I think back to my life in Sterling Prep. Captain of the football team and their star quarterback, I had one of the best throwing arms in the state. But I was no better than Cade Kingsley. I thought I was a god, that I ruled the school and everyone in it.
How little did I know.
One mistake, and I was thrown away like nothing more than a piece of trash.
As the minutes tick by, more drinks emerge, and eventually, I start to feel a bit of a buzz in my veins as I sit with Alex, Christan, Troy—who's now unattached himself from Maisie— and a few other people I've been introduced to but can't recall their names.
"I'm so fucking ready for four years of this," Troy announces, bringing his lighter up to the blunt hanging from his lips. "Booze, weed, and pussy, wet and ready for the taking."
Alex shakes his head at him.
"Told you," Christian says. "Fucking dog."
With my own blunt between my thumb and forefinger, I push from the hard ground we're sitting on and gesture toward the trees. "Going for a piss."
I stumble over some roots as I melt into the darkness, walking for longer than necessary. But the promise of a few minutes of peace is too much to deny. I want to party. I want to enjoy myself, but I'm not sure the majority of the people who are here are the people I want to do it with.
They all want to be them. They want the chance to be invited into Kingsley’s inner circle, whereas I'm more than happy staying in the shadows and doing what I need to do until I can finally make my own decisions and embark on my own life, as far away from Sterling Bay and Gravestone as I can get.
When I'm finally alone, I take a piss against a tree before taking another hit and continuing forward when something catches my eye. Walking out from the shadows, I find I'm at the other side of the lake. I must have walked farther than I expected.
Movement at the water's edge startles me. Looking up, my breath catches when I find a girl sitting with water lapping at her feet. "Shit, I'm sorry. I was just…" I trail off, instantly forgetting my words when she turns her huge, dark eyes to me.
"It's okay," she says softly. So softly, in fact, I have to get closer just to hear her properly over the rustling of the trees behind us. "I just needed—"
"Some peace."
"Yeah. It can get a bit overwhelming. You want to…" she gestures to the ground beside her, and before I know what I'm doing, I lower myself down.
"You're in my economics class, right?" I ask her, recognizing her as the quiet girl who tries to hide at the back.
"Uh… yeah."
"Why do you sound so shocked that I would have noticed you?" The words spill out.
"Habit, I guess. I often get overlooked."
"I really doubt that…" I don’t only recognize her from class, I recognize her from high school.
"Mia.” She smiles, and I swear it’s like being hit with lightning. “Mia Thompson."
I want to say I remember her name, but I don’t. But I didn’t exactly embrace senior year at a new school.
"Well, Mia. Mia Thompson.” A smirk plays on my lips. “I'm Bexley. Bexley Danforth."
I hold my hand out to her, and I feel like an idiot for the move—that is, until she throws her head back and laughs. Then, everything I’ve been holding inside me for months—hell, for years—seems to settle. If only for a few seconds.
2
Mia
He has nice eyes.
That’s the first thing I notice about the guy who sits beside me at the edge of the lake. I vaguely recognize him from the couple of classes we’ve shared. Not that I’ve really been checked into life since the semester started.
I came to Gravestone U thinking it would be my ticket to freedom, to break free from this town. But my life is no longer my own.
I’m Cade Kingsley’s prosapia.