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Chapter 2

Winter

I took a deep breath as I walked up the stairs of the administrative building at Everlasting University. The University, I swore I would never go to. Things change though. Things change in ways I don’t want them to. I don’t want to be stepping onto this campus, but I have no choice. After my grandmother got sick, she needed to be moved to a nursing home which left me with nowhere to go, but here. The last place on Earth I wanted to go. I was fine where I was, but I was living off campus to help my grandmother and with her being sick, it was no longer an option for me to go there anymore. I would need help. Help from the last people on Earth, I wanted help from. My mom and stepdad. It wasn’t that I wasn’t thankful they were willing to help me. It just meant one thing. Moving back to a place, I swore I would never go again. Seeing people I only saw in my nightmares. Most importantly Zander. My stepbrother. The leader of all my torment over the years. He was the one who wanted my life to be hell for something I had no control over.

I needed to move. I had a meeting at 9 am and it was 8:55. My anxiety was already begging me to move so I am not late while keeping myself in one spot. I wanted to go and get it over with, but another part of me wanted to just run into a corner and hide. If I did this, it would mean that I would be going to school here. If I didn’t do it, I would be on my own. My mother only agreed to help me if I went to college. Something she never got to experience. She wanted me to have that experience she never had from having me so young. She wanted me to be able to have a good job and earn my own money. I couldn’t blame her for wanting this for me. I think any mom would want her child to have better. I just wish she would understand what Zander is doing. She sees him as a prince that could do no wrong. She doesn’t believe what little I have told her about what he has done. When I tried to tell her anything that he had done, she would shut me up immediately.

I couldn’t blame her for not believing me when it came to Zander. His father was her meal ticket. Not only that but her way out of poverty. My mother was a teen mom who barely graduated high school. Before we had met Rich, my step dad, we were barely making it by with food stamps and welfare. My mom worked two jobs and that still wasn’t enough to keep us afloat. We were constantly relying on my grandmother to help us out. Rich was like her saving grace. I wished she had saved herself sometimes instead of just marrying and depending on a man. Especally Rich. The apple has never fallen from the tree with Zander.

“Hey, are you lost?” a voice came taking me from my thoughts. “I can totally show you around. You look new. I also never seen you before. It’s a small campus.”

I nodded. “A little,” I said with a small smile as I looked at her. “I didn’t know it was that obvious yet.”

“Not to most, but I notice things like that. I am a student advisor. I normally give the tours around here. I can tell when someone looks lost.” She smiled at me as she reached out her hand. “I am Sofia Diaz.”

“Winter Story,” I said as I reached out my hand to shake it.

Her eyes widened when she heard my name. This was exactly what I was scared of. I didn’t want that reaction when someone heard my name. I knew I should have changed it. I thought they would have forgotten by now. One thing is true about Everlasting, they never forget. Your legacy is everlasting.

“You are Zander Abbott’s step-sister. He is the youngest kid to ever make football captain. He is a legend here. Him and his friends. They are all legends.”

Right, because they could only be remember for the good they do and not like me who can only be remember for the bad. No one remember when I blew the high school away with my solo in choir. They only remembered that one night.

“You are so lucky,” she added with a smile. I could tell she was another one to fall under their spell. “It must be so cool to have a brother like that.”

“Step-brother,” I corrected. I didn’t want anyone thinking he and I were blood. We were defintalty not. In my mind, I was an only child and I would stay that way.

“Right, still cool! Abbott’s have a rich history in Everlasting.”

Oh, I know. I would never forget their legacy. How could I when it was plastered all over the house I grew up in? They all played football and then went on to work in law where they made all their money. His family was loaded. One of the reasons my mom has always been refired to as a gold digger. That and she was younger than Rich. Because everyone forgets his demons of three previous marriages.

“So do the Knight’s,” she continued. “It isn’t odd that they are best friends.”

No, it isn’t odd. That was the one who made sense. They had been friends since birth. Their mothers were friends and liked to go over to each others house and complain about their husbands while the boys played. The other two in their group didn’t come from anything special. Saint came from the bad side of town and Cyrus was a nobody. They met them at a summer camp though and soon were taken under Royal and Zander’s wing. They were inseparable. Even though they all played on different sport teams, they were the best of friends. It was probably because they didn’t play on the same team and didn’t have to worry about each other as competition otherwise they might hate each other.

“You probably know all this though. I don’t know why I am even explaining it to you. Well, I am so happy you are here. Welcome to Everlasting University.”

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