A Life Unexpected: Holly Nather Book One (Holly Nather Series) (3 page)

“There has to be more to you than just the basics. You seem like a girl who has her whole life figured out.”

“I have several paths chosen for my life. Which one I choose is still undecided. Right now I’m focusing on my basics.”

“I like your shoes.” He smirks as he nudges my foot gently with his.

This whole situation is so confusing to me. Maybe I was a bet. Maybe this was some dare his friends put him up to. He looks around like he’s waiting for someone, probably one of his buddies getting ready to reveal this huge joke.

I stand, overwhelmed by my assumption, and hold my bag close. “I should go. Thanks but no thanks, Luke.”

“What are you so scared of, Holly?”

“I never said I was scared.” I cut my eyes at him. “I just said I need to go. We both know you really didn’t want to meet me. Not a girl like me.”

“You’re wrong, and you don’t have to say you’re scared for it to be obvious.”

I stare up at him and as I do, I remembered him somehow. Today isn’t the first time we’ve met. Or is it? Damn, how did I not notice how familiar he looked earlier today?

“What is it?”

I shake my head. “I’m not sure. You…” I shake my head again. “I have homework.”

“What is it, Holly?” He asked again. He reached out to touch my arm but I moved back.

I try to walk past him, but he blocks me. I look up at him. “Please get out of my way.”

“Not until you tell me what you just saw.”

“You look familiar. That’s all. Now, please move.” I start to walk around him, but he blocks me again. I sigh in frustration. Tears start filling my eyes, and I can’t make sense of the surge of fear and emotions that suddenly come over me. I feel like I need air and the only way to get it was to get away from him.

“We go to the same college, I’m sure you’ve seen me before.”

I nod, but it wasn’t that. Deep down I know I’ve seen him long before college ever started. “Homework, Luke. Please, I need to go.” I am freaking out inside and don’t know why. That’s what is so scary, I have no idea why, but I know I’m supposed to be afraid.

He finally moves out of my way, and I hurry back to my dorm. I walk in and lock the door behind me. I put my back against the door as my things slip from my hands. My whole body shaking. I don’t understand it. I kneel down to get my cell out of my bag and dial my mom’s number.

“How’s it going?” Mom asked.

I run my trembling hands through my hair as I sit on the floor. “Mom, something weird just happened.”

“Oh yeah? What is it, honey?”

I tell her about the random texts and everything leading up to the moment I recognized Luke. Like
really
recognized him.

“Luke Denton? I’m sorry, love, but that name doesn’t sound familiar at all.”

Tears fall down my cheeks, and I don’t like how out of control I feel. “Alright,” I say, my voice sounding braver than I felt.

“Why don’t you come home this weekend? We’ll have a girl’s day. I think school is stressing you out.”

I agree then hang up. The door knob turns and I jump.

“Holly?” Blayne calls from outside the door.

I scramble to my feet and wipe my eyes. I open the door. “Hey, sorry.”

“You alright?” She asks hesitantly as she walks past me.

“Just a bad day in class.”

“Me too. My professor for Lit is such a douche canoe.” She plops down on her bed. “Let’s go out tonight. My treat.”

“I have homework.”

“Homework—shmo work. I’m taking you out and you’re gonna have fun.”

“Let me check my planner and—”

She cut her eyes at me. “Lame-o.”

I laughed and thought about it. “Fine. I’ll go.”

She smiled. “Yeah?”

I nod as I start getting ready. I need to get out and have fun. I need to clear my head of this Luke guy. Most of all, I need to shake this fear that has suddenly taken over every part of me. I can feel it all the way to my bones, something is wrong and even more so, and I need to stay the hell away from Luke Denton.

I END UP
finishing my homework while Blayne is napping. I get ready and begin to re-read my texts from Luke when I hear her start to move around. I set my phone down.

“You’re not wearing that,” she says as she sits up and rubs her eyes.

I look down at my university hoodie and jeans. “What’s wrong with what I have on?”

She jumps up and starts digging through her drawers. She hands me a low cut, tight fitting, long sleeved shirt. “At least put that on. I don’t even care if you wear those smelly shoes of yours.”

I set the shirt down. “It’s below freezing outside. I’m not wearing that.” She glares at me. “Okay, okay. I’ll put the damn shirt on.”

