Page 2 of Speak

Yup. On-set at one of my stepdad’s commercial sites for one of his new gadgets.

The big line that turned his world upside down and he just couldn’t keep away from her?

“Get yours today!”

Romantic as fuck, isn’t it?

So yeah, the Sofia Paloma left my dad, Francisco Alvarez, (a drunk, LA business lawyer barely holding it together) for the genius John Weston Monroe. I was fine with it, honestly. Mom and dad fought all the time way before she ever met John. The whole stay-together-for-the-kids thing? Terrible advice. My parents tried to make it work but by the time my dad was realizing he could lose his family if he didn’t stop drinking… we were on a flight from LA to Massachusetts, moving into a Mega Mansion-type fortress with nine-foot white picket fence others would categorize as a brick wall, being served divorce papers at his own law firm.

The tabloids had a field day with that one.

I got a whiney, sickly stepbrother with chameleon peridot-sapphires for eyes that changed with his moods, the colors of his shirts and even the weather. I also got a stepdad I saw as much as I had my own father when we were still with him in LA - on weekends and holidays. At least now, I had someone with me on lonely nights, to play with and prank.

Two years later, dad died in a drunk driving accident. One he caused. He was the only one hurt, thank God, having wrapped hiscar around a tree going eighty miles per hour. I try not to think about that too much these days, or at all if I can help it.

So yeah, Berklee had been my number one choice because I was desperate to go back to Californiaalone. To palm trees, a summer breeze and seventy-five degrees.

Not that I hate RMU, or its campus, or even Massachusetts. It’s pretty fucking nice here. The university was established in 1827, so it has that whole collegiate gothic-style vibe. The kind that screamseliteandEdgar Allen Poe probably drank and threw up here.There are even rumors of a secret society that gather underneath the library and the woods behind the campus. I love it. There’s even another rumor that the old, boarded-up bell tower is haunted. That you can hear screams coming from inside.

The campus is on ten thousand acres of wooded land but only five hundred are used for the actual school, library, dorms, the gym, field house, the infirmary, music hall and football, rugby, and soccer fields. It’s small in comparison to other schools but the music program is pretty top tier, and I love it. I’ve even made good friends so far.

Horny, slightly bitchy friends, but still good, nonetheless. Plus, I have Axel, no matter how much shit I give him for always following me around.

We pass the other students as we make our way to the music hall from the football field. I really thought my friends and I would have walked fast enough for him not to catch us, but then again… he kinda does run for a living as the wide receiver for the RMU Yellow Jackets.

“What are you thinking about?”

“California.” I'm not lying, technically.

“You miss it? The earthquakes and mudslides and… floods?”

“Sometimes.” I reply honestly.

“Think you’ll go back?”

“I really fucking hope so, Axel,” I snap without wanting to. It’s not his fault at all that I feel like I’ve overstayed my welcome here.

“But… your mom’s here and…” he trails off.

“And what?”

“Me and dad are here. We wouldn’t be a family without you.”

I almost scoff. Yeah, when it came to school, I was a goody two-shoes. Everywhere else? I was a hellcat. Axel is sweet, really. He has that kind of golden retriever loyalty about him. Ash is right about that. He also, very annoyingly, tends to guard me. Just another reason I haven’t really dated or gotten around to losing my pesky little issue. (My V-card.)

The throngs of students are thinning out as we reach the music hall, when someone (a very female someone) shouts, “Axel!”

With a grin he says, “Can I meet you there?”

“Just go, Ax. Have fun.”

“Are you sure? It’s kinda dark out here. They still haven’t fixed that light post, and I don’t know if that security camera is working. If something happens to you, mom and dad will kill me.”Mom and Dad. Not even dad and Sofia like I call them Sofia and John. He calls them… Mom and Dad.

This time, I do scoff. “There hasn’t been a crime on campus since Black Thorne University stole the mascot’s costume in 2001. We – specifically you – won the game. Everyone is out celebrating, you should be with your teammates making friends, not worrying about me. Go. Have fun without me for once. Maybe you’ll have a date to the Homecoming Masquerade Ball next month thatisn’tme.” I wink and make a shooing motion at him.

He flashes me that mega-kilowatt smile that makes my friends drool and I melt a little bit. “I don’t mind going to functions with you, Cookie. You make them fun when you aren’t pranking me.” He glares and I stifle a laugh. “But okay. See you Sunday night for dinner?”

I roll my eyes. “Who would miss their own birthday dinner?”

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