by M. R. Polish
CHANGE of
POSSESSION
M.R. Polish
All rights reserved.
Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the author.
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental
Cover art done by Jenny Laatsch
Editing done by Kristina Circelli and Starla Huchton
Cover models are stock photos provided by
© Dunca Daniel | Dreamstime.com
TABLE of CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PRELUDE
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
FIFTEEN
SIXTEEN
EPILOGUE
SPECIAL NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
AGELESS SEA PREVIEW
Prelude
Vahn – One Year Ago
I slipped back into the shadows. If they knew I watched them, I wouldn’t be allowed to come back and then all my plans would be for nothing. Downing the rest of my drink, I crushed the cup in my hand before tossing it over my shoulder as I headed out. There wasn’t anything else I’d find out tonight; they were all too sloshed or tight lipped to do me any good. Damn parties anyway. I hated them, but it was the only way to scout out all the players and hopefully discover what I knew, deep down, happened to my best friend. Their secrets were the only thing that could crush them and bring justice to Christie’s death.
Thinking back to how she spent her last year of life infuriated me. As seniors in high school, we were supposed to have fun, live life, plan for our future, but all of those plans changed when she met Steve. Slowly, day by day, he fed her a world of lies until there was no turning back. Now, a year later, I was still trying to prove her death wasn’t an accident, and that Steve was to blame. I owed it to her. Before all the drugs, she was my closest friend. There was a time I even thought we might be more, but that wasn’t in her plans; she wanted someone different, someone who wasn’t me. I’d like to think the drugs made her stay with Steve, but the more I learned about him, the more I knew that wasn’t the only thing that kept her from me.
I fished around in my pocket for my keys. The room spun, and I had to close my eyes to stay standing. My heart raced. What was wrong? I took another step but lost all balance and stumbled out the door.
I pulled my phone out, squinting as I tried to focus enough to dial out. I held it to my ear and waited. “Dad,” I said when he answered. “Something’s wrong. I need a ride.” My voice sounded miles away and fuzzy. Silently, I prayed he would understand as I rattled off what I hoped was the correct address. I couldn’t even remember what house I was at anymore. He said he’d be there soon so I hung up the phone and sat down in the yard to wait.
My parents were like everyone else and thought I was just in denial over Christie’s death, and that I wanted someone to blame. Damn right I wanted someone to blame.
Ugh, my head hurt so bad that all I wanted to do was lay down. The grass was cool and begged to be used for a pillow. It took only seconds before the world darkened, and life as I knew it changed.
One
Keeley – present day
The first day of school was always the worst. Back home I was expected to act and look a certain way. Being the center of attention wasn’t always my thing, but I adapted as well as I could. I wasn’t sure why I thought college would be any different. School was school. Groups huddled together talking, barely glancing up as I walked by. Breathe in. Breathe out. I just had to get through the first day. And then the next. Each day was a constant battle with myself and feeling guilty for living. My first day of college was supposed to be our first day. Years of planning all gone.
At least I got to leave everything behind—or at least everything but my nightmares and memories. I wanted a fresh start, someplace where no one knew me—or my past. Against my parents’ wishes, I applied to the small Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. I was ecstatic when I got in. True, it wasn’t Yale, but I knew a long time ago that I wanted to stay away from the Ivy League schools. It wasn’t that I couldn’t get in. Heck, I’m sure my parents sent my applications to them when I was born, but people would know me there, people would talk.
My parents freaked when they found out I was moving clear across the country, but it was even better when they found out I would be diving headfirst into a Geology Degree. They said looking at rocks was wasting my time. My dad was the Chief of Police and my mom wanted me to be a doctor, a thoracic surgeon like her. I was great at disappointing them lately; choosing a college and what I wanted to do with my life wasn’t any different.
I shifted my backpack higher up on my shoulder. “Crap,” I muttered at the printed schedule crinkling beneath my fingers. I was supposed to be at my first class in fifteen minutes, but I had no clue where it was. That whole open house and school tour stuff would’ve been nice, but I thought I could do it on my own, like high school, so I skipped it. I threw my head back in disgust as I walked forward. Not paying attention, I ran face-first into some poor, unsuspecting soul.
“I am so sorry!” I tried to apologize to the guy I almost knocked over. Although, it would take a whole lot more than me to knock him over. I wasn’t exactly model thin; I had some curves—as I liked to call them—but this guy was built like a rock.
“Yeah, you should watch where you’re going.” He swiped a hand through his short blond hair, his brown eyes glowering. His nose was slightly crooked in the middle, as if it had been broken before. Nothing extremely sexy about him, other than the muscle thing, but that wasn’t hurting his looks any. He smiled when he caught me openly staring. “Where ya headed in such a hurry?”
I looked down before he could see the horrible red that I’m sure colored my cheeks. “Actually I’m running late, I gotta find my way to this class. Can you help?” I showed him my schedule and pointed to the first one.
