No One's Hero (Chadwell Hearts) (6 page)

“Sure you don’t want me to take those bags to your room for you? I don’t mind.”

“Don’t you have your own stuff to bring in? Or are you all settled already?” I’m quickly realizing that a co-ed dorm could be an awesome thing. And judging by the stairs just to the right of the front doors, I’m glad that girls are on the first floor, with boys on the second. I would hate to constantly have to lug my riding stuff up and down.

“Is that your way of slyly trying to get my room number?”

Color heats my face. “Maybe. Would you give it to me if I was?”

He solemnly shakes his head. “Nope. I’ve got to save something for our second encounter. So long, 232. Until next time.” He bows, then darts up the steps as a door opens down the hall. I glance in that direction just in time to see Kevin stroll out of my room. His jaw takes on a hard set when he sees me.

Swift, powerful strides carry him to me, and I have to fight the urge to shrink away from his glare. “I thought I told you to stay in the truck?”

I lift my chin defiantly. “And I thought I told you I don’t take orders well?”

“Just remember that when you find yourself handcuffed to a bedpost.”

My insides turn to Jell-O. “Was that supposed to be kinky? It’s too hard to tell considering your default mode is crabby.” We haven’t even made it through a day and I’m ready to get away from the revolving door that is Kevin. I’m getting whiplash from trying to keep up with his moods. I make a vow here and now to just hate him and get it over with; it’s what I’m tempted to do half the time anyway.

“Sweetheart, if I was trying to be kinky, I assure you there would be no trace of doubt in your mind.”

“Whatever,” I say, stepping into the open door of my room. “Why don’t you save spanking me for later, and go get more bags while I start putting things away. Assuming my room passed your careful inspection? No cockroaches or skeevy roommates waiting to ambush me?” I say with mock seriousness.

“Well, since you mentioned it...see for yourself.”

At that, I turn my attention to the room.

Oh holy pink parasites. It looks like my room swallowed a peppy pill, then regurgitated little bubbles of cheerfulness all over the place. Pink, yellow, and orange brighten every surface, except one.

A dainty redhead—presumably my roommate—stands in the center of a pink and orange striped rug with her hands on her hips, her perfect hair swinging around her as she shakes her head. I fail to suppress a giggle as I’m immediately struck by the thought that I scored a Strawberry Shortcake bobble-head doll for a roommate. “This is unacceptable.”

“What, specifically?” I truly hope she means her explosion of pink, because if so, I completely agree.

“Him!” She points a trembling finger toward Kevin. “You can’t keep him.”

“Well, I know pets aren’t allowed in the dorms...but I’m pretty sure they’re making an exception since he’s potty-trained. Mostly.”

Her jaw falls open, but no sound comes out.

“I’m Lexi. He’s Kevin. And you are...?”

Kevin clears his throat. “That’s Stephanie. And that’s what took me so long—I’ve been trying to convince Stephanie that I’m not all bad to have around, and that she doesn’t need to call attention to our situation.”

I’m not so sure that I’m convinced of that myself yet. “He’s impossible to get rid of, but you’re welcome to waste your breath trying. In the meantime, don’t mind me if I go ahead and unpack.” I slowly look around the room, noting that Stephanie’s stuff seems to occupy every surface.

She shrugs. “They told me when I got here this morning that you weren’t coming after all, so I made myself at home.”

“No worries, I understand. Since you were here first, what side do you want?” There’s a twin bed pushed against each wall, the headboards framing the room’s single window—sans window seat. Although, Stephanie has already taken the liberty of hanging cheery curtains, so at least something matches the brochure. At the foot of the beds, each wall boasts built-in desks with shelves above them. There are drawers beneath the beds, set into the frame, and we’ve each got a closet between the door and the desk. It’s a bit more cramped than I’d envisioned, but I think we can make it work.

“Like I was telling your...whatever he is...he can’t stay here. I need complete quiet to study, and no one is going to get in my way. Certainly not some spoiled little rich girl who needs someone to carry her things.”

“What?” My gaze drifts to my bags, still propped on Kevin’s shoulder. “Oh he’s not, I mean I’m not... It isn’t the way it seems.”

