Saving Ever After (Ever After #4) Read online

  “I talked to Dad yesterday, and he said they haven’t been able to work things out, that it’s only gotten worse between them,” she said solemnly. It wasn’t surprising though. Things between Mom and Dad had been strained for a while. They put on a good front, but it was just that, a front. The tension and arguing had gotten progressively worse over the past several months since my accident.

  That wreck hurt a lot of people. The damage was widespread.

  “What does this mean?” I asked her, not sure why she wanted to talk about it now.

  “Dad said they’re officially filing for a divorce. He moved out yesterday.”

  “Oh.” I wasn’t sure what else to say. While it wasn’t news that our parents weren’t getting along, I never thought they would get a divorce. Even through all the arguing and disagreements, a lot of them about me, I’d never doubted that my parents still loved each other above all else, including their children. I figured with me out of the house now, they’d figure out how to work things out. Not to mention that divorces could be so humiliating in my mother’s circle. If nothing else, I thought they’d stay together forever simply to preserve their good image. Guess I was wrong.

  “Dad says it’s for the best, that it’s what they both want.”

  “Mmhmm,” I mumbled, still trying to process. Obviously things had been worse than I thought, or maybe I’d just been too naïve to see this coming.

  “Dad wanted me to make sure that you know it’s not your fault, Mia.” I looked up and met her eyes. Concern reflected in them.

  “I know. Of course it’s not,” I said automatically, but I couldn’t help but think that if I hadn’t been so difficult, if I hadn’t caused so much trouble the last couple years, especially this last one, they wouldn’t have fought so much. Mom and Sadie could have probably made up too, if Mom hadn’t tried to blame Sadie for being a bad influence on me.

  “It’s not, Mia,” Sadie repeated as if she could read my mind. “It’s nobody’s fault but their own. It’s their problems and differences that caused this. Not you, not me, not any of us, okay?”

  “Yeah, I said I know.”

  “Okay, good. Now I have to go, but you can call me if you need anything.”

  I promised her I would, and then she left. I sat there and looked around my room. My room. My life. This was my chance to make something of it, to not be the disappointment so many people thought of me as.

  Here, I wasn’t Mia, the youngest Pierce girl and the troubled one. I wasn’t party-girl Mia, the girl who survived the drunk driving accident that killed two other students. I wasn’t Mia, the wild child, the rebellious one, or anything else. I was just Mia, for now, until I figured out who I wanted to be.

  This was going to be good. It didn’t matter that my family was a mess. Nothing mattered but taking this opportunity for what it was – my chance to prove not only to everyone else, but to myself, that I wasn’t all of those things. All of the bad was behind me now. Only good things from now on, I promised myself.

  My mood slightly improved and, feeling more optimistic, I decided to venture out of my room. I was hungry and needed food soon, and I couldn’t very well get started on this new life if I stayed cooped up in my room. I grabbed my key from the desk and wrapped the lanyard around my neck, and then left my room, locking it behind me. I turned and almost smacked into a group that was walking past my door.

  “Oh, hey,” one girl said, taking me in.

  “Sorry,” I muttered.

  “It’s all good,” one of the guys with her said. “What’s your name?”

  “Uh, Mia.”

  “Well Mia, welcome to the Myles,” he grinned devilishly and right away I knew that he was trouble. I’d seen smiles like that one before. “I hope you find everything to your satisfaction, and if there’s anything you need, I’m Derek. I’ll do whatever I can to ensure that your stay with us is a memorable and pleasant one,” he winked. He obviously knew what he was working with, which was a very handsome face and athletic build that, no doubt, made him a hit with the opposite sex.

  “Oh knock it off, Derek,” one of the other girls, there were three of them, rolled her eyes at him and then stepped forward. “I’m Jillian. This is Dawn,” she gestured at the short blonde girl next to her, “and Heidi,” she indicated a darker haired girl on her other side who had spoken first. “You’ve met Derek, our resident idiot, and this is Leland, his sidekick.” She pointed at a tall guy standing behind Derek, but at the word ‘sidekick’ he frowned and stepped forward.