He gave a wide smile. “So you’re into rocks,” he said in more of a statement than a question. “That’s cool. My girlfriend is in that class too. I can walk you if you’d like. It’s on the other side of the campus.” He used his hand to point the direction behind me. “Or, if you want, I can give you a lift in my car. I was getting ready to take off anyway. My first class doesn’t start for another hour.”
I hesitated. I had no clue who this guy was. He could be a total stalker for all I knew. I definitely didn’t need to end up on Utah’s missing persons list. That my parents would freak out would be an understatement. It was still too soon after my accident. They barely let me have my way and paid my tuition as it was.
I waved him off and started walking. “No thanks, but maybe next time.”
After finding my way to the building I needed, I had only seconds to spare as I rushed to find an empty seat. After sitting down, I tried to slow my breathing. Running across campus proved to me just how out of shape I was.
“Good morning. I am Professor Priese, we will start each morning by having your journals ready for entries with the date, and if there is anything you would like to get out of class for
the day. I assume that each of you have read through the student manual regarding this.”
I gulped. With her hair pulled back in a tight braid, the crisp lines of her fitted dark suit, and the posture of a drill sergeant, everything about Professor Priese was no-nonsense. I fidgeted a bit with my hands under my desk.
Crap, I forgot what the manual said about journal entries. Professor Priese zeroed in on me. I grabbed the handbook from my bag and thumbed through it as quick as I could.
“Maybe a few of us need a first day of school refresher.” I looked up to see her staring at me. She gave a curt smile. “What’s your name?”
My stomach flipped and I struggled to find my voice. “Keeley Moison.” I held my breath, hoping no one recognized it. Please don’t know who I am. Back home I couldn’t go anywhere without someone knowing who I was. My mom was a fairly well known surgeon, and it didn’t help that TV stations and newspapers spread the word about my accident.
I hated myself for being the driver. I hated that I decided to drink and drive. But what I hated myself for most, was killing my best friend. My six months in jail and a year of community service would never make up for that.
“Well, as a reminder, each day you will write the date, class assignments, what you have learned, as well as any other useful knowledge you may gain. Today I would like for you to add what you hope to get out of your college experience.” She looked around at the full room of students as she strolled down the aisle next to me. “Maybe tomorrow, we can start without refreshers.”
I tried to restrain my disgruntled sigh of embarrassment as I sank down in my seat, but it came out anyway. Thankfully, she moved away without any more comments to further humiliate me.
The girl behind me tapped a pen on my shoulder. “I’d get out your journal before she comes back. I’ve done my research and Professor Priese is known for adding extra work to the entire class for one person’s neglect. Personally, I have enough other classes that I can’t afford any more homework.”
I groaned out loud. “Sorry, I wasn’t trying to screw this up for anyone.” I was totally not making any great impressions on my first day.
“Hey,” the blonde haired girl next to me whispered. “Don’t worry about her. I doubt we’ll get too much on the first day.”
“Thanks,” I whispered back.
“My name’s Caty.”
“I’m Keeley.”
“Yeah I heard. You’re not from around here, are you? Your accent is something back east. I mean, you don’t have a real accent, but you have a different way of saying some things.”
“Yeah. I’m from back east.” I pulled a notebook out of my pack and tried to ignore her.
“I can’t hear with you two chatting away,” the girl behind us said.
“Sorry,” I whispered and then gave Caty a smile. She seemed genuine and friendly. Maybe I had a chance to start over with at least one person. Grief pulled at my heart. Was I ready to create another friendship? Did I even deserve a new friend?
That first class turned out to be the longest hour of my day. Professor Priese never called me out directly, but I knew after the way we started that this semester wasn’t going to be all sprinkles and cupcakes.
Caty found me after class and stopped me. “Hey, so how many more classes do you have today?”
“Three. What about you?”
“Same here. Hey, there’s a party tonight, not a big one, but just something where a few of us are getting together and meeting some new people. Kinda like our way of celebrating the fact that we survived the first day. So what do you say; you wanna go?”
I shifted my weight and looked everywhere but at her. Did she know about me and my past? Was it some cruel joke to ask me to a party? “I, um, I don’t know.”
“Well, if you have other plans I totally get it. I just thought since you were new to the area and all, maybe you could use some friends. A lot of us grew up here, so it’s nice to add fresh faces to the mix. We’re a pretty welcoming group.”
“Ah, you mean like that other girl in class? She seemed awfully welcoming,” I scoffed.
“Oh, Alison? Yeah, she’s not so bad, usually stays to herself.”
I smiled. “I can do that. I know all about second chances.” I hesitated. “So, this party, what time?”
She clapped her hands together like a little girl excited about Christmas. “Oh my gosh, it’s at seven. Jonah will be off work by then so we can swing by and pick you up or you can drive down and meet us there.”
“I, ah, I don’t drive. I mean, I can, but I don’t.” I chewed on the inside of my cheek.
