Sleepless November (Sleepless November Saga Book 1)

by Kelsey Clayton

  

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2018 by Kelsey Clayton

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review. For more information, address: kelsey@kelseyclayton.com

  First paperback edition November 2018

  Book design by Kelsey Clayton

  ISBN 9781729144916

  www.kelseyclayton.com

  Dedicated to my daughters.

  May you always make your

  dreams come true.

  Contents

  Preface

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty One

  Chapter Twenty Two

  Chapter Twenty Three

  Chapter Twenty Four

  Chapter Twenty Five

  Chapter Twenty Six

  About the Author

  Preface

  I don’t really know what it was that made girls fawn over him. Yeah, he may have had the kind of eyes you could get lost in, and silky smooth hair you wanted to run your fingers through. None of those things ever mattered to me, though. He was the most arrogant type of prick. The way he walked around campus like he owned the place, as if no one could touch him - it was infuriating. Maybe he knew that I wasn’t affected by him like the rest of the girls. Perhaps that’s why he chose me. Regardless of the reasoning, I wish more than anything that he hadn’t; yet if I could go back, I don’t know that I would choose differently. I don’t know if I could.

  Chapter One

  The sound of my professor’s voice echoes throughout the classroom. The microphone only makes him louder, yet I don’t think anyone is actually listening. Personally, I tuned him out about an hour and a half ago, which also happens to be when class started. There’s just nothing interesting to me about psychology.

  “Alright. Your homework is to read the rest of Chapter 13 and write an essay using the topic given to you at the end of the chapter. You’re dismissed.”

  We all gather our things and quickly make for the exit. The chilly fall air causes goosebumps to rise across my skin. I pull my sleeves down over my hands and clench them tightly.

  “HEADS!” Someone yells.

  I stop just in time for a guy to jump in front of me, catching a football midair and falling backwards onto the grass.

  “Sorry about that.” He says, getting up and wiping the leaves from his sweatshirt. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah.” I reply. “I’m fine. Are you alright?”

  “Me? Yeah, of course. I take falls like that all the time.”

  I can’t help but notice his chocolate brown eyes. They’re such a contradiction to his blonde hair, yet they feel so warm and comforting. It isn’t until he smiles and raises his eyebrows a little that I notice I’ve just been staring like an idiot. Great.

  “I’m sorry, what?” I ask, shaking myself from my thoughts.

  He chuckles softly. “I said, I’m Caleb.”

  “Oh.” I smile. “Kayleigh.”

  “Caleb!” A girl calls his name as she approaches us. Her short blonde hair matches his, making them look like your typical prom king and queen. She wraps her hands around his bicep and steps unnecessarily close to him. “Hey babe. I was looking for you.”

  “Well, you found me.” He answers, sounding entirely unamused.

  She turns toward me and looks me up and down. I immediately want to crumble under her stare. My arms wrap around my stomach protectively as I look around for any excuse to escape this awkward situation.

  “Oh, Kayleigh! You’re Bree’s roommate, right?” I have to stop myself from rolling my eyes. Of course, she’s friends with Brianna. The two of them are physically flawless, and I’m, well, not.

  “Mhm.” I nod.

  “Awesome. Can you tell her to call me? She hasn’t answered my texts all day.” I notice how her grip on Caleb tightens until he finally gives in and wraps his arm around her tiny waist.

  “Uh. Yeah, sure. I’m sorry though, who are you?”

  She glares, making me wish I could vanish even more. “Taylor. We met on move in day. I came by your room to see Bree.”

  “Oh.” I fake recognition. “Right, Taylor. Yeah, I’ll tell her.”

  She smiles happily. “Thank you mucho.”

  “No problem. I really have to get going, though.” I turn my attention to Caleb as I take a step backwards. “It was nice meeting you.”

  “Yeah, you too.” He responds.

  As I begin to walk away, I can just barely hear them before their voices begin to fade.

  “I bet it was.” Taylor sarcastically remarks.

  “Stop, Tay.” Caleb reprimands her.

  She scoffs. “What? She was all doe-eyed at you…”

  I roll my eyes and fix the bag on my shoulder. Of course, someone like him is taken by someone like her. I was downright stupid to think he would be interested in me. She’s perfect and I’m just average.

  The walk back to my dorm room luckily doesn’t take long. I open the door, drop my bag next to my desk, and jump into bed - wrapping the covers around my shivering body to warm up.

  “Please don’t tell me it’s that cold out. It’s only the beginning of October!” Brianna says from where she’s seated at her desk.

  I turn toward her and see her looking back at me. I stutter with my answer, knowing she would never understand the real reason why I’m so frigid.

  “N-no. My professor just had the air conditioning on.” I lie, mentally patting myself on the back for coming up with that so quickly.

  “Oh.” She frowns and turns back to her mirror. “I swear, some professors are so selfish.”

  I hum in acknowledgement as I snuggle deeper into my bed.

