Lauren (Keegan's Chronicles Spin Off) (2 page)

As they walked out of the classroom into the fluorescent light of the hallway, Calvron asked, “Do you want to grab a coffee? I’m buying.”

Lauren mulled it over. Coffee sounded great, and she did have some free time before her next class. Not to mention that she really didn’t like Calvron, one of her best friends, being annoyed with her. Then she made a face; as fun as it sounded, she absolutely had to hit the books. “I wish I could, but I really need to study for my art history test.”

“Not a valid excuse. I’ll quiz you while we’re in the cafe.” Calvron grinned. He tossed a lazy arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “Come on. You owe me after standing us up last night.”

“Coffee it is.” Lauren smiled as she shifted her books to her other arm. She felt lucky to have childhood friends like Calvron—and Donald, Sam, and Spencer—at college with her. She didn’t hang out with them as much as she should. On a big campus, it was easy to drift apart.

“So what’s new in your world?” Lauren glanced over at Calvron. Even though Lauren was five feet, seven inches tall, he towered over her.

He had his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans, his bag hanging diagonally across his broad shoulders. He shrugged. “Not much, just living the dream. School, partying—the usual.” He gave her a crooked grin, his shaggy, dark blond hair hanging in his eyes. She didn’t think he would ever grow up, and that was fine by Lauren. She loved his immaturity.

“What about that girl you told me about?” Lauren dug.

A flush rose to his handsome face. “Mia. She’s good.”

The crowds seemed to part as they walked down the hall, and Lauren figured Calvron was using magick to keep them at bay. He didn’t like when people invaded his personal space. No one seemed the wiser. She envied his power, and that he was allowed to use it freely. Fairies didn’t have that luxury.

“Does she like Spain?” Lauren had only half paid attention when Calvron told her about his new girlfriend, but she did remember that Mia was studying abroad. “She’s getting her degree in Spanish, right?”

“Yeah, she is. Wants to be a translator.” There was a secret smile on his face—he must really like this girl, Lauren realized as Calvron held the door open for her. Warm sunlight spilled into the lobby.

“There can be pretty good money in that,” Lauren told him as they walked outside. “You could have yourself a money-making wife.”

Calvron blushed. “We’ve only been together for like four months, and she’s been gone for most of it. Marriage isn’t on the table.”

“You never know,” Lauren teased him. She loved that he had found someone he so obviously cared about—Calvron had always played the field. She liked this other side of him. “Do you guys talk often?”

“She Skypes every night.” He grinned. “I can’t wait until she gets back.”

They made their way to the nearest cafe, one building over in the English department. Lauren had found the coffee shops scattered across the immense campus in her first week. If any one thing kept the students going, it was caffeine. Sometimes Lauren wished they’d offer a caffeine IV—especially after she had stayed out too late with Tristen.

“Let’s grab our drinks and sit outside,” Lauren told him as they climbed the stairs to the white Greco-Roman building. “I could use some fresh air before my next class.”

“Your wish is my command.” Calvron paused to bow dramatically.

He fell back into step next to her, and Lauren bumped her hip against his. “You’re such a clown.”

Halfway up the stairs, Calvron stopped and turned towards her. His handsome face grew serious—not a look she often saw on him. “Lauren, I’m worried about you.”

“Me?” Lauren pointed her finger at her chest. That was the last thing she expected him to say. “Why?”

“You’re different since you’ve been with Tristen,” he started carefully. “I don’t think he’s good for you. You used to always be the one to make everyone around you smile—the life of the party. Where did that girl go?”

Lauren bristled. “Who the hell are you to say who’s good for me or not? Tristen is wonderful. You know what? Forget the coffee. I’ll just go study by myself.” Tears welled up in her eyes, and she pivoted on her toes to stomp off.

Calvron grabbed her elbow. “Don’t be like that. I’m telling you this as your friend. You’ve always been so carefree. Lately, you’re stressed out, and you just don’t seem very happy. Actually, you seem pretty damn miserable.”

