Chapter Two
Kennedy
"Hey," Sophie says, popping her head into the guest room. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah." I flop down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. She and her fiancée are getting married tomorrow…but I kind of ran away today after finding out that my sister is in love with the professor who has been making my life miserable since I started college two months ago.
Sophie was kind enough to let me stay with her even though I planned to get a hotel room. My world feels a little like it's spinning right now. My sister, Caroline, is my best friend. She's three years older than me and we're nothing alike, but we've always done everything together.
I'm not surprised my professor fell in love with her. She's incredibly beautiful, with red hair, the prettiest charcoal eyes, and curves girls would kill for. I know I would. Even with my boobs, most people mistake me for a kid because I'm so small. I also have boring brown hair and green eyes. She says guys are always staring at me, but I wouldn't know.
Attention makes me uncomfortable. I tend to zone out a lot. It's not on purpose. I'm a writer and I get lost in the worlds in my head. People get annoyed with me for it, but I've learned that if I don't talk much, they just assume I'm shy and don't expect me to participate. I'm much happier observing and writing about adventures than participating in them. Caroline is the opposite.
She is so brave. She has a huge heart and throws all of it into helping the people and causes that matter to her. She isn't afraid to stand up for herself, even when she has to stand up to our father or our older brothers, Sebastian and Killian. I've always thought she was a little bit like the wind…strong, stubborn, able to wear down even the toughest of subjects, but also gentle, healing, and so sweet.
So no, I'm not surprised Professor King—Jared Kingston—loves her. The fact that she's in love with him is what has my mind reeling.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Sophie asks, coming inside and closing the door behind her.
"I don't even know what to say." I lift my head to look at her, truly at a loss for words…which is unusual because I always have words waiting to escape. I rarely ever say them out loud, but I write everything down. Ever since I was a little girl, all I've ever wanted to do was write. My dream has always been to go to Columbia University, but I didn't make the cut this year. I was okay with that though. I like to succeed or fail on my own merit, not because my dad threw money at a problem.
So when I got accepted at Vanderbilt with Caroline, I was so excited. I jumped at the chance to take Professor King's Creative Writing Workshop. He's basically a literary god, one of the most talented writers of this century. I knew working with him would be a challenge. I didn't expect it to be impossible.
He's the strictest, most exacting professor I've ever met. No matter how hard I try, it's never good enough for him. He's super critical of my work. He thinks I'm unrealistic and naïve when it comes to love and relationships. He told me that I need to take off my rose-colored glasses and get real if I want to be taken seriously.
And then, out of the blue a few days ago, he offered to write my recommendation for the Braxton Literary Prize, an annual prize awarded to a student at the collegiate level. It's a huge deal because your work is seen by everyone who is anyone in the industry. The winner last year signed a six-figure contract with a major publishing house. The winner the year before last had publishers fighting to offer her internships.
I couldn't figure out why he offered to write my staff member recommendation when he hates everything I write. I guess I know now, though. It took me all day to work up the nerve to go talk to him about it. And then I get there and find him and my sister together.
He says he offered because I deserve it and he's sorry for the way he's treated me, but it's hard to believe him when he's never been nice to me…until he met Caroline.
"You're allowed to be mad," Sophie says.
"I'm not mad," I say, sitting up when she perches on the edge of the bed beside me. "I guess I'm more disappointed than anything. Caroline and I always tell each other everything." At least I thought we did.
Like me, Caroline doesn't date. Neither of us have ever paid much attention to the opposite sex. I focus on writing, and she keeps busy fighting for the things that matter. Plus, as far as I've been able to tell, men in books are way better than men in real life.
My fake boyfriends don't make gross, chauvinistic comments like guys do here. They don't treat me like I'm a child just because I'm small like everyone did in high school. They're kind of perfect. One day, I'll find the man I'm supposed to be with, the one who sets my heart on fire and makes my soul dance.
Maybe this makes me as naïve as Professor King thinks I am, but I believe in soulmates and the kind of deep, powerful love that lasts a lifetime, the kind that sweeps you away and leaves you breathless. I want the forever kind of love my brothers have found, not the fickle, tepid imitation my classmates talk about.
"I don't know Caroline very well," Sophie says carefully, "but I know how much you guys love each other. If I had to guess, I'd say she probably didn't tell you because she didn't want to disappoint you. You don't like your professor very much."
"I don't dislike him."
Sophie snorts in disbelief. "You called him the devil, and an unreasonable dictator with the heart of a Grinch."
"Okay, so maybe I dislike him a little bit," I say, drawing out the word little, which makes her laugh. "But he is unreasonable and dictatorial. I guess he does have a heart though." Caroline would never have given him a chance if he were as cold to her as he is in class. She may be a little wild, but she believes in love as fiercely as I do.
Plus, I saw the way he looked at her today. I've never, ever seen him look at anyone the way he looked at her, as if he worships the ground she walks on. He wasn't the cold dictator today, but a man madly, desperately in love with my sister. I want that for her.
"He thinks I'm some helpless little girl." Maybe I'm not like Caroline, but I am not helpless or weak. I may live with my head in the clouds, but my feet are firmly planted on the ground. I'm a dreamer but I'm not stupid. I know how to take care of myself and make decisions that are in my best interest.