  “I saw Taylor.” I tell her. “She wants you to call her. Apparently, she’s been trying to reach you all day.”

  She gets up and walks over to her bed, making a mess of the blankets as she searches for her phone. “Ah ha. Found it.” She turns around and sits on her bed with her phone in her hand. “Oh yeah, look at that. Oops.” She says and tosses her phone back onto her bed. I laugh softly.

  Brianna and I didn’t know each other before we became roommates. She’s on the cheerleading team and is currently rushing one of the sororities on campus. Her and I couldn’t possibly be any more different. At first, I thought she was going to be one of those girls who knows she’s perfect and acts like it. Thankfully, she’s a total sweetheart.

  “Bree, you ready to go?” A male voice booms into the room. “Of course, you’re not.” He leans against the door, crossing his arms and resting his head to the side. “Hi Kayleigh.” He mocks.

  “Ugh.” I groan, rolling my eyes and throwing my blanket over my head. I hear Bree giggle from where she is sitting.

  “I’ll be ready in a
minute, Holden. I just have to change.” She tells him.

  I hear her get up and walk towards the bathroom, while other footsteps come toward me. Suddenly, my blanket is moved away from my face.

  “Can I help you?” I ask, not at all masking the bitchiness from my tone.

  “Just saying hi to my girlfriend’s roommate.” He answers sarcastically and sits down on the side of my bed.

  “Hi.” I deadpan. “Now, do you mind?”

  He smiles brightly. “Not at all.” He leans back against my legs, causing me to move over to avoid being crushed.

  Bree comes out of the bathroom wearing a pair of skinny jeans and a crop top. Her long blonde hair is curled perfectly, and the color of her top makes her hazel eyes look greener than usual. A shiny pink belly ring dangles against her perfect stomach. Can the world please just swallow me up now?

  “How do I look?” She asks.

  “Great, as always, now can we go?” Holden responds in his usual rude tone.

  Bree rolls her eyes and waves her hand dismissively. “I wasn’t asking you. I was asking Kayleigh.”

  “Oh, thanks. Doesn’t my opinion matter?” He scoffs.

  “Not when you’d just tell me what you think I want to hear.” She quips back. I chuckle at the way she doesn’t stand down to him.

  “Whatever.” He mumbles, standing up from my bed and walking over to the desk to retrieve his keys.

  I look at Bree, who’s waiting for my answer. “He’s right. You look great.”

  She smiles happily and turns to grab her purse. “You sure you don’t want to come with us?” She asks.

  Holden and I both say no at the same time. Bree quickly turns around to give him what I can only assume is a death glare.

  “What?!” He laughs. “You’ve asked her every time we go somewhere if she wants to come. The answer is always the same. Leave her to her nap or whatever it is she does in her spare time.”

  “Well, duh.” She snaps at him. “You’re constantly rude. I wouldn’t want to go anywhere with you if I were her either.”

  He rolls his eyes and turns toward the door. “I’ll meet you in the car.” I can faintly hear a yelled ‘Bye Kayleigh’ from down the hallway, but I don’t care to answer.

  “Sorry about him.” Bree apologizes.

  I shake my head. “It’s fine. I just don’t know what you see in him.”

  She chuckles. “Of course, you don’t. You hate him.”

  I shrug. She isn’t entirely wrong. “Well, he’s arrogant, rude, pompous, obnoxious, egotistical-”

  “Okay, okay.” She laughs, effectively cutting me off. “I get it. His personality needs work. You have to admit though, he’s so hot.”

  I wish I could see into that brain of hers and understand how his hideous personality doesn’t completely ruin his looks. She isn’t wrong, per say. Holden Rivers is well known as the hottest guy on campus. His bright green eyes, wavy brown hair, and washboard abs have girls basically throwing themselves at him almost every day. Not to mention, he plays hockey and is part of the most popular fraternity. Bree was shocked when he started dating her. Him being a junior and all, she assumed he wouldn’t even look at a freshman. I wasn’t surprised though. Bree is ridiculously pretty, and I envy her for it. If she wasn’t so nice, I’d probably hate her.

  “Whatever you say, love.” I respond, effectively ending the conversation.

  She grabs her things and hugs me goodbye, briefly informing me that she won’t be home tonight and not to wait up. Once the door closes behind her, I walk over and lock it, adding the chain as well to make sure no one gets in. I make my way back over to my bed and pull out the journal from underneath my mattress.

  Breakfast – 90 cal. Banana

  Lunch – 487 cal. 1 Cup Watermelon. 1 Turkey Wrap.

  Dinner –

  I add up my total and want to throw up when I see a number above 500. I thought I was doing so well today. Why do wraps have so many calories in them? They’re supposed to be healthy.

  My stomach growls as I stare at the total. 577. I put the book down on the bed next to me and walk into the bathroom. As I approach the scale, I know I’m not going to feel good about the number staring back at me. I must have consumed over half my body mass in water today. Still, I step on to find out my current weight.

