Fake Roommate

by Rebel Hart

  Copyright © 2020 by Rebel Hart

  Cover by Robin Harper of Wicked by Design

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  1. Nina

  2. Nina

  3. Devon

  4. Nina

  5. Nina

  6. Devon

  7. Nina

  8. Devon

  9. Nina

  10. Devon

  11. Nina

  12. Devon

  13. Nina

  14. Devon

  15. Devon

  16. Nina

  17. Nina

  18. Devon

  19. Devon

  20. Nina

  21. Nina

  22. Devon

  23. Nina

  24. Nina

  About the Author

  Also by Rebel Hart

  Fake Roommate

  Rebel Hart

  1

  Nina

  Unlike most students, I was glad the summer was over. I was finally eighteen, I was finally out of high school, and most importantly, I was finally at Presper University. After having the college and its amazing journalism program on my radar for most of my high school career, it was finally move-in day, and I couldn’t be more excited.

  “Honey, where do you want this?”

  I turned around and looked at Harriet, my step-mom, awkwardly holding a box of my trinkets from home. Despite the beads of sweat dripping down her chocolate skin and dampening the edges of her golden, curly hair, she had a bright smile on her face.

  “Anywhere is fine,” I responded. “It looks heavy. Why didn’t you let dad carry it up?”

  She set the box down on the dorm room’s provided desk with a dull thud. “Because he said it was too heavy for me.”

  I laughed. “Ah.”

  Harriet had always been that sort of person. If you tell her she can’t do something, she’ll do it twice to prove you wrong. My dad proposed marriage to her just three short months after he and my mom announced their divorce. They were married within a month of the divorce being finalized. I blamed her for a long time for ruining my parents’ marriage, but life has a funny way of teaching important lessons.

  Harriet wrapped her arm around my shoulder. “So, are you excited for your big journalism debut?”

  “I don’t think starting college can be considered one’s ‘debut.’ If I land my internship, then I’ll be making my big debut.”

  “And you will,” Harriet replied. “With your skills and all of the tools I beat into you, you’re gonna clean house.”

  Harriet had also been my high school mentor and the teacher that headed up the school newspaper and yearbook committee. I first met her when I was thirteen and thought she was the most amazing person I’d ever met. Suffice it to say I was shattered when I found out she was having an affair with my dad, one that most likely started when they met because of me. It turned my world upside down, learning that someone I looked up to had willingly participated in something that would go on to divide my family, but after Harriet and my dad were married, I could see that my dad was the happiest he’d ever been. Not in all of the memories that I had of my parents had either of them ever seemed as happy as my dad and Harriet did when they were together. Did I agree with my dad’s method? No, but I eventually made my peace with that and grew to love Harriet again. My dad was happy, and that made me happy.

  “I hope so. I can’t apply until next year, so this year is all about stacking the deck,” I explained. “I’m starting with the Dean’s List.”

  Harriet gave me a squeeze. “That’s my girl. Always so goal-oriented.”

  “She gets that from her dad.” My dad came grunting and groaning his way around the corner with boxes stacked high in his arms.

  I got my brown hair and gray eyes from him, and given that he was only a few centimeters taller than I was, he looked like a male me walking through the door, apart from the tips of my hair that were dyed purple. When his hair was pulled back into a bun and he had his glasses on instead of his contacts, I was his spitting image.

  “Dad.” I took the top box off and set it on my bed. “Why?”

  “Hey, your old man is strong.” He nearly toppled as he tried to set the remaining boxes down on the floor. He stood up with a huff. “See?”

  Harriet shook her head. “You’re gonna be complaining about your back for the next three days.”

  My dad waved his hand at Harriet and then looked at me. “When’s your mom coming?”

  “Tomorrow,” I replied. “She wanted to come today, but…”

  An awkward silence fell over the room. In spite of the more horrific way their marriage came to an end, my parents had maintained a very good relationship—further proof that they really just weren’t meant to be married—but when Harriet was involved in something, my mom wouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot pole.

  “Well, we can go so that she can come today,” my dad responded. “I can call her when we leave.”

  I shook my head. “It’s okay. Actually, you guys shouldn’t feel the need to stick around. Sydney should be here soon, and I think I’m gonna go pick up my books and stuff from the Student Union. You’ve fed me, and you’ve moved me in. I think I’m good.”

  My dad opened his arms, and I left Harriet’s side to walk into them. “You sure?”

  “Yeah, Dad, I’m good.” He kissed the top of my forehead. “Thank you for everything.”

  He patted my back. “All right, pumpkin. Well, we’re only thirty minutes away, so call if you need anything. You’ve got some money in your account, and don’t waste quarters on laundry. We’ll just do weekly runs.”

  I laughed. “Okay, Dad.” I pulled myself from his hold. “Go, go. I’ll be okay.” He looked down at me, and I could see his eyes glistening. I pointed up at him. “Don’t. You’ve already cried so much. Just go.” I made a sweeping motion with his hands. “Go. Go enjoy an empty nest.”

