Page 18 of My Pucking Family

“At least he remembered my coffee order,” Zoey mumbles with an ornery grin.

I can't help the smile that spreads across my face at this sweet man of mine.

Mine? Hmm. That's the first time I've thought that to myself, and I can't argue with how right it feels.I take a sip of my coffee, snatch the note from the flowers and swoon.

I take the flowers and set them on the table by the window, raising the blinds so they can get plenty of sunshine for the day. At that moment, someone walks by our ground-floor window, causing me to screech and jump back.

Zoey comes barreling right back out of the bathroom. “What? What? What?!” she gasps.

“I'm sorry. Someone walked by the window when I opened the blinds. It startled me is all. I’m okay.”

She crosses the space between us and hugs me, not letting go until I do, then looks me straight in the eye. “You're not accepting defeat or something crazy if youneedto take online classes to get through the semester, Lee. Shit happens. Okay? I know you want to be strong, but it doesn't make you weak not to torture yourself. Just…just think about it, okay?” she finishes with a soft smile.

I just nod.

Maybe this will be harder than I thought.

This is definitely harder than I thought it would be. I'm only in my second class of the day, with two more to go, and I've already had fifty miniature heart attacks for no reason whatsoever. Every unexpected sound is making me jump. The guy behind me sneezed a minute ago, and I thought I was going to pee my pants. It also doesn't help that word spread like wildfire that I'd been kidnapped, and everyone has been pointing and whispering at me all day. It's kind of hard to blend in with the silver hair and all. I can't decide if the attention or the fear is worse, but they're both so suffocating.

I guess sometimes, no matter how hard you want something, you also have to admit that you might not be able to do it, and it looks like I likely won’t be able to handle the normal college experience that I wanted so badly. At least not right now.

Trying to focus on the rest of the lecture while also coming to terms with that realization is hard.

Okay, so I might need to take classes online, then what?

Do I live on campus and stay in my room by myself while Zoey goes to class like a normal person? Or do I take the next step towards crazy and move in with Roman and the guys? Like recently finding out I was a freaking werewolf wasn't enough, let's see what else she can handle.UGH, this is all just too much.

Apparently raging and ranting at myself is exactly what I needed, because before I realize it, class is over. I've got forty-five minutes before my Photojournalism class with Professor Sinclair. I'll go talk to her and get her opinion on my situation.

I do my best to slink through the halls to her classroom, trying to attract the least amount of attention. When I finallyreach the right room, I open the door just enough to squeeze through and collapse against it once it clicks shut.

Professor Sinclair looks up from her papers; she seems to be grading. She obviously wasn't expecting it to be me as she lurches from her seat and moves unnaturally fast across the large room to meet me.

“Oh my gosh, Leera, I'm so glad you're alright!” She seems to almost choke up. “Can I touch you?”

All I can do is take deep breaths and nod.

Her hands come down on my arms, moving up and down in a reassuring way, but it doesn't feel anywhere near the relief I get from Roman's touch.

“Are you okay? Do you want to talk about what happened?” she asks, turning back to her calm and kind self.

“Kind of...to both,” I say quietly, trying to keep the tears in.

She just nods, causing her tightly-coiled natural hair to bob a little, then gently walks me to a chair.

“Is it okay with you if I just get it all out as quickly as I can?” I ask her. “I'm afraid if I stop, I'll break down and won't be able to get it all out.”

“Of course, whatever you need.”

I start from the very beginning and tell her about everything with me and Roman, filling in more human-related issues where the werewolf details would be. Her eyes continue to grow as I carry on, and the rich ebony skin on her forehead wrinkles as she takes in all the information that I'm throwing at her.

“And now I'm here, blabbing my life story to my professor because I don't have anyone, and I don't know what to do.” And with that, the dam breaks and the sobs escape me.

“Oh, honey, shhhh.” She wraps me in a small hug and pats my back. “Why don't we go back to my office, so we're not in a public room, and we can talk through this, and I can just give my next class direction? Everything is going to be okay.”

I nod slightly as she stands and heads to her desk to gather her things while I try to gather myself to make it back out in that hallway.

When Professor Sinclair is ready to go, she seems to mumble something under her breath before she opens the door, and goosebumps prick at my arms.

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