CRASH (A Logan Brothers Novel)

  CRASH (A Logan Brothers Novel)

  L. A. Shorter

  ©2013 L. A. Shorter

  Table of Contents

  Copyright Notice

  Prologue - Elle

  Chapter 1 - Elle

  Chapter 2 - Elle

  Chapter 3 - Crash

  Chapter 4 - Elle

  Chapter 5 - Crash

  Chapter 6 - Elle

  Chapter 7 - Crash

  Chapter 8 - Elle

  Chapter 9 - Crash

  Chapter 10 - Elle

  Chapter 11 - Crash

  Chapter 12 - Elle

  Chapter 13 - Crash

  Chapter 14 - Elle

  Chapter 15 - Crash

  Chapter 16 - Elle

  Chapter 17 - Crash

  Chapter 18 - Elle

  Chapter 19 - Crash

  Chapter 20 - Elle

  Chapter 21 - Crash

  Chapter 22 - Elle

  Chapter 23 - Crash

  Chapter 24 - Elle

  Chapter 25 - Crash

  Chapter 26 - Elle

  Chapter 27 - Crash

  Chapter 28 - Elle

  Chapter 29 - Crash

  Chapter 30 - Elle

  Chapter 31 - Crash

  Chapter 32 - Elle

  Chapter 33 - Crash

  Chapter 34 - Elle

  Epilogue

  Exposure - Kyle and Alice

  Exposure Sample - First 6 Chapters!

  New Books & Discounts

  More by L.A.Shorter

  Copyright Notice

  This book is a work of fiction. Any names, places, events, and incidents that occur are entirely a result of the author's imagination and any resemblance to real people, events, and places is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright 2013 L.A.Shorter

  All right reserved.

  First edition: December 2013

  No part of this book may be scanned, reproduced, or distributed in any printed or electronic form.

  Logan Brothers Books:

  Exposure (Kyle and Alice)

  Other Works by the Author:

  Always for You (Books 1-3)

  Across the Pond (Books 1-3)

  Or get the different books separately by visiting the authors page here.

  Prologue - Elle

  Elle

  I hadn't seen my dorm room this bare since the day I'd moved in.

  Who knew that after only a year and a half I'd be moving out again. I'd certainly expected to last the full term. But then again, you can't always control the way your life goes.

  Brad Scott had seen to that.

  The name made me shiver with rage and fear at the same time. The guy had been my boyfriend from day one. Literally, day one.

  I'd met him at a freshman party the first day I'd arrived. He was sweet, and I was scared. Leaving my comfortable life behind in California wasn't as easy as I'd thought it would be. All my friends from high school were excited to be going on this new journey, but not me. I was happy where I was. I hadn't wanted anything to change.

  That first day at college was the loneliest of my life.

  I was surrounded by people, but never felt so alone. I knew no one, the world was suddenly so big. I'd been ripped from my little pond and thrown into an ocean. It looked to me as if I was the only one who felt that way. Everyone was smiling, everyone with bright eyes, full of promise.

  Not mine. You only had to look at them to tell I was a bucket of nerves.

  Watching my mom and dad driving off outside of the window of my room was hard to bear. I felt like a child being sent to school for the first time. It hadn't helped that my mom had cried her eyes out herself. That wasn't what I'd needed.

  As I sat there after they left there was a knock at the door and a guy stood there, a stack of flyers in his arms. He had handed me one and mumbled something about a party that night for our halls. It seemed like a good opportunity to meet some people and settle my nerves. A few drinks were always good for that.

  It was that night that I met Brad.

  He had a look on his face like mine. Nerves. Shyness. Loneliness.

  I was drawn to him. He looked like a kindred spirit. No one else seemed to have that look on their face. It was the same look I'd seen in the mirror, a reflection of my own.

  We ended up seeing a lot of each other. Turned out we were on the same course, so had more in common than we thought. He was sweet and funny, in his own way. At least, that's how I looked at him at first.

  We were together for the first year. By the second we were beginning to grow apart.

  At least, I was beginning to grow apart from him.

  It took me a while - I knew it would - but I began to make friends, get involved. Outside of regular study I did dance. I wasn't the best in the world, but it was a passion of mine from high school.

  It took up a lot of my time, made me a lot of friends. But Brad, he just latched onto me. He didn't have much going on, besides work, and didn't have much of a circle of friends. He wanted to spend every spare moment with me.

  It was suffocating.

  I went home for the summer after first year and was happy for the time away from him. He'd call me everyday, text me constantly. It was like the more I got involved in other things, the more friends I made, the more needy he got.

  I knew over that summer that I would break up with him the next year. I couldn't cope with him any more.

  I guess he knew as well. That's why he asked me to marry him.

  He tried to trap me, set up this amazing proposal so that it was almost impossible for me to say no. It was hard, but I did. It broke his heart.