She waved me off. “Psh, that’s fine. Just give me your address and we’ll come get you.”
“Okay, but who’s Jonah?”
“He’s my boyfriend. We’ve been together for years. Well, only about one and a half, but who’s really counting, right?”
I couldn’t help but relax around Caty. Her whole demeanor put me at ease.
I gave her my address, which wasn’t too far from campus. I needed a place I could walk to and from school. I wasn’t sure I’d ever want to drive again. I only got my driver’s license back in Maine because I needed an ID, especially since I was moving to a new state. Who knew what would happen on a bus trip with a bunch of strangers and pit stops? Caty and I also traded cell numbers in case plans changed.
I hefted my backpack and walked around slower than I did that morning. My next class wasn’t for another thirty minutes, and it was a nice day, so I decided to check out the campus. Footsteps fell in behind me and I resisted the urge to look over my shoulder. It’s not like I was the only one using the sidewalk, except for the old ghosts who followed me everywhere.
I spotted an empty bench and quickened my steps to get there before someone else saw the same thing. I pushed past a group of slow walking girls and almost groaned out loud when I saw two guys walking closer to my seat. I made it to the bench before them, and couldn’t help but feel a tad victorious, even if it was over a stupid seat. It wasn’t that I was unsociable, but I needed some time to adjust to my new surroundings and peers. I took a seat on the bench and relaxed back, enjoying the towering trees that created enough shade to keep me from melting in the hot August sun.
That’s when I spotted him. Clad in black jeans tucked into unlaced leather boots, a gray tee, and a black cuff around his wrist, he was dark—mysterious. His hair was black and spiked randomly, as if he grabbed fistfuls of hair and glued it in place. His right arm had some sort of tattoo that I couldn’t make out from the distance. Everything about this stranger called to me. The world slowed down to a crawl as I stared. He stood in the corner of two buildings, under the shade of a low-hanging tree. Dark glasses covered his eyes so I couldn’t see where he was looking, but my insides fluttered because his attention was directed my way.
I smiled at him and he smiled back. Oh my gosh, he was staring at me. Heat from my cheeks made me acutely aware of how red I must be, and I looked away. I brushed my pants off self-consciously and dropped my pack down to the grass. When I glanced back over he was gone. Spinning around in my seat, I scanned the area, but I couldn’t see him anywhere. My shoulders slumped.
Who he was? Maybe I had a class with him. I clung to the hope that would happen. I didn’t care how or where, but I knew I wanted to see him again.
Two
It was my third lap around my small living room before I realized I was pacing. I wrung my hands as butterflies filled my stomach. Maybe it was too soon to go to a party.
A knock on my door made me jump. I looked over at the digital clock on the microwave. Six thirty-eight. This was it.
I exhaled long and slow before opening the door. Caty looked cute in jeans and a shirt that said ‘I love books’. I ran my hands down the side of my hips, wiping the anxiety-driven sweat off.
“Oh, sweetie, you look awesome! I could never pull off that vintage look, but you really rock it,” she said.
I didn’t do much. I rolled up the b
ottoms of my jeans into wide cuffs and wore my favorite Toms. I curled my hair and twisted it up, letting the curls fall down, and placed a fun bandana around my hair, giving me the rockabilly look.
“Thanks, I think.”
Caty squealed and took my hand, pulling me out of my house. I barely had time to grab my keys and shove them into the pocket of my jeans.
“You’re gonna have fun. Trust me, you’ll get to meet so many people!”
I knew she meant well, but that did nothing to settle my nerves. I climbed in the backseat of the Ford Focus and buckled up.
“Hey, I know you.”
I snapped my head in the direction of the driver. “You? You’re Jonah?”
He laughed. “Yeah. Small world, huh? Hey, babe, this is the girl I told you about earlier. The one who almost killed me by running me over.”
I cringed. He didn’t know, I chanted to myself. I couldn’t let a simple joke upset me. I wondered if I’d ever go a day without my past tagging along. “Yeah, you got me.”
Caty smirked. “Well, you just had a great day for first impressions, didn’t you?”
I leaned back against the headrest. “You have no idea.”
We arrived promptly at seven. It was at a house on a hill right outside of town. It felt strange, yet surprisingly normal to show up for a party.
Caty opened the door as soon as Jonah pulled up on the grass in the front yard. “Come on, Keeley,” she hollered over her shoulder as she got out of the car. She squealed as Jonah slid over the hood of his car and caught her around the waist.
I took a deep breath, preparing myself before I followed them to the house. My nostrils filled with the smell of fresh-cut grass as we walked across the yard, and a continuous thump of bass came from inside the house. The familiar warm buzz that floated in the air carried me away to another place—to another me—when life was fun.
“Hey, Jonah. Dude waz up?” a tall guy said as we walked through the door. He and Jonah bumped fists, then shoulders. The other guy was almost six feet tall, towering over Jonah, and his pale skin made me think he never got enough sun, matching his bleach-blond hair.