  Just as I expected, the number on the scale makes me feel like crying. I knew I shouldn’t have let myself indulge last weekend. Now it’s going to take forever to get back to losing.

  I return to my bed, quickly scribble ‘0 cal. Nothing’ into the dinner section, along with my weight underneath it, and toss the book back under my mattress. I throw on the heaviest sweatshirt I can find, and replace my jeans with baggy sweatpants. If I’m going to be fat, at least I should be comfortable.

  I grab my headphones from my desk and climb into bed, placing the earbuds into my ears and hitting play on my phone. The music fills my head, effectively blocking out all the negative thoughts as I slip back under the thick blankets and drift asleep. You know what they say, ‘skip dinner, wake up thinner’.

  Chapter Two

  I’ve always loved the feeling of fall. The way the colors in the leaves change and the air becomes crisp. It’s not unbearably cold, but chilly enough to feel comfortable in pants and a sweatshirt. I don’t think there is any better season.

  The walk to the coffee shop is refreshingly calm. Anyone who is awake at this hour is usually zombified anyway. I make my way inside and approach the counter.

  “What can I get for you?” The barista asks.

  I smile warmly. “Just a medium black coffee.”

  The total comes to $1.50. I give her two singles and deposit the 50 cents change into the tip jar. I glance around to find the place is almost empty, probably because any normal person is still sleeping right now. The barista calls my name and places my coffee on the counter in front of me. I thank her as I retrieve it and then begin my walk to class.

  The silence is enjoyable. You can just barely hear the water flowing through the creek. It runs through the campus and I find sitting next to it to be the perfect place to do some homework or light reading. The sound is relaxing to me.

  I arrive at the classroom at 7:20 AM, only ten minutes before class is scheduled to begin. I take my usual seat in the middle of the room and pull my laptop out of my bag. While I wait, I browse through Twitter on my phone while drinking my coffee. It’s nice to see what my friends from back home are up to. Suddenly the silence is interrupted by a loud, and might I say arrogant, voice.

  “Look, I’m not saying she’s a slut. I’m just saying her vagina could use a delete history button.” Holden tells his friend obnoxiously.

  Everyone in the class laughs. The guys are rather calm about it, while the girls giggle in a way that screams fake. Holden, of course, eats up every second of it. You see, while he may be dating Brianna, he’s still the most wanted guy on campus, and he knows it. There is no one that he can’t have. Well, except for me.

  “Alright, alright. Settle down.” Professor Bradley says, placing his briefcase on top of his desk and pulling out his computer. He always seems to be the last person to enter the classroom. It’s as if he got forced into teaching a class that begins at 7:30 in the morning.

  As he sets up the projector, I finish my coffee and put my phone away. It isn’t until I look up at the screen that my anxiety beings to build.

  Social Observation Project! Worth 30% of Your Grade. Partners Will Be Chosen for You!

  My heart rate starts to quicken and my breathing becomes difficult - two signs that I’m approaching an anxiety attack. I try to control it and stay calm, but it’s no use. I excuse myself quickly as I exit the room and run to the bathroom.

  I push open the door and shut it behind me. Leaning back against the wall, the cool tiles feel nice against my warm skin. My chest is tight as I slide down and into a seated position on the floor. Usually, I would be disgusted by sitting on the bathroom floor, but right now it’s the l
ast thing on my mind. I pull out my phone and start playing A River Flows in You by Yiruma. It isn’t a song with lyrics, just piano. However, it does manage to calm me down. It gives me something to focus on - something other than my anxiety.

  After a few minutes, I finally have my emotions under control. I stand up and walk over to the sink, splashing some cold water on my face. I dry myself with a paper towel, turn the music off. I take one last deep breath and start my return to class.

  As I open the door, I’m faced with someone I never expected to see, Holden Rivers.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask.

  He shrugs. “I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

  His response catches me off guard. It’s not like him and I are friends. Why would he care if I was okay or not?

  “I’m fine.” I say dismissively. I begin to walk back to class without waiting to see if he is coming with me. When I hear the footsteps behind me, I know he is.

  “Just checking, jeez.” He murmurs with an attitude.

  I stop and turn around, taking one step back when he almost walks right into me.

  “You don’t have to do that, you know, check if I’m alright. It’s not like we’re good friends or anything. You don’t need to pretend you care.” I realize after the fact that I may have sounded like a bitch, but the last thing I need is Holden checking up on me. He only ever does things that benefit him.

  He looks a bit taken back at first, but then his expression turns cold. “Whatever, Kayleigh. I just know Bree would kill me if I didn’t see if you were okay. Don’t get too carried away with yourself.”

  He starts walking again and uses his shoulder to push past me. I roll my eyes and stay a couple steps behind him as we approach the classroom. The two of us enter and see everyone in groups of two.

  “Ah. Holden and Kayleigh. Nice of you to join us again.” Professor Bradley greets us. “We went ahead and picked partners, and being as you two were not here, you’re partnered together.”