The Color of a Promise (The Color of Heaven Series Book 11) by Julianne MacLean Read Free Book Online Page B

to tip over a mail box. I tried to talk them out of it because it was a federal offense, which only made them think it more hilarious. As I watched them do it, I could only shake my head. It was as if I had suddenly woken up from a deep slumber and realized I was in a place I didn’t belong, hanging around with a bunch of idiots.
    So there I stood the next morning, forty-eight hours before my first exam, outside the frat house, taking a deep breath and preparing myself to go inside and break up with my boyfriend.
    o0o
    Truth be told, I always hated the inside of that house. It was dirty and smelled disgusting because the guys never said no to a party, and they seemed to have no idea how to put away garbage afterwards, clean a shower, or make a bed, let alone strip a bed and wash the sheets.
    I had texted Kyle, so I knew he was there. He was in his room “studying,” he said, but when I climbed the creaky staircase and knocked on his door, I found him lying on his bed with his earbuds in, drumsticks in hand, beating a tune on the air.
    I walked in, and he pulled the buds out of his ears and sat up. “What’s up?”
    My stomach turned over with dread.
    I didn’t want to make a big deal out of this. I just wanted it to be over so that I could get my head back in the game and study for exams without any distractions. Besides, I didn’t think Kyle would care that much. He and I had had our share of fights and disagreements over the past few months, and lately he always seemed to be annoyed with me—criticizing everything I said and did—so I felt as if I were doing us both a favor.
    “Listen…” I said, closing the door behind me and standing on the braided rug at the foot of his bed. The room reeked. I glanced around and spotted a pizza wrapper in the garbage can. He must have worked up an appetite the night before while tipping over the mail box.
    The smell, mixed with the stench of stale beer in the dorm, was sickening. All I wanted in that moment was to be done with this, because we had nothing in common. I wasn’t the blond party girl that Kyle thought I was. I wanted to get back to being the real me.
    I cleared my throat and got straight to the point. “I don’t know how to say this…but I think we both know this hasn’t been working out lately. We’ve been getting on each other’s nerves, and with exams coming up…”
    Kyle frowned and sat up straighter on the bed. “What are you talking about? You haven’t been getting on my nerves.”
    I hadn’t ? Then why did he always talk to me like I was stupid? No matter what I said or did.
    I shifted testily on my feet and adjusted my backpack on my shoulder, and tried to speak lightly. “I just think we need to take a break. We both need to focus on exams.”
    Kyle swung his legs to the floor and sat on the edge of the bed, his hands curling tightly around the mattress. “Are you saying you want to break up?”
    His expression was one of shock and disbelief, which made sense, considering he once told me he’d never been dumped. He’d always been the one to do the dumping.
    Part of me was surprised he hadn’t done it to me already, considering how critical he had become.
    “Yes,” I replied flatly.
    Maybe I should have come up with a gentler way of putting it, or given him some hope for the future, even though I knew I wouldn’t want to get back together with him, ever . Sure…it had been exciting at first, but now that the novelty had worn off, all I could see in front of me was a ridiculously great-looking guy who didn’t care about school or responsibilities, or learning anything remotely academic. All that mattered to Kyle was the next party.
    That wasn’t the life I wanted.
    Slowly, he stood up and approached me. For some reason, instinct compelled me to take a few steps back until I bumped into the door.
    He frowned and shook his head at me. “I don’t think you know what you’re saying.”
    “I do,” I insisted, feeling pressured to take