  “Fine. I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  I gave both my dad and Harriet a final round of hugs and goodbyes and then let out a sigh of relief when they were finally out the door. I checked the time and saw it was half-past one in the afternoon. I spent about an hour unpacking my boxes and getting my computer set up on my desk, then I slung my purse over my shoulder, grabbed my keys, and left the dorm.

  Presper University wasn’t a massive school, but it was big enough to feel comfortable with a student population of around four thousand. It was arranged hub style, with the administrative building situated right in the center of the campus and four towers that contained dorms to the north, south, east, and west. The different academic buildings formed a ring between the living towers and the admin building, and there were two student-centric locations in the northeastern and southwestern corners of the campus, the Student Union in the northeast and the Student Gathering hall in the southwest. I lived in the Eastern Tower, which meant I was located particularly close to the Student Union, a good thing, considering about half of my new professors were still relying on physical books for their courses.

  The Student Union was a large, white stone building, with tall pillars in front and the school’s color scheme, burgundy and gold, hanging in sashes along the roof and in banners down the front. Students were flowing in and out in a steady stream, and I breathed in the energy of a new chapter of my life as I approached. College was a turning point for me, one I couldn’t wait to get started on. It wasn’t as if I had an overly unlikable high school experience, but as a staunchly undramatic person,
I’d somehow become best friends with one of the school’s more dramatic-fueled individuals, earned the disapproval of her former best friend, and managed to develop unrequited feelings for a guy who often said he considered me a sister. The 2.0 of being friend-zoned— sibling-zoned. For someone who tried so severely to avoid attention, I’d found myself at the center of it a lot and was excited about a change.

  The only thing I allowed to follow me from high school was Sydney. She was going to be my roommate, and even though she’d spent our entire senior year of high school talking about how she couldn’t wait to leave the small town we lived in, Logan, Utah, she randomly decided after the freshman preview night for Presper University to attend the school with me, as well. I was confused, though excited. I was beyond welcoming of the opportunity to take Sydney out of the environment that fostered her thirst for drama. We could just grow as friends while we lived together at college.

  I’d set three goals for myself, and they were rigid. One, I was going to graduate on the Dean’s List, an exclusive honor only for students with the highest grades. Two, I was going to secure an internship at Logan’s premier media company to jump-start my career early. Three, I was going to forget all about Kai, the guy I’d been infatuated with for way too long. The last of these, though the least academic, was also the most important to me. I hadn’t had my first kiss, and I hadn’t given away my virginity. I was excited to finally move on and experience all of the rites of passage I’d held onto as I hoped I could give them to a man who was never interested.

  I walked into the Student Union with a smile on my face. I’d been there once before when Presper University held a preview night to try and inspire students to attend, but now it was all decked out with welcome materials and overly excited upperclassmen greeting the new students. The bookstore at the back of the main hall had a large line with students waiting to get their books. The amazing smells of foods being cooked in the Union’s upstairs dining hall surrounded the space, and everyone seemed just as excited as I was to start their new adventure. I sifted through the sea of students, dodged some upperclassmen trying to shove brochures for clubs into my face, and made my way to the back of the line for books.

  My phone buzzed in my hand, and I looked down. It was a text from Sydney. She’d finally made it to the dorm and was there unpacking and waiting. We started a bit of a back and forth conversation that was interrupted when I heard my name.

  “Nina?”

  I looked up, and my heart dropped into my stomach. Making his way toward me, with a smile on his face, a sparkle in his blue eyes, his long, black hair falling down the sides of his face in waves, and his naturally tanned skin shining, was none other than Kai Keli’i. He was six feet, two inches of beautiful Hawaiian god. He was athletic, so he always had a well-chiseled, well-toned body and full, thick arms that exuded strength. I first met him when he moved from Hawaii to Utah after his mother was relocated for work.

  All the girls in our school liked him, but he had something of an affinity for me. We always palled around together, and even though he was very popular, he always found time to greet me or stop for a conversation. He nearly knocked the whole school out when he sat down to have lunch with me near the end of his first week. I mistook his kindness for something more and developed feelings, only to have Sydney learn that he thought of me as a sister. It was a blow to the gut, to say the least, but partnered with the fact that his kindness never tapered off, it was difficult to evacuate the feelings I’d amassed.

  “Kai?” I asked when he finally reached where I was standing in line. “What are you doing here?”

  He ran a hand through his hair. “Uh, I go here?” He chuckled. “My dad wasn’t gonna let me go anywhere else when he’s the dean.”

  My jaw dropped. I’d been planning on attending Presper since my sophomore year. It was my dream school and top pick, so how did I miss that Kai’s dad was the dean of students? “I didn’t know your dad was the dean!”

  “Yeah! The last guy was retiring when we moved here, so my dad applied for the job and got it.” Kai flopped his head to one side with a sigh. “I was kind of planning on heading back to Hawaii for college, but my dad insisted, so here I am.”

  “Wow.” Just my fucking luck. “That’s awesome.”