  “Hey, I’m nobody’s sidekick.”

  I chuckled. Leland was cute. He was tall, with sandy blonde hair, light blue eyes and dimples that appeared when he smiled at me. All of them appeared to be a couple years ahead of me. I couldn’t be sure, but I guessed that they were at least sophomores, if not juniors.

  “It’s nice to meet you guys,” I said, still smiling. “Would you mind pointing me in the direction of the dining hall?” I was pretty sure I wouldn’t have any trouble finding it, but thought it would be better if I had someone show me. I had this fear of wandering around lost and then walking into the wrong room and looking like an idiot.

  “No problem. That’s just where we were headed.” Jillian smiled and took my arm, pulling me along with their group. “And on the way, you can tell us all about you, Mia.”

  “Uh, okay.” Maybe this whole college thing would be easier than I thought if all it took was walking out my door to make new friends.

  On the walk down to the dining hall, I learned that they were all, in fact, juniors. Jillian, who sometimes went by Jill, Heidi and Dawn had been rooming together since freshman year. Jill and Heidi were both from New York, but didn’t meet until coming to school here, and Dawn was from Springfield. I had no idea where that was on the map, but they made it sound like it wasn’t that far from Boston. Derek and Leland were best friends from Connecticut and met the girls when Derek and Dawn dated last year. According to them, they were just friends now and the whole group was pretty tight, but none of them dated each other now.

  Somehow in the short walk, on top of sharing their whole group dynamic, they managed to extract most of my background, at least the basics. I didn’t divulge anything really personal, but I told them I was from Seattle and that my dad ran a software company and my oldest sister lived here in Boston, which is why I chose to go to school here. I left out our family drama, my past mistakes, the fact that my sister was dating a rockstar and that I’d met all of the members of basically the hottest band in the world right now. I wanted to make friends without having to use that tidbit.

  Half way through our dinner, I was feeling good about my new group of friends. They didn’t seem to mind that I was a lowly freshman, and were perfectly happy to take me under their collective wing. They filled me in on all of the important goings on, which events I had to attend and which were better to skip. I got the impression that they were all pretty social and very opinionated. They had a lot to say about the different clubs on campus as well as the fraternities and sororities. They seemed to be anti-pledging, but pro-partying with the Greeks. Vi, Sadie’s friend, had pledged a sorority while she was here and said she would put in a good word for me if I decided to pledge, but I hadn’t decided yet.

  When they started talking sports and about how good the lacrosse team was, I started to mention Bas’ name, but then thought better of it. They would no doubt know who he was, not only because he’d been the star of the lacrosse team when he went here, but also because of his very famous brother, Christian – sexy rockstar, drummer extraordinaire, and someone I was better off not thinking about, something that on most days proved too difficult for me.

  Instead, I kept my mouth shut and just listened to them prattle on about campus life, and tried to navigate through their questions about me. They reminded me a lot of some of the kids from my private high school. Jillian was actually a lot like Lexi, my semi-best friend who’d been behind the wheel. That thought hurt for a brief flash, bu
t I reminded myself that this was all about second chances and letting go of the past.

  At the end of our meal, I was surprised when they invited me to tag along with them to a party. I knew there were first year student activities and mixers going on in each of the dorms, but Jillian insisted they were lame and I should skip them. I was relieved and excited to have made some friends already, and didn’t want to come off as a lame freshman, so I agreed to go with them. After all, college parties were a part of college life. It didn’t mean I was going to mess up again or turn into the party girl that I was before.

  I wasn’t that girl anymore.

