Chapter One

Claire. Claire tossed her final throw pillow onto her bed and stepped back to admire her work. Her pale white and pink flowery comforter brightened the brick interior of her apartment. It matched the fluffy white rug she'd saved a month to buy the summer before. She caught a glimpse of her blonde ponytail in the thrift store mirror above her bed, smiling at the way her green eyes lit up for the first time in what seemed like forever. Her small one-bedroom apartment was nothing to brag about, but it was hers. Plus, it was an hour away from her hometown where she left her miserable memories of high school. She'd been the epitome of shy and awkward growing up, which tossed her into the shadows during her high school years. She didn't mind—blending in fit her much better than standing out. However, that wasn't the case once he showed up and ruined everything. Claire walked into her small kitchen and opened her refrigerator. Only a carton of milk, some eggs, butter, and cheese made the trip with her. Her father gave her a couple hundred dollars to get her started, which wouldn't last long, but she intended to get an on-campus job soon because she knew her rent money would only last a couple of months. She pulled out a small skillet, butter, and eggs to make her something for dinner. Her first class started in the morning, and she wanted to fill up before bed so she would sleep well. Claire cooked her food, her mind racing with what ifs the entire time. What if he showed up at her university? She doubted it since he'd been accepted to a much larger university miles away, which was where she wanted him—miles away from her. Axel Davers was that one person that never seemed to let Claire fade into the shadows. He'd pick her out of a group of a thousand and make sure to torment her in any way that he could. She couldn’t even pinpoint when it started, or why, but that it made her days tiresome, and she feared to run into him at any moment. He was devilishly handsome, with wide shoulders and a head full of sandy brown hair. Every girl in her school lusted after him besides Claire. How could she ever crush on the one person that bullied her relentlessly? Claire's cell phone vibrated in her pocket, and she dug it out with one hand, while taking her eggs off the stove with the other. "Hello?" "Hey, darling," her dad said on the other end. "How's it going?" Claire smirked to herself. Her dad was overprotective since her mother passed away when she was little. It'd always been the two of them, and he worried about Claire living alone. "Oh, you know, just hosting my first rager and trying some drugs. The usual." Dad sighed heavily. "Funny," he said. "Have you eaten?" Claire silenced her own sigh and plopped her scrambled eggs down onto her plate. "Yes. I'm having eggs. I plan to go to the grocery store tomorrow after classes and after I apply for some on campus jobs. How was work?" "Work is work," he mumbled. "I'm just—" "Watching the game?" she answered for him. He chuckled, and Claire envisioned him rolling his eyes, too. "Yes. Well, since you're alive, I will let you eat. Call me tomorrow and tell me how everything goes, okay?" "Got it. Love you, Dad," Claire said. "Love you." Claire hung up the phone, feeling a sense of emptiness settle in the midst of her stomach. She felt it often due to the lack of a true best friend—other than her dad—she didn't have anyone to talk to or call. However, she planned to change that. Tomorrow would open a new avenue for Claire. She could be whoever she wanted to be, and the shy awkward girl would be put to rest—forever. *** Claire's nerves rattled around in her stomach like a pill bottle as she parked her old Dodge Dart in an empty parking space. The hustle and bustle of the campus was in full swing, and it was nearly 8 AM. Claire cleared her throat and grabbed the strap of her bag. "You've got this, Claire," she mumbled to herself, opening the door. She felt the humid southern breeze suck the breath from her. She didn't expect anything less than a scorcher the first few months of school, being it was August in Louisiana. She didn't mind it most days; however, she needed to make it to class without looking a complete mess her first day. The Arts building consisted of any art, English, or psychology class on campus, and since Claire wanted to pursue psychology, she had several classes in that building. She maneuvered her way toward her class, making a beeline for a seat in the middle of the room. Hopefully, that would keep her blended into the scene and not draw any attention to herself. She placed her book bag beside her desk and put her books and notepad on her desk. Her OCD reared its head as she put her pencil in line with the top of her notebook and slid her palms down her thighs. You've got this, she mumbled to herself. Something in the pit of her stomach felt off about that morning, but she couldn’t place it. She'd always felt as if she had a sixth sense but never thought too much about it. A few students trickled in the closer it grew to 8 AM. Claire smiled at them, hoping she didn't come off too pushy to make friends. A girl walked in with wild pink hair, bright neon leggings, and a torn white shirt right before class started. One of the only empty seats was in front of Claire. She walked down the aisle, sat down, and turned immediately back to her. "I shed." Claire glanced around. "Huh?" She smirked. "My name is Cat, and I shed. I'm just warning you because I had a girl freak out last year because my hair fell out all over her desk." Claire examined her wild pink hair, thinking the dying it probably made her hair frail, but she kept her mouth shut. "I'm Claire, and that's okay. I'm sure I won't even notice." Cat popped a piece of gum in her mouth and smirked. "You're the nice girl, right? The one that keeps her emotions at bay until one day … you just pop?" she asked. Claire laughed because that was an accurate representation. "You should go into mind reading." Cat laughed, tossing her head back, her big brown eyes vibrant with laughter. "I totally should—" "Alright, class," the professor said as she walked into the classroom. "Let's begin." Claire watched her write her name on the chalkboard in big letters: Professor Sitton. She was red-haired with bouncy curls that Claire envied and a sweet smile. "We're going over our syllabus today, and then we'll cut out early. But on Wednesday," she said, lifting her index finger into the air, "we'll get to work!" She pulled out her syllabus and passed their copies around. English wasn't Claire's favorite subject, but she was well enough at it. The door opened mid-sentence, and Professor Sitton glanced over with an annoyed expression. Claire's gaze followed her line of sight, landing on the person walking through the threshold. Everything in the room stilled. Her mouth dried. Her heart jackhammered nervously against her ribcage. The world blurred around her. It was him. Axel Davers. The one boy she'd prayed to never see again. His dominant footsteps echoed against the concrete walls of the old building, his thick throat moved as he swallowed and scratched the edge of his jaw covered in a dark stubble. Professor Sitton grabbed her roster and glanced over at him. "Axel Davers, I presume?" Axel nodded slowly, but he seemed distracted, and Claire knew why immediately. Did he have some kind of animal magnetism or something? His dark eyes shifted toward her, and pinned her to the seat in the middle of the classroom. Cat turned around and glanced at Claire with both eyebrows raised to her hairline. Claire's fingertips tightened around the edge of her seat, and she shifted nervously. It was too late to transfer, and she wasn't that much of a coward to run, but it wasn't too late to switch classes. And she would do it to enjoy the next four years of her life. "Take a seat, Mr. Davers," Professor Sitton said while turning back to the board. "And grab a syllabus from my desk." Axel kept his dark gaze on Claire as he grabbed his syllabus and walked across the room to one lone seat in the very corner. Away from Claire as she'd hoped. If it were up to her, that would be the closest Axel Davers would get to her ever again. She promised he wouldn’t torment her any longer, and that was one promise she intended to keep.