Fuck. Two people in uniforms were walking to their cars, only a few rows away. How the fuck had she missed that?
Breathing fast, she sat back on her heels but leaned a little too far and started to fall. She thunked into the car behind her and a shrill alarm pierced the air.
Motherfucker. Her luck was shit tonight. Good thing she wasn’t a gambler.
The voices moved closer, sounding worried. Addison jumped to her feet, stayed crouched, grabbed her bag then snuck around to the other side of the car, avoiding their line of vision.
As soon as she thought she was in the clear, she stood up and ran like hell and didn’t look back.
By the time she reached her car, parked down the road, she was winded and ready to pass out. She leaned over, bracing herself with hands on her knees, trying to steady her racing heart. This was not going well. Did she really suck at this? Was she hopeless at stealing cars without Fox?
God that sounded pathetic.
But it was true. She couldn’t do this without him. She’d been almost gifted at it once, but even if she got that back, just stealing them wasn’t enough.
She should be focusing on school, though. A straight and narrow life. Internships and job prospects were right there on the horizon. Lately, she’d sworn that wasn’t for her, but the possibility of flunking school was a wake-up call. And now she was forced to figure out what was more important in life. Passion or stability?
In her car, she let her head flop back against the headrest, feeling further and further away from finding the answers she needed.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out.
Fox. Of course.
With tears prickling her eyes, she declined the call and drove home.
***
As soon as Addison finished her exam for her Wireless Communications course, she headed into the university lobby to log into her school account to check on her grades. She’d turned in an overdue assignment a few days ago and hoped it would bring her grade up to passing. Dr. Penn said he’d post the grades this afternoon.
After the log-in screen, she scrolled through her profile, looking for the results. She needed at least a C to stay in the program. Not that she was sure she wanted to stay in the program but if she was leaving, she wanted it to be her idea and her timing. Nobody else’s.
Finally, she found what she was looking for and exhaled a breath. C+.
Thank god.
She leaned back against the recliner and shut her eyes for a moment. Exhaustion swept over her, and now that the exam was over, she finally felt it.
“Wanna get some lunch?” Mariella asked.
Addison popped open her eyes to see her roommate standing over her.
“What are you doing here?” Culinary school was the next building over so they didn’t often run into each other.
“Came here to take you out. You’ve been stressed about this all week.” She smiled. “Come on. I’m buying.”
“Awesome.” Addison shut her laptop and shoved it in her bag then followed her friend toward the exit.
“How do you think you did on the exam?” Mariella asked.
“If I get anything above a C, I’m crediting your midnight brownie batch. They helped keep me awake to study.”
Mariella laughed then winked. “I added a secret ingredient just for you.”
Addison felt her eyes widen. “Pot?”
“Noooo.” She scowled at her. “5-hour Energy.”
“Huh. No wonder my heart’s been racing all morning.”