Two years after a horrible accident, Kinsley's determined to make it through vet school, but she didn't expect to meet country boy Noel McLean who's just as mysterious as he is charming.
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Kinsley Hastings suffers from PTSD. After surviving a fata...
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Kinsley
Two weeks pass before I text Noel.
We were supposed to go out with Tristan, Cole, and Mariana the day after Noel deemed me his lab partner. It didn't work out. The timing was off for both of us. Noel accepted a gig at a local off-campus pub. Cole went with him for support. I'm sure Tristan and Mariana did, too. On my side of the story, my grandparents dropped in for a surprise visit. They wanted to see how I was doing.
We spent the weekend at my aunt and uncle's house. Before leaving campus for the weekend, I introduced them to Tristan. As nothing more than my roommate. Even if Tristan is growing on me, I refuse to give in. Deeming her as more than a roommate will only complicate things. The same goes for Mariana. Both are fun to spend time with. They don't press for information. When the three of us are in the dorm room, we can keep the mood light and neutral.
During the second week, classes swamped me with homework. Now that introductions to courses are complete, the actual work has begun. Most of the homework I completed was important and counted toward my grade. Doing something fun with Noel, Cole, Tristan, and Mariana would've been an irresponsible decision. I'm thankful I locked down on homework.
Now, I have this weekend free to do whatever I please.
Well... almost whatever I please.
Friday is here, and Tristan and I are walking to the same pub where I first met Noel. I'm not looking forward to being social. At all. Though the food was decent, I can remember how loud it was in there. Something tells me a Friday will be worse than a Saturday.
Bright lights and loud, unexpected noises are triggers. They remind me too much of what happened. Still, I powered through the trauma to uphold Jessa and I's tradition. I don't know if I can do it again.
Locking myself in my dorm room and reading a book sounds appealing. It'll have to wait until tomorrow, though.
"This will be fun," Tristan says.
We cross the crosswalk. I keep my eyes focused on the ground, staring at the painted lines. This is the same crosswalk I crossed before having my first exchange with Noel.
My cheeks heat.
I push people away to keep them and myself safe. That means my behaviour sometimes embarrasses me. I should have made my appreciation sound real instead of fake and forced. I could have sprained my wrist or gotten some other minor injury. Had the bike hit me, I could've been in trouble. He helped me. I didn't tell him how grateful I was.
"Sure," I reply. Anxiety riddles my voice. This outing resembles bonding. Bonding leads to relationships. What I'm doing goes against everything I believe in.
"Sure?" she repeats, giving me a look of disbelief. "Kinsley, you have got one of the hottest, nicest guy on campus pining over you. Take advantage of it! God, it makes me so jealous. If Noel were pining over me, I'd give him a chance."
