My professor, Dean Brett Powers, stands in the kitchen, wearing a wrinkled suit, his dark hair looking like he just got up.
“Look at my floor,” Skylar wails. “Are you stupid, Alex? It even got on Brett’s shirt!” She pushes me aside and grabs the roll of paper towels off the counter. Because apparently, I can’t move. All I can do is gawk at him.
Him.
This is the man who’s been making my sister lose her mind? I can almost feel the laughter getting ready to burst out of me. Out of all the men in Los Angeles, this is her boyfriend?
“Oh, Brett, look at you. I’m so sorry. Alex can pay for your dry cleaning. That is going to stain. Seriously, what is wrong with you?” Standing, she points the wad of dripping paper towels at me.
I go to open my mouth, but nothing comes out. Not with the way her eyes narrow at me, as though I’m not even human, and more like an insect she’d like to squish.
“Move,” she demands, making me slide to the right as she tosses the paper towels in the trash can.
“Skylar, fucking relax. I don’t care about my shirt.” His deep, voice makes my eyes dart back to his, and suddenly, I’m cold. Because he does not look amused or in shock anymore. He looks… Jesus, he looks angry. More so than even yesterday, and look how that turned out.
“I’m so sorry. You startled me… I wasn’t expecting—”
“Oh my God. Shut up, Alex. You’re embarrassing yourself.” Skylar holds a hand up in my face, and I almost slap it away. Except I’m trapped, prisoner to Dean Powers’ stare. It’s like I’m his prey, a rabbit waiting to be caught by a predator. His eyes narrow as they sweep me from top to bottom.
“I’m late.” His voice makes me grab the counter behind me to steady myself.
“I’m driving you.” Skylar moves in front of me, her blond head blocking my view of him.
My eyes trail down to a big coffee stain on her left hip. Here comes the laughter again, and I bite my bottom lip. She’s going to lose her mind when she discovers it since her pants are cream colored, but to be honest, I don’t care.
“Brett, let me grab my keys and I’ll drive you to your place,” she calls after him.
“Let’s go, now.” He sounds so different talking to her. It’s like his tone changes with Skylar. Not that he sounds inviting to me, but he does sound invested.
Skylar spins toward me. “This isn’t going to work out. I’m calling our father and telling him you need your own place,” she snaps, grabbing her purse off the counter.
“And thank you for ruining my morning,” she spits out the last part as she walks past me.
The loud slam of the front door echoes around the kitchen. My eyes shift to the small drip of coffee slowly making its way off the counter, and I finally take a deep breath, then exhale and groan because just when I think things are going to be okay, it gets worse.
“Don’t panic. Everything is fine.” I chant, but it’s impossible to stop replaying what happened moments ago. Forcing myself to move toward my room, I pull off my dress that apparently I also spilled coffee on.
If anything positive can come of this, it’s that Skylar is calling our dad to kick me out. See, I knew there was a reason I didn’t fully unpack. As I jerk open my closet, I kneel to open one of my large suitcases and dig around for something to wear.
I grab a floral hippie dress, not caring what I look like anymore. This morning I had fixed myself up, even took the time for makeup and to straighten my hair. But now, after what went down, I just need something comfortable and easy to slip on.
When did I start having such bad luck? I cover my face with my hands and finally let myself digest the fact that Professor Powers is Skylar’s boyfriend.
“Shit.” I shake my head, trying really hard not to see his face staring at me, but that’s not gonna happen. This whole morning will haunt me. Dropping my hands, I march out of the closet and go straight to my nightstand. I grab my phone off the charger, pick up my backpack, and when I start to text for an Uber, my dad’s picture lights up the screen. And this time, I do laugh, or maybe it’s a sob. Whatever, let’s get this over with. Throwing my bag onto Skylar’s white couch, I drop down next to it.
“Hey, Dad,” I say, looking down at my brown lace-up riding boots.
“Alex.” My father’s voice is loud, and he does not sound happy.
I sigh, then say, “I’m assuming you heard from Skylar? In all honesty it’s for the best—”
“Listen to me, young lady,” he cuts me off.
My head throbs, and my heart sinks. This isn’t going my way—I can already tell.
“I just hung up the phone with your sister. Now I have no idea what the hell is going on, and to be honest, I don’t care. I told you I wasn’t paying for two places.”
“Dad, she’s the one kicking me out. You need to understand that this is her, not me. And by the way, she’s not difficult like you warned me. She’s downright vicious.”
“Well, she’s changed her mind. That is, after I informed her I would take the money I send her to pay for a studio for you.”
I almost burst into tears. I have to get out of here.
“Please, rethink this. What if I get a job?”
“Alexandrea, your job is school. Do you have any idea what I’m paying for tuition, books, food, rent? All so you can get an excellent education. I’m sorry, sweetheart. You’ll not be getting a job your freshman year. But I’ll tell you what you will be doing. You’ll stop sabotaging your sister’s relationship with her boyfriend. Why would you dump coffee on him?”
“What?” I bolt up. “Wait. What did she tell you?” My face heats again.
“Something about you were staring at her boyfriend, and you dumped coffee on him—”
“Oh my God, that’s not what happened. Not exactly, anyway.” I start to pace. “Please, listen to me. I have really tried this week to be friends with Skylar, but something is wrong with her—”
“Alex. You’re almost nineteen years old. I refuse to play referee between my two grown daughters. Figure this out. Deal with it, and make it right.” There’s a finality to his voice, and I want to throw my phone in frustration. I know my dad. He’s super stubborn, and when he sets his mind on something, there’s no changing it.
“Fine. I understand completely,” I snap. He’s not the only one who’s stubborn. He wants me to deal with things?
Done.
“Hold on one moment, Sara. Please tell them I’ll be right there,” my dad mumbles. “Look, sweetheart.” His voice softens. “I need to go into a meeting. I have all the faith in you. Go take the world by the balls.”
“Absolutely. Don’t you worry about any of this. I’ll take care of everything.” I shake my head. This is it. I’m over trying to be Skylar’s friend. It’s not happening, and I can accept that. My dad wants me to take charge.
Fantastic.
“That’s what I like to hear. And call your mother later on. She’s waiting to hear about your first couple of days.”
I almost start laughing again because I’ve purposely avoided my mom’s phone calls. What am I going to say? I had a life-changing kiss with my professor who happens to be Skylar’s boyfriend? Yeah, no.