  Chapter 2

  Mia

  The party was off campus, at some house that belonged to friends of theirs. The girls invited me to ride with them and I accepted, thinking it was better than driving myself since I still didn’t know my way around the city very well. On our way to their car, I looked down at my relaxed attire. Spending the day unpacking hadn’t inspired me to put a lot of effort into my appearance, so I was rocking a pair of simple, but designer jeans, a limited edition Ashes and Embers t-shirt, from their very first tour, that Ace had hooked me up with when I begged for one, and a pair of crocheted Toms. I didn’t know what kind of party we were going to, but Jill, Heidi and Dawn were a little more glammed up in heels, with their hair and make-up done to perfection.

  “Should I change before we go?” I asked.

  “No, you look fabulous. I wish I could get away with wearing jeans and a t-shirt and look that hot,” Jill said, making me feel much better and more confident. I wasn’t usually overly self conscious, but I knew I stood out next to them. I thought of myself as pretty, but I’ll admit that I felt a little less so next to Jillian, Heidi and Dawn.

  “I agree that she looks hot,” Leland threw in his opinion, making my cheeks heat, but my confidence rocketed up even more. At 5’7 I was taller than Heidi, making me the tallest of the four of us girls, but that wasn’t Amazon tall. I was thin and my boobs were a little, okay a lot, on the smallish side, unlike Jillian and Dawn’s. They had serious boobage going on. My hair was naturally a light strawberry blonde, and I loved that I didn’t have to use any product to get it silky soft and straight. Keeping it short made it very low maintenance, without looking low maintenance.

  We split up, the girls climbing into Jillian’s sporty, but not brand new, BMW and the guys folding themselves into Leland’s late model Mustang. Maybe they wouldn’t have impressed some of my former classmates who would roll up in Porsches and Ferraris, like the one Lexi had been driving, or the Benz that was currently parked a few rows down where I’d left it earlier, but I knew these weren’t typical college kid cars either.

  When we pulled up outside the party, it became apparent that this wasn’t a typical college party either, and by that I meant that it wasn’t thrown in a fraternity or house rented by college students. The house was big and in an upscale neighborhood of nothing but big houses. Whoever lived here had money, or parents with money.

  We climbed out of the car, and the guys were right behind us. “Come on, little Mia,” Leland moved toward me with deliberate and confident strides. “Let’s have some fun. I promise to show you a good time on your first night here.”

  “Leland, back off and give the girl some space. Like you said, it’s her first night,” Jillian chided. She grabbed my hand and pulled me along. The rest of them were close behind us as we made our way up the drive, toward the house. She didn’t stop to knock once we reached the door, she just opened it and pushed her way inside.

  As soon as I stepped into the entryway, I was hit by the loud music and smell of alcohol and weed. The further we made our way into the house, the louder and stronger it became, until we entered the large open living room that ran right into the dining area and kitchen.

  There had to be at least twenty people, probably closer to thirty, that I could see, and I could hear the sounds of more people in a back room down a short hallway. I didn’t need to ask if I was the only freshman here. It was pretty obvious that this was a little bit older crowd, but nobody seemed to mind as Jillian tugged me around the room, introducing me to people. There were so many, that I couldn’t keep anyone’s names straight, but a lot of them were too drunk or high, or both, to remember mine, so I didn’t worry about it much.

  Derek and Leland had wandered off, but reappeared minutes later, hands laden with bottles and mixed drinks. They held one out to me, but I shook my head. “No thanks.”

  “Oh, so you’re one of those girls,” Leland smirked.

  “One of what girls?” I wrinkled my brow.

  “A good girl,” he answered.

  “I’m trying to be,” I answered honestly. “This is my first night here. I think I should take it slow.”

  “Come on, one drink won’t hurt.” Dawn took one from Derek’s hand and waved it in front of me before tossing it back and draining most of the contents of the cup in one drink.

  “Don’t pressure the girl,” Jillian gave her a little shove, but then grabbed her own drink and looked at me. “If you don’t want to drink, it’s cool. You can just hang out and make sure we don’t get into too much trouble.” She smiled like she was joking, but watching the way Dawn was downing drinks, I thought she might be kind of serious.

