 by Jennifer Sucevic.jpg)
Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 94653 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94653 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
There was a time when my world revolved around him, and I’d foolishly thought he’d be the one to claim all my firsts. Those dreams shattered into a million jagged pieces when the unthinkable happened.
Five years later and we both attend the same college. He’s a superstar goaltender for the Western Wildcats with a ticket to the NHL. I’m just trying to make it through the last year and a half of college all the while doing my best to avoid him.
Wolf has decided that it’s time for us to get reacquainted. As far as I’m concerned, he can shove that idea where the sun doesn’t shine.
Better yet, he can bend over, and I’ll happily do it for him.
He might not realize it, but my life is splintering apart at the seams. My parents have lost everything and can’t pay my tuition for the second semester, which means I need to figure something out.
Fast.
Or I’ll be forced to drop out and move back home.
Unwilling to allow that to happen, I decide to sell the only thing I have of value.
My V-card.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Chapter 1
Fallyn
“I’m sorry?” My knees buckle as I slump to the queen-sized mattress with a soft bounce. “What do you mean the tuition bill hasn’t been paid this semester? There has to be a mistake.”
Other than the sharp clicking of a computer keyboard, silence fills the line. Each second that ticks by only ratchets up my nerves and the unsteady thumping of my heart until it sounds more like the dull roar of the ocean in my ears.
“I’m afraid there’s not.” Her voice softens but remains firm. “I’ve checked your account several times. The entire balance for the second semester is outstanding. It was supposed to be paid by the first of the month, which means it’s ten days overdue.”
A thick lump settles in my throat as I stare sightlessly at the silver-framed photo of my brother and me propped on my desk. Our arms are wrapped around each other, and we’re both grinning at the camera without a care in the world.
A decade later, life couldn’t feel more different.
I’d give just about anything to go back to that idyllic moment. If I squeeze my eyes tight, I can still hear the sound of the lake in the distance and feel the bright sunlight shining down, warming my face.
“Ms. DiMarco?” There’s a pause. “Are you still there?”
The memories dissolve like wisps of smoke as I blink back to the present. “Yeah, I’m here.”
Unfortunately.
“I’m going to make an appointment for you. Tomorrow at one o’clock, all right? Hopefully you and your advisor will be able to figure out a solution.”
My shoulders collapse as if there’s a thousand-pound weight resting on them. “As soon as I get off the phone, I’ll call my parents. I’m sure it was just an oversight on their part.” My palm settles on my lower abdomen as if that will settle the nausea that has taken up residence.
“Perhaps.” Skepticism creeps into her tone.
As soon as I disconnect the call, I hit Mom’s icon on the screen.
She picks up on the third ring. Already her voice is tinged with concern. “Hi, sweetie. We haven’t heard from you in a few days. Is everything good?”
I’m way too distraught to bother with pleasantries. “I don’t know. The school just called, and my tuition still hasn’t been paid.”
The statement is met with a deafening silence that only reconfirms this was in no way an oversight before she murmurs, “I should get your father.”
The faint prickling at the bottom of my belly turns into full-fledged pterodactyls attempting to wing their way to life. I don’t realize that the hand not holding my cell in a death grip has drifted to the middle of my chest to rub my scar.
There’s a brief shuffling of the phone before Dad clears his throat. I can already tell that whatever he has to say won’t be good. “Hey, Fallyn.”
Exhaustion fills his voice. And maybe something else.
Resignation.
Defeat.
Things I never expected to hear from him.
“Hi, Dad. Why wasn’t my tuition bill paid this semester?”
A heavy silence follows.
“We’ve been dealing with some financial issues. I was hoping they could be resolved, but in light of current events, that now seems unlikely.”
My face scrunches as I pop to my feet and pace the length of my room. “What kind of issues?”
“That dirty bastard Westerville staged a coup and forced me out of the company,” he bites out. Once his anger has been unleashed, there’s no putting it neatly back inside a box.
I stutter to a stop as my eyes widen. My heart stalls before slamming into overdrive beneath my breast. “A coup? When?”
“A few days before Christmas,” he says with a grunt.
What?
My tongue darts out to moisten parched lips as I swing around and stalk the length of my room. Even though I try to keep my voice level, it continues to escalate. “But that was weeks ago. I was home during the entire break, and you never said a word.”
In hindsight, I realize that he was absent most of the time, locked away in his home office. When he wasn’t there, he was preoccupied and grumpy. I didn’t think much about it because the holidays are always difficult.
Why would this one be any different?
“I spoke with my lawyer, hoping to overturn the decision or force him out on his ass instead, but there’s nothing I can do. The sneaky bastard went behind my back and turned everyone against me.” His voice rises with each word he spits out until I have to hold the phone away from my ear. “After everything that family has taken from us, he does something like this!”
Now doesn’t seem like the appropriate time to mention that he attempted to do the very same thing a few years ago. Their once-close relationship became tenuous after the accident and then downright hostile when Dad tried to force him out.