Last Breath by Diane Hoh Read Free Book Online

didn’t hear a word Talia and Sophie said about their shopping.
    Suite 56A at the Quad had never seemed so welcoming, a hot shower so comforting, her white terrycloth robe so luxurious, a pair of thick white socks so soft. The scrape on her leg, once it had been washed and disinfected, was less serious than it had looked. But it hurt, and her ankle had discolored and was beginning to swell. She could only hope it wasn’t worse by morning. She didn’t want to miss any more classes.
    Although she felt totally drained and yearned to nestle into her bed, she took a few minutes to quickly type out a letter to Misstery, asking them to play at the dance. When she had signed and addressed the letter and sealed the envelope, she put it on a small stack of other envelopes waiting to be mailed. Someone would take them to the campus post office early the next morning.
    That done, she crawled into bed. I’m lucky my leg wasn’t broken, she thought as she snuggled under her comforter. Why would someone want to break my leg? Scare me half to death? Why would someone do that?
    She had no idea.
    It wasn’t until, feeling completely warm and safe, she was slipping over the edge of consciousness into a deep, dreamless sleep that she remembered the psych paper. She hadn’t done it. Bruin would be expecting it, and it wouldn’t be forthcoming.
    Unwilling to drag herself out of a warm bed to struggle through the assignment, Cassidy burrowed deeper into the covers, telling herself it wasn’t her fault, anyway. It was Travis’s. She’d finished the paper when she was supposed to. It wasn’t her fault he’d lost it. If he really had.
    She’d just have to tell Bruin she hadn’t finished it yet. After what had just happened to her, the paper didn’t seem all that important.
    Willing herself to ignore the painful throbbing in her left leg, Cassidy gave herself over to the luxury of sleep.
    She awoke the following morning to a quiet, empty suite. The others had gone off to breakfast without her?
    At first, Cassidy was hurt by the realization. They always ate breakfast together on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays because they shared the nine o’clock psych class. Why hadn’t they waited for her?
    Talia and Sophie had seen her leg when it looked its worst last night. They’d probably decided that she wouldn’t be going to classes today, and had told Ann about the injury.
    But I told them I was fine, Cassidy thought, annoyed. She glanced at her alarm clock. It was only eight o’clock. She had time to dress and even eat, if she wanted to, before class. She could catch up with the others if she hurried.
    Hurrying, she quickly discovered, was out of the question. Her leg was too stiff and sore. And she had wasted ten precious minutes hunting for her wristwatch, which she always left on her nightstand. It wasn’t there. And it wasn’t in the bathroom, where she thought she might have left it when she was cleaning the wound on her leg.
    She finally gave up, aware of passing minutes. She’d have to look for it later. By the time she left the room, dressed in warm wool slacks and a heavy sweater, the clock on her nightstand read eight-fifty. She was cutting it pretty close. Class started at nine, and Bruin hated tardiness. Arriving late wouldn’t help when she had to explain that she didn’t have the assignment.
    Since her roommates hadn’t returned, Cassidy guessed they had taken their books with them to breakfast. Sometimes they did, to save time. She’d be walking to class alone this morning.
    She tried again to hurry. But it was hopeless with her leg so stiff and swollen. She hated walking into a classroom after everyone else was seated, but it was going to happen this morning. What a way to start a new week!
    As it turned out, she didn’t have to walk into the classroom at all. Because when she arrived at the psych 101 room, the door was open and everyone was coming out.
    “Has class been cancelled?” Cassidy asked the first