  Everyone was laughing, and having a good time. A few of the more drunk ones were dancing while others were on couches or in the corners of the room making out. One group was debating sports and politics and the meaning of life as only opinionated drunks can, and another was congregated just outside the patio doors off the kitchen, smoking joints. It was a lot like every high school party I’d been to, just with a more mature crowd. Maybe.

  The only difference was, for the first time in my party history, I was one of the few sober people. It was a new experience for me and a little awkward. I seemed to be the only person who didn’t already know everyone else, and without the liquid courage to loosen me up, I felt out of place. Jillian and Leland tried to make sure I was included in their conversations, but the more they imbibed, the more out of place I felt, until I found myself just sitting there quietly, observing the party and everyone instead of actually being a part of it.

  After a while Leland got up to go for another drink, and I decided that they were right. One drink just to help me relax around everyone and kill the nerves wouldn’t hurt. “Hey, can you grab me one?” I asked him. He just smiled and nodded his head almost a little too enthusiastically.

  One drink, I told myself. Just one.

  One drink was definitely enough, because whatever sweet concoction Leland brought me, was plenty strong and packed one helluva punch. By the time I saw the bottom of the cup, I was feeling much more relaxed and comfortable around this crowd. I was laughing and joking with them. Alcohol always loosened me up, and as long as I didn’t drink too much, I would be fine. Before I knew it though, Leland was taking my empty cup and replacing it with another full one.

  “No, that’s okay,” I tried to stop him.

  “Come on new girl, live a little. You’re a college girl now.” The conversation around us had paused and a few others were watching our exchange.

  “I really think I’m good for now. Maybe I’ll have another in a while.”

  “Mia, you’ve got four, maybe more, years of tough classes, hard work and long days and late nights of studying ahead of you. You gotta learn to cut loose and have fun when you get the chance, so live a little tonight. Classes haven’t even started yet, you can be responsible then.”

  I sighed. What the heck, I told myself. It wasn’t like anyone at this party was getting out of control. Everyone was just hanging out. Another drink wouldn’t hurt anything. I was with friends. New friends. It was my first night as a college student. I had every reason to celebrate.

  “Okay,” I said and felt a little flutter at the beaming smile I got in return. He brought me back a full cup and I held it up, “To new friends and new experiences!” I toasted and the group around me a
ll cheered and held up their cups and bottles.

  Whatever Leland put in my second drink was even stronger than the first one. The night became a blur. I vaguely remembered my cup getting refilled a few more times, and then stumbling into my room around two in the morning, but everything else was a little fuzzy the next morning.

  I tried to recall as much about the night before as I could, and piece together events. I had memories of dancing, lots of dancing. I was pretty sure I danced with both Leland and Derek and then with the two of them together. There was a third face in my mind as well, and I think he had joined us, but not much in my head was very clear. I hadn’t had a drink since New Year’s, and then last night I drank a lot. Too much. Way more than I intended.

  The alcohol was out of my system now, leaving behind a killer headache and a level of embarrassment that fell somewhere between a four and an eight. I would know for sure how embarrassed I should be after talking to Jillian, in hopes that she could fill in some of my missing pieces.

  Disappointment settled in my gut. Last night wasn’t supposed to happen like that. It was just one night, I told myself, but that didn’t erase the feeling that already I had failed at something. I was not off to a great start, but on the flipside, I was okay and in one piece, so nothing too terrible could have happened, and I had made friends.

  At that moment, someone began pounding on my door. I groaned and dragged myself up out of bed, if only to tell whoever it was to quiet down. I pulled my door open to find some of those new friends. Jillian, Dawn and Heidi were dressed, although not quite as dolled up as they’d been yesterday, and looking expectantly at me.

  “Come on Mia, what are you still doing in your pajamas?”Jillian asked.

  “Why wouldn’t I be in my pajamas? It’s only nine in the morning and I feel like I went twelve rounds with Jim, Jack and Jose last night,” I whined groggily.

  “But we’re getting breakfast,” Dawn said as if this was something I should already be aware of.