CRASH (A Logan Brothers Novel) (2 page)

If I catch sight or sound of him
again, though, I'm going straight to the police. That, or I'll be
calling Sarah up to go through with her threats.

....

After a few hours of driving and
singing to myself behind the wheel I stopped at a roadside cafe for a
coffee. It was getting dark now, the world around me growing colder
and more imposing, with rolling hills turning to mountains in the
distance, capped with snow and shrouded in mist.

I
pulled into a little off-road service station and into the warmth of
the cafe. It was tacky, some 70's style diner with a
colorful
jukebox in the corner and large red booths giving temporary comfort
to an eclectic group of truckers and
travelers.
It looked totally out of place in the shadow of the mountains.

I sat down and a waitress in a
funky little outfit came bouncing over to me with a large pot of
coffee.

“
Coffee darlin?” she asked,
her voice as bouncy as her movement.

“
Thanks,” I said, my hands
immediately clasping around the ceramic mug as it was filled with
warm liquid.

“
You moving somewhere?” she
questioned with a smile on her face, nodding her head through the
window at my car parked outside, full of luggage.

“
Oh, yeah, time for a change.”
I smiled politely, but wasn't in the mood for going into any detail
with a stranger.

“
You want anything else? We do
great pancakes?” I think she could tell that I had no energy for
small talk.

“
No, that's OK, just the
coffee thanks.”

“
OK darlin, just gimme a shout
of you need anything.”

I thanked her before gazing back
out the window. I'd always been one for warmer climes, keener on sand
than snow. I'd been skiing once or twice, but never took to it. Where
I was going, up into the North West, had snow written all over it.
Not like my comfortable West Coast home in California.

But hell, I didn't have time to
be picky. I'd found a college in Montana that could accommodate me on
my literature course so I wasn't going to turn that down. They even
had a spare room going on the main campus that was ready for me to
move straight into. OK, so it was a shared room, but hey, maybe that
would be a good thing.

I didn't know much about who my
room-mate would be. All I'd found out was that her name was Alice and
she was on some sort of marketing course. I guess it would be a
lottery as to whether we'd get along or not. I just hoped that my
numbers came up.

The mug in my hands began to
grow cold as the liquid was drained down my throat. The waitress came
back over, offering a top up, but I kindly turned her down.

No, enough delay. I had a fair
way to go yet. 

Elle

My pulse began to rise steadily
as the road signs began to count down towards my destination.

100 miles.

50 miles.

25 miles.

10 miles.

Soon I found myself off the main
highway and onto more lightly trafficked roads, the cars thinning as
my nerves began to thicken. It was approaching 7 PM and I'd been on
the road since late morning, my little car now well due a rest.

I continued to follow the signs
through the city towards the campus. Dulwich Halls, that was where
I'd now call home. I'd done some research into it online over the
last couple of days. It looked nice, smaller than the campus and
living quarters I was used to, but modern and cosy, tucked away on
the outskirts of the city away from its major hustle and bustle.

I steeled my nerves as I rolled
up outside Dulwich Halls and into a parking lot out front. I sat
there for a moment, looking up at the building, trying to work out
which room would be mine.

Most of the rooms had their
lights on and I could see figures moving within them. Outside the
building there were students coming in and out through the main
doors, wrapped up warm in coats and cloves and hats. It wasn't a
sight I was used to. Where I'd been everyone wore shorts and skirts
and light tops.

I grabbed my handbag and reached
inside, pulling out an envelope. I opened it up and turned it upside
down, a set of two keys falling into my lap: one for the main front
door, one for my dorm room.

I wondered if my new room-mate,
Alice, would be in. She knew I was coming today, or so I'd been told,
so I guess it wasn't going to be a surprise when I came barging in
out of the blue.

I could feel my nerves building
further as I sat there. In a way it was even harder than starting
college as a freshman. At least then everyone was in the same boat.
Now everyone in there, everyone in those dorms, had already
established their lives. I was coming in as an outsider, and that
made things even harder.

But then, I'd changed. I didn't
feel like the shy little girl who'd tiptoed around college 18 months
ago. No, my experiences with Brad had changed all that. This was
nothing compared to the shit I'd been through with him.

With my resolve strengthening I
stepped from the car and grabbed my handbag. The wind hit me
immediately, biting at my nose and ears. I guess I'd need to go
shopping for some more winter gear if I were to be living round here.

I aimed my gaze at the main
doors and set my path towards it, leaving my luggage stacked in my
car. I passed students as I went, hustling around with their books
and backpacks. It was a Friday evening, and it looked like people
were eager to get home and get ready for a night out of some kind.

I passed through the main door
and got my first look at where I'd be living, all things going well,
for the next few years. There was a wide hall straight ahead of me,
with a staircase on the left leading up to the first floor. Down the
right were a series of doors leading into what I assumed to be social
areas and ground floor dorm rooms.

My
room was on the first floor, so I started off up the staircase,
getting a few looks as I went. It felt weird, like I was a total
stranger invading someone else's home. I guess right now that was
kinda the case.

I caught glimpse of a few
pictures and plaques on the left wall as I ascended towards the first
floor, notable alumni given their place on the “staircase of
success”, as it was known. At the top I rounded to the right, a
corridor ahead of me with a series of doors on the left, the
staircase dropping down to the right.

I walked down the corridor and
spotted my new room, right at the end. The door was shut, but there
seemed to be a slither of light creeping out from between the hinges.
It looked like Alice would be in.

