Page 1 of Ghost
Chapter One
Bianca
University
Aletheia University was an elite school, and only a handful of applicants were accepted. Despite that, the college was not listed among the Ivy League. Nor was my college something that came up in a simple Google search.
Believe me, I tried to look.
The school itself was tucked away in the mountains. Nestled in a picturesque historical town I had never even heard of before. Despite the small size of the area, the citizens appeared to do well, economically. And two larger cities were located only an hour north and south of the location.
When Finn told me where we’d be going to school, I had my doubts. Both about college and leaving home. My parents seemed nervous too. But Finn would never do anything to hurt me.
He knew me—my deepest fears and insecurities. He promised he would drive me anywhere I needed. He would take care of my admission requirements and enrollment. He would even make sure I was safe once we moved to the school.
It was because of Finn my parents let me come. But, obviously, he couldn't keep his promises.
Because Finn Abernathy also ignored the fact that I was being haunted by a vengeful spirit.
It was because of him that I haven’t slept. I blamed Finn for the fact that Damen, his older brother, had kept me up most of the night with his snoring.
Or maybe I was exhausted because Titus, Miles, and I were awake until early morning.
In either case, we had heard nothing further from the spirit at my professor’s home last night. And it was difficult to sleep when there were four extremely attractive men resting at your feet.
So, with barely any sleep, I found myself back on campus. It was difficult to return to class after yesterday’s revelations. Harder still to fully function when my eyes kept drifting closed despite myself.
But I had to be alert, because it was Monday.
Monday was my busiest day. I had three classes, Biology, French, and Geology. My Biology lab was also every Monday afternoon. There was no time for ghostly research today, no time for anything but work.
With all the research that needed to be done, I had never been more tempted to skip. But I couldn’t, because not only did Titus tell me I had to go to school, but also because leaving would let my enemy win.
An enemy who went by the name of Bryce Dubois.
It was difficult to focus on Biology. The giggling was worse than usual, and I caught many whispers about our assistant professor’s supposed hotness. I didn’t understand why no one saw what I did. No one else seemed to understand how incredibly annoying Bryce was.
And I wasn’t alone in my hatred.
From the very first day of class—from the moment our eyes had met—I knew he felt it too. I might have looked away first, but our rivalry was born. Since then he’d gotten on my last nerve. He'd watch me in class when he thought I wasn’t looking, call on me—and only me—to answer ridiculous questions. He’d even assign me extra homework.
Even Finn had thought the last one was a bit much.
But it didn't matter what he threw at me, I refused to lose to my arch-nemesis. Before the year was up, I would become Professor Hamway’s protégée. And there was nothing Bryce could do about it. After all, it had been me—not him—chosen to house-sit for her.
Change was inevitable.
The day dragged on around me and by Monday lab, even coffee was no longer able to suffice in keeping me alert.
Bryce's husky voice droned from the front of the classroom, and the class laughed along with his antics. He was, after all, quite good at pretending to be a likeable person. But my exhaustion had reached a critical point. Even putrid pig-guts couldn’t keep me awake.
It was at my weakest moment when he struck. “Miss Brosnan?”
I jerked in alarm, falling from my stool, as the sound of my name fromhismouth did what pig guts could not. And as I lay on the hard floor, it was with horror I realized I had been about to fall asleep in the middle of class. In fact, if Bryce had spoken a second later, I would have face-planted into the half-dissected mess on my table.
But still, the fall had not been soft, and agony shot through my poor, abused body. There was too much pain to move for the moment. The sounds of muffled laughter broke out from my classmates. Both the pain and laughter made me want to die from shame.
“Miss Brosnan?” Bryce’s voice sounded weird, and his annoyingly-handsome face suddenly swam in my vision as he leaned over me. “Are you quite alright?”
