by J. L. Weil
And for tonight, I would just try to survive.
As I downed my second slice, a mouse scampered out of its hiding spot, and stared up at me. I swallowed my initial squeak with a bite of pizza. “Hey, little guy, you hungry?”
Breaking off a hunk of crust, I dropped it onto the ground. Pipsqueak scurried over, and grabbed the offering in his two tiny hands, nibbling with an intensity that I understood far too well.
“Not bad, huh?”
Holy shit. I’d been reduced to talking to the local street rodents. At least he had better table manners than Denny. I’d take a dozen mice over him any day of the week.
I polished off half the pizza—my first real meal in two days—my belly felt fully satisfied for the time being. Licking the last bit of sauce from my fingers, I stood up, gathering the other half of the pizza as a blast of wind bit straight into me.
Ugh. This sucks. I cursed Denny to seven different kinds of hell as I shivered my ass off, but I didn’t regret standing up to my stepdad. Screw him. He was a piece of trash.
Winter reared its ugly head, and the bone-chilling wind made me want to huddle forever in my hoodie, and never take it off. Leaning against the wall, my mind wandered to the days when I used to hang out with Staci. I missed her and her off-the-wall sense of humor. She worried about me… the only person who did.
Checking my phone I exhaled. No messages. It was hard not to feel unloved at the moment and utterly alone in the world. I didn’t expect her to blow up my phone every five minutes, but the occasional are you okay? text would be nice.
The coolness of the bricks reached me when I rested my head back, and glanced up at the charming, and historical Brentley University. Remembering the application I had completed to attend this school, it was hard to realize my dreams had been swept away. I had left it sitting on my desk at the house Denny now occupied alone. It was probably crumbled and in the trash now, just like my future.
Throwing my backpack onto my shoulders, I moseyed to the end of the alley, gaining a clear picture of the campus courtyard. It was sad, but I used to sit on the benches, watching the throngs of students come and go from the dorms and classes, picturing myself among them.
Someday, I promised myself. Someday I would go to college, but first I needed to figure out how to finish high school, and I couldn’t forget about that J-O-B.
A gaggle of giggles interrupted my drifting thoughts, and drew my attention to a group of college students whispering in a circle. I rolled my eyes, glad I’d never been one of those annoying girls, but still, curiosity got the best of me while my gaze followed theirs across campus.
Keeping myself partially hidden in the dark alley, I glanced at the parking lot, seeing a sporty black car. Leaning on the sleek vehicle was a tall, attractive man. His legs were crossed at the ankles, as he shot an award-winning grin at his fan club.
Leif Lexington. He had been a senior last year at my school and was smoldering hot with an ego the size of the Sears Tower. The pizza threatened to come back up. Guys like Leif made me sick. So what if he drove a stellar car, had perfect blond hair, and sexy scruff? I found it freaky. No one could be that perfect.
What a douche-sicle.
The clique of girls might as well drop their panties. Cringe.
Leif forked his fingers through his hair, giving it that messy, I-just-woke-up-like-this look that he probably spent hours perfecting. I swore I heard a chorus of sighs, even from my hiding spot.
The gag reflex started in the back of my throat. It was a train wreck I couldn’t stop watching, like reality TV.
One of his groupies got the lady balls to approach him, her heeled boots clattering on the pavement as she strutted to the parking lot. A seductive smirk coated her cherry lips. Leif reached into the back pocket of his tattered black jeans—that probably cost more than the entire wardrobe hanging in my old closet—pulled out a lighter, and a small red box of Marlboros.
Gross.
How could they think that was hot?
With a flick of his thumb, the flame on the lighter caught, casting a soft glow over his flawless face, while he put a slim white cigarette into his mouth. He cupped the dancing fire with his hand, bending his face to catch the tip as he sucked in, sharpening his cheekbones.
If he could see me now, I doubted he would recognize me. I was repulsed to admit that at one time Leif had briefly dated Staci, which could account for 90 percent of my dislike for the guy. To this day, I still don’t know what my best friend saw in him, but I guess she had wanted to give dating Mr. Popular a shot, just to say she had.