Appalled, Lauren yanked her arm back. “I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my life. Tristen is the best thing that has ever happened to me.” Lauren glared at him. “You just haven’t given him a chance. I’m only stressed because of my grades.”

“Lauren, it started when
he
came around.” His concerned look tipped into irritation.

She stared at him suspiciously. “Is this because I didn’t show up last night? If so, that’s pretty ridiculous.”

Calvron clenched his jaw and looked away. “Forget I said anything. Have fun studying.” He strode off and didn’t look back.

Taking a deep breath, Lauren closed her eyes, but she couldn’t stop the tears from falling.

What pissed her off the most was that she hadn’t been feeling like herself lately. She swiped a hand over her cheeks and made her way to a secluded tree in the middle of the great lawn. She plopped on the ground and leaned up against the trunk, closing her eyes.

She felt like her life was spinning out of control, and she had no way of stopping it.

Chapter 2

R
epetitive and boring, as usual
, Lauren thought as she landed on her feet after doing a roundoff into a backflip. She could do cheer practice in her sleep, but that didn’t mean she wanted to. Cheering had always been a part of her life, practically from the moment she could walk. Her mother had pushed her to be the best, a move that had probably led to Lauren’s eventual boredom.

It had been a hot afternoon. Practice started with the sun high and bright in a clear sky, and it was only now beginning to set. It bounced off the metal of the bleachers, the reflection almost painful. Lauren appreciated the soft, cool grass on the field beneath her feet as she watched the rest of the team complete their flips.

A loud whistle blew, startling Lauren out of her thoughts.

“Two-mile recovery run and that’s it for the evening,” Coach Parker barked with a gesture in the general direction of the campus loop. She turned away to her clipboard, the team dismissed.

As the other girls groaned, Lauren smiled to herself. Running was something she enjoyed immensely. When she ran, she forgot the rest of the world. She saw only the asphalt in front of her, heard only the pounding of her feet and the huffing of her breath. It had always been a sort of meditation for her—the only time her mind was still. She felt almost as free as she did on the rare occasions when she could be in her fairy form.

Not bothering to wait for the other girls, Lauren took off at a slow jog towards the two-mile loop around campus. The concrete path was almost never empty, day or night, even though Lauren wished it would be. Today was no different. As she stepped onto the loop, she hit the timer on her small black sports watch and took off in a sprint, weaving around a group of light joggers and settling into her own speed.

Lauren focused on her breathing, maintaining a steady rhythm. The air smelled of freshly cut grass, reminding her of home. She was supposed to be doing a recovery run, slow and steady, but with so much tension building inside her, Lauren pushed herself harder and faster. She lost herself in the feeling of her feet hitting the solid ground, the wind against her skin, and the clean scent of spring. It was just her and the ground: nothing else mattered.

The sight of her coach jolted her from her reverie. She had made it around the track without even realizing it. Lauren skidded to a stop and hit the ‘end’ button on her watch, surprised to see her time was a little over twelve minutes.
Not bad.

Coach Parker looked up from behind her clipboard. She shook her head slowly, her voice wry as she said, “I guess you missed the ‘recovery’ part.”

Lauren caught the hint of a smile on her coach’s lips. Coach Parker, barely five feet tall, was the most intimidating coach Lauren had ever worked with. Hard to please, she pushed the girls relentlessly. It was always nice to get a nod of approval from her.

Lauren smiled and swiped the back of her hand over her forehead. Sweat soaked through her bright teal tank top and gym shorts. “Just letting off some steam, Coach.”

“Get out of here.” Coach Parker smiled and tossed a towel at Lauren.

Lauren caught the towel and headed to the locker room. She was the first one in; she’d left the other girls in her dust, and not even on purpose. In the cool and quiet inside, the hum of the fluorescent lights comforted her in the still room.

