Fallen University: Year One

I pulled back from the window quickly, pressing myself against the wall. Now that I knew it existed, I could feel my tail thumping against the plaster in agitation.

What on earth is she doing here? What does she want?

Tentatively, I leaned over to peek out the window again, but when I looked down, the girl was gone. I let out a small, relieved breath. Maybe she’d given up. Maybe she had the wrong address and—

A loud pounding on my apartment door made me jump several feet. I slumped against the wall, hand pressed to my bright red chest, sucking in air as my heart thudded against my palm.

“What do you want?” I called out, then slapped a hand over my mouth. Damn it. I shouldn’t have given away that I was home.

“I… I need help.”

Yeah, it was definitely the girl from outside the bar. And she didn’t sound like she was here to kill me. In fact, she sounded like she’d been crying.

I waffled for a second then tiptoed over to the doorway and peered through the peephole.

The reason for her quavering voice became obvious immediately. She looked different too, although not in the same way I did. Instead of looking like a lobster, she had pale gray skin that shifted toward green depending on the light. She had horns too, but they were much bigger than mine and a bit mangled looking.

If there was a gun pointed to my head, and I had to pick what freakish costume I liked better—mine would win every day of the week. And yet, somehow, despite the trollish vibe, she still retained some of her beauty with that blonde mane of hers and those deep, amber eyes like wildflower honey.

Appearances aside, what was my creep-buffer doing here? How had she even known where to find me?

In all honesty, I really didn’t want to know. All I wanted was for this nightmare to fucking end.

“Hello?” she called again, her voice wavering with uncertainty.

Goddamn it. I’ll probably regret this.

Scrunching up my face at my own stupidity, I reached out and flipped the lock, pulling the door open. It swung back and we stood face-to-face. Her eyes bugged out of her head when she saw me, and for what felt like an eternity, all we could do was stare at each other.

“Oh my God. So it happened to you too…” she finally whispered, breaking the silence.

I took a step backward. I’d already scoped out her appearance before I opened the door, but something about staring at it up close and personal made my already frayed nerves unravel even further. It just reminded me how fucked up I looked.

“How the hell did you find me?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest—and realizing belatedly that I was still only wearing my bra and panties.

I didn’t turn my back on her to grab clothes though. Nope, I stayed rooted to the spot. For all I knew, she could be in cahoots with the monster that’d abducted me, and this was all part of some elaborate plan. What that plan might be, I had no idea, but I wanted nothing to do with it.

“I… I went back to where we were attacked. You dropped your wallet.”

“What?”

/> She held it out, and I snatched it out of her hand, eyeing her like she was some sort of thief. I checked it. Everything was still there, including the few measly pennies tucked away in the coin pouch.

“Your address was listed on your driver’s license…” she added, trailing off and chewing on her lip.

There was a certain sweetness to her voice that matched the honey color of her eyes. It made me want to trust her—and honestly, given our current situation, I didn’t see much alternative.

“You might as well come inside.” I stepped back farther to allow her to enter and jerked my head toward the couch. “I don’t even want to know what my neighbors would do if they saw a green-skinned monster roaming the halls.”

She flinched at my words but accepted my invitation, crossing over to the beat-up couch and sinking down on the lumpy cushions.

“Sorry, that was rude. Green skin suits you,” I amended lamely. “It… really does.”

“Thanks,” she mumbled under her breath. “I’ll remember that the next time I buy foundation.”

Still not bothering to put on clothes, I sat down next to her on the couch. I considered offering her something to drink, but I didn’t feel like going through the motions or pretending there was anything normal about this situation. Right now, with my head spinning, all I wanted were some damn answers. “Okay, so why did you come here?”

She looked down at her hands. Her nails were claw-like but still delicate in a ghoulish sort of way.