Chapter 3

Lydia’s P.O.V

I woke up the next day to my alarm ringing. I’d set it up early so I could take my time getting ready. Most of the days, I’d usually have a headache to deal with, benefits of brain damage, but the heavens were with me today and I didn’t seem to have a headache. It seemed like one of those rare days that started out just perfect.

I took a shower after I got out of bed, brushed and took care of my daily business before getting ready for the day. I chose a pair of simple blue jeans and a loose fitting white shirt. After I was done dressing, I went into the kitchen and made myself a cup of coffee along with a couple of toasts to go with butter and then I sat down on my couch and decided to read the newspaper for a bit. It would be best to keep up with local news so I didn’t say or do anything that had been proclaimed offensive the day before.

College started at ten in the morning and it was only eight thirty. It would take me about fifteen minutes to get to college if I decided to walk and probably ten if I chose to ride my bicycle. Since it was my first day, I decided I’d probably ride my bike to save myself some time to gather my books and class schedules.

I was going to study Psychology for my major and I hoped it would help me get into people’s minds and find out their deepest, darkest secrets. Well…maybe not secrets, but thoughts in general. It’ll help me prevent things from happening, things that I had to endure for the past three years and will have to for the rest of my life. Maybe if somebody had reached out to those in need, that incident would never have happened, but then again, human nature was very unpredictable. That much, I’d learned in rehab.

Rosewater was a new start for me, a fresh start. And I planned to use it to the fullest. Here, no one knew me; no one knew the real Lydia McKenna or the horrific things she had suffered. It was one of the reasons I moved away from Kansas City. It was getting difficult enduring the knowing stares, the pitying glances and the odd few people who wanted to know the whole truth right from the source. I had to spend my entire senior year of high school studying from home and only showing my face outside the house during my finals and graduation. And even that had been trying.

Now, I took a sip of my coffee and enjoyed the morning sunlight pouring in through the balcony doors, the darkness of the past three years well behind me. There was nothing really eventful in the news so I put my newspaper aside and called my mother for a short while. She hadn’t wanted me to move away but at the same time, she had understood why I was doing this. In the end, I had the support of my entire family and I was able to move here, but with the condition that my dad pays for everything. He’s been even more overprotective since the incident and would’ve freaked out at the idea of me working at some unknown place to pay my rents and tuitions. So as of now, he’s paying for everything, much to my dismay and I’m offering to deal with some of the account works in his office during my free time.

After talking to my parents and my brothers, as well as Ivy, my older brother Stephan’s fiancé, I cleaned up my dirty dishes, tidied up the room and finally packed up my bag and headed off to college. It was already nine twenty and since it was my first day, I’d need to get accustomed to the surroundings.

An elderly lady greeted me downstairs as I was unlocking my bike from the little parking space and I instantly recognized her as the landlady, Stephen having shown me a picture of her before our arrival. “You must be Lydia McKenna,” she held out both her hands and took one of mine in her tiny ones. “Such a lovely young lady you are! If my son hadn’t married, I’d definitely have picked you for him!”

Her enthusiasm threw me off balance for a while but I was able to regain my composure before long and shook her hand instead. “Umm…thank you?” I didn’t exactly know if I should consider her words as a compliment or should I be horrified that marriage had been the first thing on her mind.

“Oh, dear,” she shook her head in disappointment, her clear blue eyes looking sad as she shook out a strand of near white hair from her face. “You’re one of those serious type women. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, but you should smile more. It would light up your pretty face.” And then she gave me a mischievous smile. “And don’t worry, I won’t stop you from having boys over, I was young once too, so I know how this all works, but not too many raunchy parties, alright?”

“Mrs. Langford,” I told her in as polite a voice as I could master. “You don’t have to worry about such things with me.”

“Oh, just call me Aunty Sarah! I very much like it when someone does,” and then she released my hand and stepped back. “I won’t take any more of your time since it’s your first day of college, but do pay this old lady a visit sometimes. I’d appreciate the company.”

“I will.” I told her and then added mentally, ‘but I don’t think you’ll find me a charming company.’ And then I was off to school.

Rosewater University wasn’t a very big place but it was exactly what I needed. Besides, all that really mattered was getting a degree so I could become a school councilor. There were a few students loitering in small groups in the front yard and the parking lot when I reached, some immersed in their books while shrill laughter drifted from another group of girls standing by the entrance. From what I saw, it seemed almost similar to high school, except maybe a bit more compact. I was in college after all. And although I wanted to feel excited about it, I really couldn’t. There was still a lingering fear that someone here would recognize me and then my life would turn upside down all over again.

So I parked my bike in the closest parking space I could find and started walking towards the main entrance with my bag slung over one shoulder.

“Umm…excuse me…miss…?”

I turned towards a geeky looking boy with large glasses who had interrupted me. He looked like a first year by the awkward way he was standing and fidgeting with the buttons of his shirt, but most of all, he looked like he was ready to pass out from fear. He had natural curly red hair and green eyes and a natural dusting of freckles across his neck and cheeks and he was wearing a large yellow T-shirt and brown cargo pants.

“What is it?” I asked him, as I turned to face him fully.

“Umm…it’s just that…umm…the parking space that you parked your bicycle in…it’s taken.” The boy managed to stutter out after several intervals in between.

“Taken? By who?” I asked, tilting my head to the side as I inspected the scared boy closely. “And besides, the spot didn’t say reserved neither did it have any names on it. Don’t you think this person should be doing either of those things if that spot is really taken?”

The boy seemed to get even more nervous by the minute. “No…ma’am…you don’t understand…it’s his parking spot…it-oh shit!” he cussed as we both saw a boy arrive in a motorbike and park in front of my cycle.

The nerdy geek rushed over to explain things to him as a small crowd started to form around him and I could hear him repeat the same things I’d just told him. I thought the commotion would be over finally, that was until I saw the boy smirk and head towards my bike as if to throw it aside.

Oh hell to the naw!

“Touch my bike and you’re dead!” I snapped at him before I could think this through.

And that was when a pair of gorgeous green eyes locked with mine. Eyes that, I was sure had murderous intent in them.