“I don’t care. I—”

Kevin drops my bags to the floor with a thunk that makes me cringe. “Look. I’m staying, whether you like it or not. My employer has paid a very large sum of money to the school to ensure I can accompany her anywhere we see fit, and yes, that includes the dorm. If you want to run to the RA, or your mommy and daddy, or the pope himself, I don’t really care. But if you do, I just might feel the need to mention to the scholarship board about that little test that you had some
help
on.”

I wouldn’t have thought it possible, but Stephanie’s face loses all its color, making her even paler and highlighting the soft sprinkling of freckles on her nose and cheeks. “You wouldn’t,” she gasps.

Kevin waits silently, his unwavering gaze doing his talking for him.

“Take whatever side you want,” Stephanie snaps at me before storming out of our room.

Once the door’s shut behind her I study Kevin carefully. I don’t know whether to be grateful he dealt with Stephanie so I didn’t have to, or irritated because there would have been no issue if he hadn’t been here in the first place. Plus, it’s sort of creepy that he knows that about her. “How’d you know?”

“I told you, I’m good at my job. Did you really think I wouldn’t have vetted your roommate?” When I don’t answer, he continues. “Lexi, I know that your English professor is cheating on his wife—with your Applied Science professor. The girl down the hall in 249 once had a record deal, but they dropped her last spring. One of the boys upstairs is only here because the case against him for selling pot was dropped on a technicality. And I know all that after less than two days of research. Although checking out your dormmates wasn’t my priority, since I didn’t expect you to be staying in the dorm. If I’d had more notice, I would have known more. Because it’s my job to know everything. Just like I know you don’t like it. Just like I know you’re going to shut up, unpack, and deal with it. So save us both the hassle, and just unpack your shit. But for God’s sake, this time, stay put.”

The ugly wood door slams hard behind Kevin, leaving me alone, but either he or Stephanie might be back any moment, so I can’t risk giving myself permission to cry. Instead, I tuck everything I’m feeling into a little mental ball, then seal it up with an I-Hate-Kevin label. Nothing about my arrival at college has gone according to plan, and he’s to blame.

—-♥—-

L
exi

When the
bleep-bleep-bleep
of my alarm chirps the next morning, I groggily reach over and hit the snooze button with a bit too much force. The alarm falls off the windowsill, bouncing off Kevin’s forehead before clattering noisily to the floor.

“Ow! What the hell?” Kevin bolts upright.

“Sorry,” I grumble before turning a sleepy eye toward Stephanie’s bed. I’m surprised she’s not yelling at us for making too much noise. Her sheets are neatly tucked in, and she’s nowhere in sight. My brief elation to find Stephanie gone is replaced by a lump of dread as I realize what else is missing. Last night, after we got all my things to the room and grabbed a quick dinner, I was too exhausted to put all my things away so I piled some in my closet, and the rest on my desk and chair. My saddle was propped neatly on my desk when I went to sleep, but now the wood surface is bare. “Where’s my saddle?”

I shove back the covers, hurry to the closet and frantically slide the door open. It sticks on its tracks and I can’t get the damn thing open.

“Hey, calm down. Let me.” Kevin moves me aside with gentle hands, then slides open the door, revealing my closet just as I left it—my saddle nowhere in sight. My boots are also missing from where I left them beside the desk, and my helmet. In other words, everything I need for my first riding class is gone.

“You didn’t take them back out to the truck last night, did you?” I ask, already knowing the answer, but clutching at any hope.

Kevin shakes his head.

“Dammit! If you’d just left them in the truck—”

“How was I supposed to know you didn’t want me to bring them in?” Kevin stretches, wincing as he does so.

“Well if you hadn’t insisted on me waiting here in the room while you carted everything in, I could have told you. Now I’ve got to get a shower, find my stuff, and get down to the barn in less than an hour.” I’d thought I was leaving myself plenty of time when I set my alarm, but I wasn’t counting on my things disappearing. I hate being late, and I definitely don’t want to be late on the first day. The first threads of panic are winding around my chest when Stephanie comes into the room, a cheery yellow towel wrapped like a turban around her head, and a fluffy white robe belted tightly around her waist.

“Oh! Good morning.” She smiles brightly. “Would you mind stepping out while I get dressed?” she asks Kevin, who eyes her with suspicion.