I took a breath as I stood
outside, feeling kinda awkward as other students passed me by on
their way to or from their rooms. As I was about to knock I felt a
hand tap me on the shoulder. I turned to see a girl standing behind
me. She was strikingly beautiful, her hair long and wavy, her eyes a
deep brown, her complexion perfect.

“
Hi,” she said lightly, “are
you...Elle?”

“
Um, yeah,” I said, nodding,
still slightly struck by how good looking she was.

“
They told me you'd be coming
today. I thought you'd have more stuff.” She lifted her eyes to my
handbag, a quizzical smile on her face.

“
Oh, it's in the car,” I
said, not quite sure if she was being welcoming or sarcastic.

She stepped past me and put her
key to the lock. “Yeah, I thought as much,” she said, opening the
door up to the room.

I walked in behind her and
glanced around. It was a decent size, a single bed lined up against
the far wall on each side of the room, a bedside table next to each.
Both sides had their own desk and wardrobe, plenty of storage for my
things.

Yet one side was bristling with
color and life and the other was bare, a skeleton without any meat. I
guess I knew which side was mine.

“
So,” she said as she sat
down on her own heavily cushioned bed, “what's your story?”

She didn't seem overly pleased
to see me. I guess she wouldn't be now that she'd have to share her
room with someone else.

“
Well, I've just moved from
California, needed a change of scenery...”

“
Change of scenery? So that's
why you moved?” She interrupted, her voice littered with
scepticism.

“
Well, there's a bit more to
it than that.” Christ she was right down to it. Not the sort of
welcome party I'd hoped for.

“
Yeah...”

“
Well, there was this guy.
This really weird guy. It got bad so I had to move.” This wasn't
really something I wanted to discuss right now after nearly 8 hours
of driving.

“
Ah, I see,” she said
nodding. She didn't seem overly interested really. “So, do you need
some help with your stuff? I've got a 45 minute window.”

Was she offering to help? Well,
at least that was something.

“
I don't have too much stuff,
just a few bags and boxes. Don't worry about it, I can manage on my
own.”

She stepped to the window and
peered out, straining her eyes. “Is that yours down there? The
little green one?”

“
Yeah, the Mazda.”

“
Sorry, I don't really know
cars. It's fine, I'll help. Come on, the quicker you get your stuff
in the quicker you can relax.”

She seemed to be softening
slightly. Perhaps she wasn't as harsh as she appeared. As I thought,
maybe just bitter to get a new room-mate at all.

She walked out and down the
stairs to the car as I followed in her wake. “Nice car,” she said
as she got closer, the cold air seemingly having no effect on her
despite the fact that she was garbed in only a pair of sweatpants and
light jumper. She was probably used to it.

“
Thanks,” I said, “I
haven't had it long.”

“
So how long was your drive?”
she asked, grabbing a box and passing it to me.

“
About 8 hours, with a couple
of short stops.”

“
Fuck girl, you must be
exhausted!”

“
Yeah, I kinda am to be fair.”

She took her own box and shut
the trunk before walking back towards the dorm. I looked back at my
car, unlocked, slightly worried that someone would pounce on my
stuff.

“
Hey, don't worry, this place
is pretty safe,” she said, noticing my expression.

We carried on up the stairs and
dumped my stuff before turning around for a second go.

“
Well,” she said, her tone
growing ever lighter, “if you have any energy at all, you should
come out for a drink later on. A few of us are having drinks in town,
so you're welcome to join. If you're not too tired, that is.”

She carried on unpacking my car
for me as we went in and out a couple more times. That was a turn up.
Only been here 10 minutes and already have an invite out for drinks
with a group of people.

It took me about a month before
I managed that the first time around.

“
Sure, that sounds nice.
Thanks Alice.”

She smiled, more genuinely than
before, as we parked the final load of my stuff on the floor of the
dorm. “No probs. Why don't you leave this stuff for now, sort it
tomorrow.”

I
nodded and lay down on the bed. It was comfy enough, better for my
bedding once I got it on there. “Although,” she continued, “you
might
wanna
make the bed up before we go. That's not something you wanna be doing
after a few drinks!”

“
Good point,” I said,
lifting myself, with some difficulty, from the mattress. I was truly
exhausted but didn't want to let this opportunity to make friends
pass me by.

“
OK,” said Alice, checking
her watch, “it's 7.30 now and we're heading out just before 8. I'll
go grab my friend Tess and bring her over here. She lives just up on
the next floor. Get ready and I'll see you in 5.”

....

Just over 5 minutes later Alice
came back into the room, her friend Tess right behind her. She was
pretty as well, a bit taller and slimmer than Alice. She looked
supermodel-esque to Alice's swimwear model, with blonde hair and blue
eyes, a playful look on her face.

“
Elle, this is my best friend
Tess,” said Alice as she came in, a bottle of champagne in hand and
three glasses.

Tess stepped forward and kissed
me on the cheek. She had this glint in her eye as she looked at me,
the sort of look a guy might give me when he was checking me out.

“
Lovely to meet you Elle,
Alice has been waiting for a new room-mate for a while.”

I could see Alice roll her eyes
at Tess's comment. Clearly an in-joke that I wasn't privy to. I
sensed it was heavily weighted with sarcasm.

There was a loud POP as I saw
the cork from the bottle hit the ceiling and crash back down to the
floor. I looked over to see froth shooting out of the top of the
bottle, Alice wrapping her plump lips around the top of the bottle to
stop it from hitting the floor.