Chapter 10
10
18 years old - Lily
After winter break
A fter circling the lot twice, I sigh in relief when I spot the newly empty parking space near the building entrance. I text Tabitha to tell her that I will be joining her in five minutes and rush to the main auditorium of the biology department at the Radinger Institute of Technology.
The place is already packed with ambitious eighteen-year-olds, armed with a notebook or an iPad on their laps. I spot the back of Tabitha's head, her hair covered in fresh highlights from last week, and an empty seat next to her.
"Sorry, I'm late," I whisper, claiming the vacant chair.
Tabitha smiles. "Quick, sit your ass down. It's about to start."
Professor Diana Abernathy appears on stage and greets the crowd. She still looks the same as I remember her. The last time I saw her was at my father's funeral. She came with her husband to offer me and my mom her deepest condolences. I never saw her again after that, since my mom doesn't run in the same circles as my dad's friends. Her eyes find mine while she is talking and her mouth forms into a smile. I smile back at her, happy that she recognizes me, and start tuning in to what she is saying, eagerly jotting down the information.
"What are you doing after this?" I ask Tabitha in a hushed tone. "Wanna go grab coffee?"
"Sorry, I can't. Taylor is waiting for me. He's at the gym now, but will pick me up later to take me on a date. We're celebrating our four-month anniversary." Tabitha is smiling ear to ear when she says this. I jokingly stick two fingers in my mouth and make a gagging sound. These two celebrate their monthiversaries every month.
As I head back toward my car, I hear heels clicking and someone calling my name. "Lily, wait!" It's Diana. "It's good to see you here," she says genuinely, giving me a warm hug. "I didn't know you applied! I didn't even know you were interested in natural sciences. You should've told us!"
"I'm also applying to other colleges, but I wanted to apply to Radinger as well, because...you know. Because of my dad."
She squeezes my shoulder. "We all miss him very much, honey. He would have been so proud of you."
"I've also applied to an English-speaking program in France that I am interested in. I actually want to study abroad, but I thought I'd apply to RadTech. I have so many memories here with him, you know? If I get in, I might stay here just for that reason alone." I still remember when I would wait in their office for his lectures to be over. Diana would give me candy or chips from her snack drawer and I would sit on his chair, pretending that I was her assistant.
Her gaze softens. "It would be an honor to have you here with us. Please call me if you need anything. My number is still the same."
We chit chat for a bit more before I decide to give Bryce an impromptu visit. I still have a few hours before rush hour starts and all the commuters that work in Radinger drive back to Elsham Cove and the other suburban towns in the area. He left his tennis racket when he borrowed my car last time, anyway. I can drop it off and kill two birds with one stone.
Bryce's off-campus apartment is a fifteen-minute drive away from the university. He lives in a high-rise building near the business district. A skyscraper that has an indoor pool, underground parking spaces, as well as round-the-clock security. Bryce and his roommates are probably the only students living there, perks of being the son of Arthur Simmons, I guess.
As soon as I walk to the front entrance, the doorman greets me by name, already knowing who I am from the times I have visited Bryce with Arthur and my mom. I walk straight to the elevator, a tennis racket in hand, and go up to the fifteenth floor.
Before the bell stops buzzing, a disheveled man I have never met before yanks the door open. His hair is messy and his eyes are bloodshot. He reeks of weed and alcohol. He looks at me up and down, not sure what to do with me. I tell him that I'm there for Bryce and he starts smirking.
"Yo, Bryce. Some chick is here to see you!" A small huff comes out of my mouth. Some chick.
"Yeah, let her in." I hear Bryce yelling from inside, "It's Lily, my stepsister!" His voice sounds muffled, like he's in the bathroom.
The guy opens the door wider, but still stands next to the entrance, forcing me to squeeze myself past him.
"Stepsister, huh?" he mumbles while quirking his eyebrow. I ignore him and directly gun for the loveseat in the living room.
Bryce comes out of the bathroom a moment later, only wearing sweatpants, his hair still wet. Although cleaner, he looks equally tired as the guy who has now followed me into the living room.
"Lily, this is Logan, my new roommate. Logan, this is Lily." I give Logan a nod and notice that he is staring at my thighs with his emerald green eyes. I feel my skin tightening. He gives me serial-killer vibes.
Bryce opens the fridge door in their open kitchen and throws Logan and me a Gatorade before guzzling one down himself.
"Who moved out?" I ask.
"Mateo is doing a semester abroad, so we rented out his room to Logan," Bryce explains while popping Ibuprofen out of its packaging. "He just broke up with his girlfriend and had to move out."
"Fuck that bitch and good riddance," Logan says. A real charmer. He turns to me again with the same vile look that he had before when he ogled my thighs. "You didn't tell me you had a stepsister this hot, Bryce."
Bryce bares his teeth. "She's barely legal, and she has a boyfriend."
Logan smiles in a way that makes bile rise in my throat. "Like that has stopped me before."
"She's off limits, Logan."
"Keeping her to yourself, are you?"
"She's also right here and you both need to stop talking about me as if I am not," I snap. "Logan, shut the fuck up. And Bryce, I can fend off creeps by myself." The audacity of this asshole.
He shakes his head while chuckling before he walks into what used to be Mateo's room. "Feisty," Logan says to himself.
"What is his deal?" I ask Bryce the moment Logan shuts the door, my arms crossed in front of my chest.
"Ugh, ignore him. He's going through a breakup and just needs to get it out of his system."