I don’t blame him. I’m used to getting up early to tend to the horses, and generally I don’t mind it, but anyone
that
chipper this early obviously has something wrong with them. “Have you seen my saddle and boots?”

Her freckled nose wrinkles. “Oh that smelly stuff you had over there?” She indicates my desk with a jerk of her head.  When I nod, she says, “It was smelling up the room, so I put it in the hallway.”

I’m too relieved to be irritated, at least until I fling open our door and step into the empty hallway. “Where? It’s not here!” I frantically look both ways, as if my things are going to materialize through the barren tiles at any moment.

Stephanie shrugs. “Well, they were by the door earlier.”

Visions of wrapping my hands around her neck and squeezing flash before my eyes, and I’m tempted. I’ve never fantasized over doing bodily harm to someone before, but she conjures it in me with every bitchy word. I can’t believe I was actually looking forward to having a roommate. I thought...I thought it might be fun, like I imagined my life would have been if I’d grown up with Amelia still alive. Sharing everything. Giggling into long hours of the night. But instead of a friend, I got stuck with Stephanie. I look away when Kevin tries to catch my eye. No matter how frustrated I am, I can’t let him see me falter.

His expression reveals nothing as he gently tugs me by the hand back into my room. “Why don’t you get a shower and get ready for class while I look for your things? It was in that blue bag, right?”

“All right.” I frown. At least he’s not rubbing an ‘I told you so’ in my face. Yet.

Rather than accept the shattering of my hopes of being friends with my roommate, I make the snap decision to make the best of things. “Hey, Stephanie?”

“Hmm?” She pauses in the middle of riffling through her closet.

“Maybe tonight we could grab dinner together, get to know each other a bit?”

She laughs as she pulls the towel off her head. “The only thing I want to know about you is how to get you to leave.”

Her words sting, but I keep a smile frozen on my face. “Sorry. I’m like a bad hair day—which you’re having, by the way. Unless you start over, you’re pretty much stuck with me. You can cover me up, but at the end of the day, I’ll still be here.” I only wish I wasn’t lying about her hair. Every damp strand is curled perfectly around her face, making her look like a porcelain doll—the type you put on a shelf and cherish, afraid to play with because they’re so breakable. Stephanie is the type of girl everyone else tries to emulate, but never can. Her hair’s the shade of red that you can’t imitate from a bottle. Her lips are kissably pink, and her topaz blue eyes sparkle naturally. My only consolation is watching her furiously pull out a hand mirror to check if I’m telling the truth. Because I just found her weakness. Stephanie is petrified of not being perfect, and if she continues to fuck with me I’m not above exploiting that.

“Lexi, shower,” Kevin reminds me with a wry smile.

The washroom is centrally located, and blessedly almost empty. I let the warm water wash over my neck and shoulders, trying to let the tension wash away with the dirt. When I’m just about done I hear the main door open, and laughter follows two pairs of footsteps into nearby stalls. “Have you seen her yet?” One of the newcomers asks.

“No, but I’ve seen her bodyguard.”

“Is he hot? Stephanie said he’s scary.”

“That girl needs her eyes examined. Let me just say he can bunk in my room any time he likes.” They dissolve into a fit of giggles again. I tell myself the wave of jealousy crashing over me is because I envy their easy laughter, and I wish I had any hope Stephanie and I could be like that. It isn’t like I have any claim on Kevin, and I don’t want one. He’s not mine, he’s just borrowed, and I need to remember that.

“Still, who needs a bodyguard at college? Who does she think she is, royalty or something?”

The laughter turns acerbic and I hurry to dry off and dress, fleeing the bathroom with the sounds of their continued gossiping about
me
, who they haven’t even met yet, still ringing in my ears. So far, it seems college isn’t going to be much different than high school. My only consolation is knowing I haven’t gotten to the equestrian center yet. Surely I’ll fit in there, with other horse-crazy girls just like me.

Our room is empty when I return, but Kevin knocks while I’m putting away my plastic shower tote. I open the door for him, and he steps inside, holding two steaming cups.

“Let me guess, you couldn’t find my stuff? No thanks.” I shake my head as he tries to hand me a cup. The smell of coffee, something I’ve never liked, wafts toward me. I try to squash my irritation at his arrogance, assuming he knows me well enough to know what I like. Some things can’t be learned through background checks and whatever else it is that he does.