  “Well, I guess since you’re here, too, it is.” He smiled, and my stomach twisted a little. If he wasn’t so nice, or gorgeous, it’d be much easier to get over him. “You’re studying journalism, I take it?”

  I hunched my brow. “Y-yeah. How did you know that?”

  “Lucky guess. With the newspaper and yearbook and stuff, you seemed to have a knack for it.” He said it so matter-of-factly. I didn’t realize that he even paid close attention to me.

  I grinned. “Oh, thanks. Yeah. I’m excited.” The line moved forward a bit, so I moved with it, and Kai kept up with me. “What are you studying?”

  “Psychology, but football’s my main focus, obviously. It could be interesting, though. I’m excited to get started. I think that—”

  “Oh, look who you dug up.” A voice that haunted my nightmares interrupted our conversation. I let out a little sigh, hoping that I’d just imagined the name, but a few seconds later, a blond-haired, blue-eyed monster sidled up to Kai’s side. Taylor Renee was my nemesis of sorts and Kai’s girlfriend. I’d earned her displeasure when I became friends with Sydney, and she’d been out to get me ever since. She looped her arm through Kai’s. “If it isn’t Nina.”

  I forced a grin. “Hi, Taylor.”

  Much like Sydney, Taylor had gone on and on throughout our senior year about leaving Logan and heading to a big city like LA or New York. Did she just decide to stay because of Kai, or had she not finished her war-path to make my life miserable?

  “I guess I did hear something about you coming to Presper. Guess I forgot,” Taylor muttered dully before turning her attention to Kai. “Sweetie, let’s go. My parents are gonna take us out to dinner.”

  “Okay.” Kai threw me a quick smile. “See you around campus, Nina.”

  “Yeah, see you.”

  Taylor gave me a glare as she dragged Kai away, and when they were out of sight, I released the tension in my shoulders. As nice as it was to see Kai, it was just as disappointing. I was supposed to be getting over Kai, leaving my high school drama behind. If he and Taylor were here, maybe college was going to be much more like high school than I was hoping for.

  I collected my books and left the Student Union much more dejectedly than I’d entered. I was glad that Sydney was waiting back at our dorm because I needed the supportive words of a friend to convince me that Kai and Taylor being at Presper wasn’t going to totally tank my college experience. I re-entered the east tower and went up to the fourth floor, where our room was located. It seemed like all of the rooms had occupants now, and the hallways were abuzz with all of the new freshmen. The door to my dorm room was held open with a doorstop, so I ducked inside and was almost immediately hit with a hug from Sydney.

  Sydney had blond hair naturally, but it was a variety of pastel colors now, all swirling together in a cool designer’s rainbow. Her brown eyes were bright and excited to see me, and she was wearing a pair of jean shorts and a Presper University t-shirt, the midriff of which she’d rolled up to reveal her belly button ring.

  “Hi!” she squealed. “I know it’s only been, like, three days since I last saw you, but I missed you!”

  “I missed you, too.” I had to claw her off of me. “You’re late.”

  “Ugh, I know.” She waved a hand through the air. “My mom took me to Target for some last-minute shopping, and let’s just say, we were there for, like, four hours. She tried to stick around to see you, but I ran her off. She’s a bit much today. Said she’s planning on coming back tomorrow.”

  “Well, my mom’s coming, too, so they can distract each other,” I replied.

  I looked around the room and noticed that there were way fewer items than what I was expecting. Considering she just
mentioned a four-hour Target trip, I didn’t see a whole lot in the way of items or bags, but I chose not to press. Sydney was a woman of whims, so there was likely a really convoluted explanation that I wasn’t entirely interested in twisting myself up in. I sat down at the desk where I’d set up my computer while Sydney went back to primping and propping things on the bed.

  “Did you know Kai and Taylor chose Presper, too?” I asked sadly.

  Sydney scoffed. “No. I’m sorry, honey.” She sat down on the bed and crossed her arms. “Can you avoid them?”

  “I can avoid them from now on,” I said. “I did talk to them in the Student Union.” I pointed at her. “It’s your job to keep me out of their crosshairs. Get me over Kai, got it?”

  Sydney clapped. “Of course! I’m stoked. We’re gonna find you a hot college guy and make Kai regret passing you up.”

  I nodded. “Good.”

  I turned to my computer and powered it up. I had an affinity for journaling, and given the day’s activities, I had a lot to get out. I left Sydney to her arranging while I jotted down some of the excitement of the day. I spent a little too much time discussing Kai and our past and my feelings, all things I would probably delete later, but it was nice to get it out. I left Taylor out of it. She was kind of like Beetlejuice to me, and I was afraid that if I wrote her name too many times, she’d suddenly appear.

  “You don’t mind if I leave this stuff here, right?” Sydney asked.

  I swirled around in the chair. Sydney had a few items, some miscellaneous clothes and smaller objects, stacked on the bed.

  “Uh, yeah?” I asked. “Why wouldn’t you be able to keep your stuff in your room?”