Page 4 of My Guardian Demon

I arrived early, but a group of people still gathered already inside the door. They talked amongst themselves, mostly freshmen. I stood at the back of the group, waiting for our guide to arrive.

"This is like high school all over again," a female voice beside me muttered.

I turned to see a woman with red hair, a nose piercing, and dark lipstick glower at the group ahead.

"College is better than high school. You'll see," I said. "Orientation sucks but once you get into college life, you'll have the best time of your life."

The woman looked at me with narrowed eyes. "You're not a freshman?"

I shook my head no. "Nope, I'm a senior."

"What are you doing at orientation?"

"New school."

The woman shot me a knowing look. "So you did not have the 'time of your life' at your old school?"

I laughed. "No, I didn't. But as long as you don't have an abusive ex in the picture, I have full faith in your good experience here."

The woman nodded and held out her hand for a fist-bump. "Magdalene."

I fist-bumped her. "Wynn."

"Good to meet you. I hope you're right about this good time thing."

I nodded.

Someone started talking loudly at the head of our group. I looked in the speaker's direction. It looked like our tour guide had arrived.

Chapter 3

Wynn

I put the last of my groceries in the fridge and shut the door. A glance at the fruit bowl on the counter showed mouth-watering fruit, so I grabbed an apple then wandered up the hall.

The apple made a crisp sound as I bit into it. The fresh taste of the fruit washed over my tongue. I wiped the juice from my chin and continued chewing as I pushed through the door into my bedroom.

The apartment came pre-furnished with necessities. A queen bed, a nightstand, and a dresser decorated the white room. The single window sported basic blinds. I eyed the suitcases and boxes shoved in a corner that I hadn't unpacked yet. I wondered if I could live out of the unpacked boxes forever.

No, I had to unpack, as much as I didn't want to do it. I would be here at least a year; unpacking was necessary. Sighing, I opened the top drawer to my dresser. Empty, as expected.

I sat my apple on top of the dresser. Reluctantly, I swung a suitcase out of the corner onto the bed and opened it. The clothes inside, neatly packed by my mom, set perfectly in place.

Underwear and socks in the top drawer, I decided. I began transferring everything over.

I heard three raps on the wall, followed by, "Wynnie? Are you there?"

"Onyx? I thought I told you not to call me that." I rolled my eyes at the nickname and kept unpacking.

"I..." Onyx growled. "I'm sorry. I had a rough day. Can you talk to me? Tell me how your day went, maybe?"

I'd never seen him, but my heart went out to him. Eston had caused me many sleepless, bad nights. Onyx was apparently having one.

"My day was fairly uneventful." I walked him through the events of that day and told him about everything, including my conversation with the landlord, orientation, and grocery shopping.

"So what I caught from that," he rumbled, "is that you have an ex-boyfriend that might be a problem."

I said, "That was at the beginning. It'd better not be all you caught." I smiled when he made ahrrumphsound. I folded a pair of jeans and tucked them into a drawer. "He'd better not be a problem. I moved across the country to get away from him."

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