Chapter 3

Despite the sunny day, it felt like a cloud was hanging over her head. Waffles were her favorite but even those didn’t taste good to her. She tossed the plate into the nearest garbage can on the side of the road. Things had been going well all things considered. Most of the town hated her for some unknown reason but it wasn’t just her. It seemed as though anyone that wasn’t local was shunned.

The harassment was another story. But she couldn’t tell Kady or Taylor. Aside from the fact that Zira wasn’t there to make friends, she needed to keep a low profile. Finding Fredericks University was a miracle let alone getting accepted and a full ride. It was the perfect school with good credentials that no one has ever heard of. Leaving was a shame and it would take time to find somewhere else to go.

Standing outside of the large glass double doors with her hand on the handle, Zira took a few deep breaths. She just had to keep her head down until she made a better plan. Reacting out of fear was the worst thing she could do. As she took another deep breath the door was shoved open almost pushing her down the steps.

“Why are you just standing here? Shouldn’t you be clocking in?” her coworker was another person that did their best to make life miserable.

“I’m not supposed to be on the clock for another thirty minutes.” She said through gritted teeth.

“Excuse me?” Harper crossed her arms and stared down at Zira. There must have been something in the water in this town when these people were growing up. Most of the women were impossibly tall and slim. It was like walking around a campus full of models. The only plus side was Zira could always ask her friends to reach for things on the top shelf for her. Unfortunately, at that moment Harper’s height just served as a means to intimidate. Zira wanted to say something snide and start a fight but she couldn’t afford to bring more attention to herself.

“I said I’m going.” She pushed past Harper and went straight to her office. There was a stack of paperwork for her to get started on and a ton of requests for books to be pulled from the stacks. It wasn’t long before Harper made her way into the office. She was talking on the phone and it wasn’t difficult to figure out who she was talking to. Erin. It was the worst part about being in a small town.

After the third time Harper said the word skank loud enough to echo through the cubicles Zira decided it was time to go. She put her earbuds in her ears and turned the music on as loud as her ears could handle. With her empty book cart and clipboard, she took an elevator up to the stacks. Her mind was a jumble of anxiety so she did her best to focus on the music and dance her way through the towering shelves while she looked for the books on her list.

Everywhere she went it felt like there were eyes on her. Every tiny hair on her body was standing straight up. She found herself looking around more than she was looking at the books. The feeling wouldn’t relent. It twisted her stomach and made her want to go back to the office. When two hands wrapped around her shoulders Zira spun around and swung the heavy leather-bound book she was holding. Taylor’s eyes grew wide as she narrowly missed his face. Kady rushed forward and pulled her earbuds out of her ears. The music blared into the air between them until she pulled her phone out and turned it off.

“What the fuck guys!” her breathing was heavy and irregular as she fought to hold back tears.

“I’m so sorry K! You weren’t answering your phone.” She wiped a shaking hand across her forehead.

“I uh…I guess it’s still on silent. I just didn’t want to deal with any more messages after this morning.” Embarrassed that her voice was shaky she cleared her throat in an attempt to hide it. Kady rubbed her shoulders and started to speak when Taylor cut her off.

“What happened this morning?” he asked. His big brown eyes were full of worry.

“Nothing.” Zira quickly mumbled before Kady could say anything. “What are you guys doing here anyway?” a big smile spread across Kady’s face that made her more anxious than being watched by some creeper in the shelves. Zira looked at her friend with narrow eyes.

“We’re meeting some friends to study.” Taylor put his arm around Kady’s shoulders and kissed the top of her head.

“Do you have time to hang out for a bit?” she was practically bouncing on the balls of her toes. The only way Zira would ever know what she was up to was if she agreed to go along with it.

“I guess. I can’t find most of the books on this list anyway.” She followed them out of the forest of bookshelves and over to a dimly lit study area. They unpacked their computers from their bags and sprawled out across a large table. From where they were sitting Zira could see over the balcony and down to the front desk where she happened to catch Harper’s eye. Kady followed her line of sight and scoffed.

“Forget about her. Come sit.” Kady slapped the wooden chair beside her. With a sigh, Zira plopped down and looked over the pages of books she had a hard time finding. She was hoping it was just because they were missing, not because she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. It was just another thing to add to her growing frustrations for the day. She tossed the paper onto the table and pulled out her phone. Looking at it was the last thing she wanted to do but it was the main way her boss contacted her when she had something urgent for Zira to do while she was pulling books.

“There you two are.” Taylor looked over Zira’s shoulder as he spoke.

“We had to make a quick stop after class.” The deep voice almost made the papers slip from Zira’s hand. Who the hell was that? And why had she not met these friends before? Come to think of it she hadn’t met a lot of Kady’s other friends. It took over a month for Kady to introduce her to Taylor.

“Figured you guys would appreciate snacks.” The second voice was too much. It wasn’t as deep but it had a rasp to it. Zira twisted in her seat to see two identical twins standing directly behind her. Her eyes trailed up their long muscular legs to the fitted t-shirts that were hugging their bodies. It accentuated the muscles peeking out beneath it. Her eyes continued traveling up until they reached the twin’s amber eyes.