As if his nose was itching, Leif’s sparkly silver eyes whisked to the alley, catching a glimpse of me staring at him. The corners of his mouth twitched. There was something aloof and pompous about the slight tilt of his lips. I jerked back, sinking farther into the darkness, and out of his eyesight.
Color heightened my cheeks. Crap. Had he seen me?
The last thing I wanted was rumors spread about me at school. Leif had a younger brother, and at my high school, gossip spread like cancer.
Worry ran through me. I need to find something better than this. Living on the streets couldn’t be my life.
The girl with mile-long legs reached Leif, taking his attention, but not before I caught the sneer on his lips.
Ugh.
I pressed my back against the wall, arguing with myself. Don’t do it, Olivia. Just walk away. But it was as if I was possessed. Turning against the brick building, I inched forward, taking another peek. Legs laughed at something Leif said, tossing her ebony hair over her shoulder, and then she placed a flirty hand on his chest.
I snorted.
What they were saying wasn’t clear, but it didn’t really matter; their body language said it all. Wariness held me back. Something in Leif’s gaze made me shudder. He was a tad too controlled. Edging along the wall, I moved farther away from the couple, no longer interested in taking a trip down memory lane, and what he had done to my best friend.
My gaze dropped to my phone for the umpteenth time—nothing new. I noticed the date was the winter solstice. In high school, I’d been fascinated with astronomy. The beginning of winter was here… and the beginning of death for everything else. The plants, the trees, all of it would become stagnant, and here in Chicago, winter wasn’t some little event; it lasted months.
A flutter drew my eyes to a shadowed corner near the dumpster. As I grew closer, I noticed it was just a discarded magazine, the pages flapping in the wind. My fingers grazed its pages when I bent down to pick it up. I could use some reading material—a form of entertainment to pass the long night ahead—but first, I needed to find a bathroom. That was one of the things you never thought about before becoming homeless—how difficult it was to do something as simple as pee.
Scooping up the gossip tabloid, a lock of blonde hair fell over my eyes, partially impairing my vision. I stood up and turned the corner, not thinking about where I was going, and smacked into a wall, spilling my pizza. I was always doing crap like that. Being graceful wasn’t one of my redeeming qualities.
Son of a bitch. The last thing I need is a bloody nose.
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Read More from J. L. Weil
DRAGON DESCENDANTS SERIES
(Upper Teen Reverse Harem Fantasy)
Stealing Tranquility
THE DIVISA SERIES
(Full series completed – Teen Paranormal Romance)
Losing Emma: A Divisa novella
Saving Angel
Hunting Angel
Breaking Emma: A Divisa novella
Chasing Angel
Loving Angel
Redeeming Angel
LUMINESCENCE TRILOGY
(Full series completed – Teen Paranormal Romance)
Luminescence
Amethyst Tears
Moondust
Darkmist – A Luminescence novella
RAVEN SERIES
(Full series completed – Teen Paranormal Romance)
White Raven
Black Crow
Soul Symmetry
BEAUTY NEVER DIES CHRONICLES
(Teen Dystopian Romance)
Slumber
Entangled
Forsaken
NINE TAILS SERIES
(Teen Paranormal Romance)
First Shift
Storm Shift
Flame Shift
Time Shift
SINGLE NOVELS
Starbound
(Teen Paranormal Romance)
Dark Souls
(Runes KindleWorld Novella)
Casting Dreams
(New Adult Paranormal Romance
Ancient Tides
(New Adult Paranormal Romance
For an updated list of my books, please visit my website: www.jlweil.com
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About the Author
USA TODAY Bestselling author J.L. Weil lives in Illinois where she writes Teen & New Adult Paranormal Romances about spunky, smart mouth girls who always wind up in dire situations. For every sassy girl, there is an equally mouthwatering, overprotective guy. Of course, there is lots of kissing. And stuff.
An admitted addict to Love Pink clothes, raspberry mochas from Starbucks, and Jensen Ackles. She loves gushing about books and Supernatural with her readers.
She is the author of the International Bestselling Raven & Divisa series.
www.jlweil.com
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