She crossed the open floor to the plain, wooden bench in front of her locker, and twirled the code into her combination lock until it clicked open. She threw off her workout clothes, wrapped the towel around her body like a toga, and grabbed her shower things.

Lauren hung her towel and stepped into the shower. Closing her eyes, she let her shoulders relax as the hot water beat down against her skin and the steam built around her. It felt wonderful on her achy muscles. She pumped the citrusy-smelling gel into her hands and scrubbed her body clean. She didn’t want to reek when she saw Tristen.

Lauren sighed as she rinsed her hair. Thank the gods, she somehow made it through the day. Getting through her classes had been a struggle. She’d been unable to focus with Calvron’s words echoing in her mind. Whatever was going on with her, it was
not
Tristen’s fault—that much she knew for sure. She just had to try harder with school and get better at time management, that was all. Nothing more.

After her shower, Lauren threw on a skirt and a peasant top, and took her brush to the sink. She sighed as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her light brown eyes looked tired, and her curly, dark hair was a frizzy mess. Not exactly the look she was going for. She ran the brush through the whole mess in an attempt to tame it, and then rummaged around in her purse until she found a large tortoiseshell clip. She twisted her hair up, still wet from her shower.

After quickly packing away her things, Lauren checked the locker one more time for stray belongings, and then hurried into the evening. With the sun nearly gone, it was getting chilly. Before she reached for her keys, she pulled a sweater out of her bag and shrugged into it.

Lauren turned on her headlights and eased onto the road, heading towards Tristen’s place, her heart already beating faster at the thought of seeing him. She had been dating him for a few months, and things had gotten pretty serious. They had recently talked about moving in together. Her mother would totally flip out, so Lauren hadn’t pushed the issue with him. She felt pretty content with the way things were now.

Lauren pulled over on the side of the road just before the turn for Tristen’s house. She flipped the visor down to check her hair—still behaving, thank goodness—and pinched her cheeks to add a little color to her alabaster skin. Not much of an improvement, but it would have to do. A little fairy dust would be great, but unfortunately that was yet another myth.

Shoving the visor back up, she put the car into drive. Her heart fluttered. It had only been a few hours, but it felt like a lifetime since she saw him last. She seriously felt addicted to that boy. Lauren turned right into the large, gated entrance.

Tristen lived in one of the largest, nicest gated communities in the city. The gatehouse, as big as Lauren’s home back in Tennessee, had a red tile roof and adobe walls that wouldn’t look out of place in Mexico…except for the shiny, expensive sheen and the extensive landscaping.

Lauren handed her ID to the security card. “Hey, Jonas. Did your wife have the baby yet?”

The guard shook his head. A handsome older man with ink-black hair and Mediterranean skin, he glanced at the card and handed it back. “Not yet. Maybe tonight, as long as she waits till my shift’s over.”

“I’ll keep my fingers crossed.” Lauren held up her hands, fingers crossed.

Jonas laughed and tipped his hat. “See you tomorrow, Lauren.”

She waved and drove through the large, cast iron gates. Another myth—iron and fey. Since the speed limit was only ten miles per hour beyond the gates, Lauren crept forward, just as struck by the beauty of the community as she had been the first time Tristen brought her home with him. The condos all looked alike on the outside—the same red tile roof as the gatehouse with the almost yellow exteriors that mimicked Spanish architecture. But Lauren knew they were all different inside, some of them shaped like boxes, and some sprawling like the letter “J.” In every perfectly green lawn, nearly every driveway sported a giant fountain backlit by spotlights or a huge statue of a sea animal or nude. Palm trees everywhere offered shade during the day, giving the whole place a look of paradise.

Tristen lived at the end of a cul-de-sac. His two-story condo was built around three sides of a courtyard with a tiered fountain in the center, surrounded by leafy ferns and exotic, brightly colored flowers that his yard crew worked hard to maintain. Lauren slid into the driveway behind Tristen’s vintage red Corvette and shut off her engine.