“Cole, Luca, this is my friend Zira.” Kady’s shit-eating grin only grew wider as she watched Zira flounder for something to say. This was a setup. Zira’s heart was beating so loud she almost didn’t hear it when Cole said something to her. He leaned in closer and handed her a cold sports drink.

“We bought this just for you.” His full lips pulled up into a smirk as heat flooded her face. Why was she blushing over a stupid drink when she was just sandwiched in between their naked bodies this morning? The rogue thought did little to help her calm down.

Kady couldn’t contain her giggles. Tears formed at the edges of her eyes. Even Taylor had to go out of his way not to look at them. It drew Zira’s attention away from the god-like twins standing beside her. How did Kady know who she slept with? She was sure she didn’t tell anyone. Luca cleared his throat and Zira whirled back around to them.

“Sorry, uh thank you! I am pretty thirsty.” She mumbled as she slipped her phone into her back pocket and accepted the drink.

“I bet you’re positively parched,” Kady said between giggles. Without turning to look at her Zira balled up a piece of paper and chucked it at her face. Kady melted into a puddle of laughter.

“You wanna take a walk?” Luca asked. They both looked so intense. Their eyes were just a few shades off from gold. Every time the light hit them it lit them up in a new way that made Zira get lost in them. No wonder she ended up in bed with both of them when she was drunk. Just being this close to them made her body remember things that her mind forgot.

“Sure, I guess. Lead the way.” She pushed her chair away from the table and stood up, the cold drink sat forgotten on the table. The twins turned and started walking. As Zira started to follow them she turned back toward Kady, whose face was beet red and covered in tears from crying. She held up both middle fingers and mouthed the words you’re an asshole. The twins led her over to the glass railing that overlooked the bottom floor of the library.

Zira did her best not to make eye contact with Harper again. It was difficult when she was still down there staring daggers at her. Didn’t she have work to do?

“You ducked out on us.” She turned her head to see them on either side of her both staring intently.

“Luca, right?” he raised an eyebrow at her.

“How did you know?” his deep voice seemed to get deeper. She shrugged.

“It’s pretty obvious.” Both of their eyebrows shot up.

“That’s a first.” Cole’s eyes had a gleam to them. “Why didn’t you wake us up?” Zira averted her eyes. If she woke them up it would have been awkward then like it was getting awkward now.

“I was late for class. Plus I had a feeling that waking you two up would have been a bit…distracting.” An evil grin replaced the deep frown on Cole’s face. Zira found herself drawn to the way his thick lips moved. She leaned in a little closer. The scraping of a chair against the tile floor made her painfully aware of her surroundings. What was she thinking? Flings only! Nothing serious. That was the deal and it was more important than ever.

“Distractions are good.” Luca moved closer to her. Zira’s heart was almost beating out of her chest at the slightest brush of his skin against hers.

“They can be,” she pushed away from the railing, ”but you see that chick down there with the crazy eyes glaring at me?” she pointed down to Harper. “She will probably be the death of me if she sees me continue to be distracted.” She smiled at the disgusted looks on their faces as they returned her glare. It even made Harper look away at last.

“Then let’s go where she can’t see you be distracted.” Cole shot a look at Luca and she could practically see the light bulb turn on in his mind.

“We’ve got a private study room on the third floor.” Zira frowned. The third floor was mostly restricted access. There were stacks there she wasn’t allowed to pull from as well as private study cubicles and apparently entire rooms. She wanted to say yes. The thought of saying no and seeing the look of disappointment on their faces made her stomach twist worse than her morning hangover.

“Nope. No, sorry. I really have to get back to work.” She took another step back and tried to breathe through the stomach ache she had just given herself.  “Nice try though boys.”

“It’s not like that.” Luca reached for her hand. In the brief moment that he glimpsed the dark blue and purple bruise discoloration on her wrist, his face changed from pleading to furious. His hand locked around hers and pulled her closer.

“Did we do this?” he held her hand out to Cole. His face instantly transformed as well.

“No. Just don’t worry about it. I bruise easy.” She tried to pull away but Luca’s hands weren’t budging. Cole leaned forward and she was sure she heard him sniff her. “Okay, enough, or you are going to bruise me.” Luca’s hands released and she hurried back toward the table with them right behind her. She stopped just before they made it back to the table.

“Look, you guys seem nice and all but honestly I just think we’re from two different worlds. So…sorry. Maybe I’ll see you around sometime.” She grabbed her papers off the table and ignored the questioning look on Kady’s face as she pulled her cart of books back toward the elevator. Her stomach dropped as she realized this was likely the end of her friendship with Kady. She couldn’t risk getting more attached to anyone. Especially now that leaving wasn’t a backup plan, it was the main plan.

As Zira smashed the button on the elevator a hand wrapped around her wrist and yanked her through the closing doors. Her body crashed against something hard and her feet left the ground. It was like she blinked and was in an entirely new place. Judging from the blinking fluorescents she was in the unrenovated wing. But how? Fingers threaded through the curly hair at the base of her skull and yanked her head backward. Her eyes were forced to meet Keiran’s.