In the Dark (The Rules 2)

And I enjoyed every single minute of it.

“Listen, I’m tired.” I throw in a long, drawn out yawn for good measure. “And I should get going. Get a good night’s rest. I start classes tomorrow morning.”

“Are you excited?”

The cold ball of dread in my stomach reminds me of my exact mood. “I’m scared.”

“Don’t be scared. You’ll be fabulous. I know you’ll do well, you always have. You’re such a smart girl, my darling. Just pay attention in class and listen to everything they have to say,” she reminds me.

I almost roll my eyes again but restrain myself. “Love you, Mama.”

“Love you too, sweetie. Take care and call me tomorrow! Let me know how everything goes.”

I make my promises and end the call just as I hear the front door of the apartment open. I venture out slowly, peeking my head around my bedroom door before I head out into the hallway. I don’t hear the deep male voice of my new roommate Gina’s boyfriend so I assume she’s alone.

When I find her curled up on the couch she brought with her when she moved in crying her eyes out, I follow my natural instincts and go to her, giving her a gentle hug. “Are you okay?”

She shakes her head, her thick brown hair brushing against my face. Gina’s tall and statuesque and beautiful. She also seems to have money—at least more money than me—and from what I’ve seen in the extremely short amount of time we’ve lived together, she wears amazing clothes and shoes and she has a necklace with the word love formed in a gold pendant. She’s nothing like me but that’s okay. The whole part of being in college is meeting new and different people.

Gina finally speaks. “My boyfriend left, drove back with my parents to L.A. He’s hopping a plane early tomorrow morning to go to his new college. I-I’ll p-probably never see him a-again,” she stutters right before she starts wailing in earnest.

I tighten my arms around her almost awkwardly, not sure of what to say. “It’ll be all right.”

She lifts her tear-stained face to stare at me. “He’ll find someone else.”

“No he won’t. Why would he,” I say vehemently. “You’re beautiful.”

“So?” She shrugs, looking hopeless. “He’s going to school with a bunch of other beautiful girls. Tons of beautiful girls he’s never seen before and he’s gorgeous. They’ll all want him. We’ve been together since high school. Being away from me, he could find someone new in an instant.”

“No freaking way. How could he do that to you?” I pull away to study her closely. “He’d be an idiot if he dumped you for some other dumb girl.”

She shrugs. “Maybe Chad is an idiot. I don’t know. He could change. I could change.”

Chad? That’s such a snotty rich boy name. He had that snotty rich boy look too, with the white polo shirts and the khaki shorts. “So you two have been together since high school?”

“We met in geometry our junior year.” A sigh escapes her as she withdraws from my arms and settles back against the couch. I felt silly giving her a hug considering I don’t know her that well but she seems to appreciate it. “We’ve had our ups and downs but I know he’s the one for me. We graduated high school and went to our local community college together for the past two years.”

That makes her about my age. “I’m surprised you’re going to different universities then, if you’ve stayed committed to each other that long.” Like, I’m really surprised. If she’s so crazy for Chad the rich boy then why aren’t they staying together?

“His parents made him.” Her lips tighten into a thin, straight line. “They don’t really approve of me. They want someone for him that’s closer to their financial…stature.”

My stomach twists. I wouldn’t doubt for a moment that if Gabe and I would’ve become serious—ha ha, that’s hilarious—his parents would feel the same about me as Chad’s parents feel about Gina. “I don’t judge. Heck, I can’t. I’m here on financial aid and student loans,” I confess softly.

Her eyes widen with surprise. “Me too,” she whispers.

I’m surprised. Maybe Chad showers her with gifts. Maybe that’s why she has so much fabulous stuff. It’s all starting to come together now. “So I don’t care what your financial stature is.” I make quote marks in the air when I say the words financial stature because who talks like that besides rich people? “I’ll like you for you. Not because of how much money you or your family makes.”

“My parents are middle class and I have two brothers and a sister,” she admits. “I’m the oldest and I always had to help out with everything. This is the first taste of freedom I’ve ever experienced and I don’t want to miss a thing.”

She presses her lips together, the guilty look in her eyes making me wonder if she believes she’s confessed a terrible sin.

I want her to know that she’s not alone.

“I’m an only child who was raised by a single mom. This is the first time I’ve ever been truly free of her meaningful yet overbearing ways.”

Gina smiles and reaches out to grab hold of my hand. “I think you’ve just become my new best friend.”

“Why the hell are you so grumpy?” Tristan socks me in the arm as he walks past me. Hard.

The motherfucker.

I’ve been grumpy since I left Santa Barbara a month ago. My parents are boggled by my attitude. I’m the easygoing one. The son who does what they want with no protest though I complain to everyone else who’ll listen—and my parents, they never listen. Funny enough, it’s my little sister Sydney who’s more of the rebel. She gave them a rash of shit when we first arrived in Texas and hasn’t let up since.