I pull off my hoodie and slip the shirt on. I pull my hoodie over the shirt and smirk. “There, it’s on.”

“You are impossible, Nather.”

I’m bored. I watch Blayne flirt with the guys sitting at our booth. I take a drink and about spit it out when I see Luke walk in with two guys. I slouch down in the seat and try my best to hide behind Mark, who’s sitting beside me. He laughs.

“You alright?”

I cover my face with my hand and shake my head. “Just block me.”

Mark looks around. “From who?” He chuckles.

“Holly?” I hear Luke’s voice and cringe. What is it about this guy that makes my hair stand on end in a familiar way?

I peek through my fingers and groan as I let my hand fall back to my lap and sit up. “Hi.” I say through my teeth.

“Can we talk?”

“Did I not make it clear enough earlier today that I’m not interested in talking to you.” Maybe if I’m a bitch he’ll leave. Everyone at the table falls silent and looks at Luke.

“I guess, but you’re not even giving me a chance.”

Mark looks at me, and can tell I’m afraid. He turns to Luke. “Obviously, she doesn’t want to.”

Luke smirks. “Obviously.” He looks at me and walks off with his friends.

“Whoa, what the hell?” Blayne asks as she grabs a slice of pizza.

I put my head in my hands and groan. “Just drop it, okay?”

Everyone at the table goes back to their conversations about football and parties. I however, watch Luke and the two guys with him on the other side of the restaurant. I look away quickly when he catches me looking at him. I look at him again as soon as I feel his eyes turn from me. I am determined to figure out exactly who he is.

I sit in the passenger seat of Blayne’s car, my feet propped up on the dash, and my fists inside the sleeves of my hoodie. I look out the window, trying to push Luke Denton from my mind. It’s eerie that he is so familiar, yet a stranger. And why am I craving to be near him? I sigh as I wipe the fog from the window.

We drive around for a while just listening to music and talking. Even though Blayne drives me crazy most of the time, she is the closest I have to a friend here.

She looks in her rearview mirror and frowns. “That car has been following us for the past thirty minutes.”

I turn to look out the back window. “Weird. Let’s just go back to the dorm.”

When we get to the dorm parking lot, the black Camaro drives past us. Blayne and I wait until it’s gone before we get out.

“That was creepy,” she says as we walk in. “Maybe they thought they knew who we were, then realized we were the wrong people.”

She shrugs.

When we get in, she gets the box she keeps a stash of alcohol in from under her bed. The bottle is a shiny blue. “Cotton candy vodka. Want some?” She asks as she waves the bottle in my face.

I’ve never drank before.
Ever
. But tonight it is tempting after the day I had. “Just a little.”

She opens the bottle and hands it to me. I take a drink and pucker my lips as I swallow the bitter liquid. It burns my throat forcing me to cough. I hand it back to her as I wipe my mouth on my sleeve. “That tastes nothing like Cotton Candy!”

She shrugs and downs some. She passes it back to me again. “The more you drink the less you’ll taste it.”

I almost decline, but I take another drink. After several more drinks, I discover that Blayne was right. I’m tickled to the point of laughing at nothing, and it doesn’t taste bad anymore.

“See, isn’t this fun? Look what you’ve been missin’! Such an uptight bitch all the time. You need to embrace the college life. Live or something…” She smiles at me.

I laugh. Even though I feel good, I still don’t see the thrill in drinknig. “I just might do that. Live… I’m not getting rid of my planner, though. And alcohol isn’t really my thing.”

“If you die I swear I’ll burry you with it.” She winks and takes another sip. “I just might like you, Holly.”

I laugh. “What, you didn’t like me before I took a drink of your blue bottle?”

“Not really to be honest. You are stuffy as hell, girl.” Her voice slurs a little. She turns on some music on her phone and lays back in her bed, tapping her feet on her sheets. “I feel sorry for you.”

“Why?”

“Because. If you don’t get out of your funk, you’ll look back when you’re all old and regret being the way you are.”

I laugh. “Maybe. But at least I know I won’t have to worry about STD’s, passing out drunk and getting raped, or something else crazy. I’m okay with safe, but I promise I’ll get out more and have fun.”

“Baby steps.” She smirks.