tattoo.
Clenching my jaw, I focused my attention on finding a seat and took out my textbook to review a little more before the exam started.
Chapter 2
Lucy
LAX was beyond crowded when Marcus and I stepped off the plane. I adjusted my messenger back on my shoulder as I looked around for any sign of our ride while Marcus pulled our luggage along behind him. I’d texted Kin before the plane had taken off to remind her what time to pick us up, but there had been bad weather over the Midwest and the pilot had set us down in Arizona to wait it out.
I’d tried to call Kin to let her know we would be at least an hour late but she hadn’t picked up and I hadn’t gotten a response to my texts. Hoping that she hadn’t given up on us, I continued to glance around for the tall redhead who was my best friend in the world.
Oddly, it was her smaller stepsister who caught my attention before Kin did. Angie was standing with her back to me but I knew it was her despite having only met the older chick a few times. There was something about Angie Jacobson that screamed for people to look at her. She had the face of an angel, but I’d seen her temper at work and knew just how much of a demon she really was. I’d liked her immediately and had even kept in touch with her on social media and via emails.
Right then Angie was standing toe to toe with a guy in a TSA uniform who easily outweighed her by a good hundred pounds. He stood nearly a foot taller than her, but right then he looked like he wanted to shrink to the size of a mouse and scurry away.