  I thought it would end there. But no, that was just the start. He grew depressed, became intense. He'd call me late at night after drinking heavily, he'd come to my dorm and cry outside.

  He began making my time at college a living nightmare. I started missing lectures just to avoid him. I asked to be moved to another dorm so he didn't know where I was.

  I knew he'd find me, though, I knew he'd just follow me home one day and find out where I had moved to. It became impossible, untenable. I had no choice.

  I had to leave.

  Chapter 1 - Elle

  Elle

  “Are you really gonna let this weirdo push you away? What about your life here?”

  It was my friend, Sarah, from dance. She wasn't happy that I was leaving.

  “I don't have a choice. He's literally obsessed. I don't know what to do any more.”

  “Get a fucking restraining order. It should be him leaving, not you.”

  I knew she was right. I'd worked hard to fashion a good life here and now I was being uprooted because of my creepy ex. It wasn't exactly fair.

  “Wheels are in motion I'm afraid. Can you not see all the packed boxes everywhere?!”

  “Screw that. Unpack them. It's not too late. Look, gimme his number. I'll tell him to leave you alone, or else!”

  I laughed. “Or else what?”

  “Honey, I know people, OK. I'll make sure that guy never bothers you again.” I didn't quite know whether she was serious or not. Although I did know she grew up in a rougher part of New York, so there was probably some truth to it.

  “Sarah, that's sweet, but I don't want that. Sure, he's a bit of a freak, but I don't want him beaten up.”

  “Or worse,” she cut in, her jaw clenched.

  “Yeah, or that. Look, I'm not going too far. You can come visit me. I would say I'd come back and visit here but, well, you know...”

  She was shaking her head, a mixture of anger and disappointment on her face.

  I had got that from a few people when I'd told them I was leaving. They couldn't quite believe that I was be
ing forced out by a guy. It was like something you read about in the paper. It wasn't something that actually happened to you, or your friend.

  “Well fuck him, I'm gonna make his life a living hell when you're gone.”

  “No, don't do that.” I'd had enough of people trying to fight this battle for me. Frankly, it was getting on my nerves. “Just leave it, OK. It's not the end of the world, people move colleges all the time.”

  “Yeah well, I can't promise anything. I'm not sure the guys are gonna let it slide if they see him.”

  That's exactly why I hadn't wanted to tell everyone. I knew my guy friends wouldn't take it as easy as I was. Frankly, I didn't know why I was taking it so easy myself. The last thing I wanted to do was uproot and change colleges. It had taken an age to assimilate myself here. Now I'd have to go through all of that again.

  But then, I was changed now. This whole situation, it had given me a more assertive edge, had hardened me a bit.

  “Look, can we just drop this. It's happening. Nothing's gonna change that now. I'm moving, accept it.”

  Shit, that came out a bit more aggressive than I wanted.

  “Look, sorry hun,” I continued, my tone apologetic, “I know it's only because you care. But seriously, I've just had enough of talking about all of this. Can you just do what you came over here to do?”

  Sarah nodded begrudgingly and grabbed a box.

  “Fine, let's get these into the car. Wouldn't want you hanging around here any longer than necessary with that freak around. He's probably got a sniper rifle trained on the building right now.”

  “Babe, don't even joke about that. Seriously.”

  She smirked as she walked out of the room, box in hand.

  Sniper rifle. Machine gun. Pistol. I wouldn't put it past him.

  ....

  Sarah helped me pack my things into my cute little Mazda2 before treating me to a final cup of coffee to send me off on the road. I'd said my goodbye's to people already, but Sarah had been my closest friend there for the last year or so, so it was a little harder with her.

  I shed a tear as we said goodbye, although her eyes stayed dry. She was just like that - tough, unemotional. I knew she'd miss me, but just didn't show it on her face.

  By early afternoon I was off on the road, my compact little car filled to the brim with boxes and bags. I could hardly see out of the back window it was stacked so high. It wasn't like I had loads of stuff, it was just that the car was so damn small.

  My mind drifted from one place to the next as I cast myself off into the unknown world beyond. I was never one for change. I hated it, in fact. So this - a change that was forced upon me just when I was getting settled - was a real kick in the teeth.

  But then, at the same time, I felt a huge surge of relief as I zipped down the highway, every mile taking me further and further from Brad. He'd become so damn creepy over the last few months that I genuinely felt afraid for my safety.

  To be escaping him, getting away from his weird stare and mournful eyes, was liberating. I knew that having to find my place in a new college would be nothing compared to what I'd been dealing with over the last few months.

  What had started as a normal reaction to a break up - you know, drunken texts and calls, pleading to get back together - had evolved into something so much weirder and more sinister. I could have handled that if, like a normal person, he'd have gradually moved on and got over it.

  But no. Not Brad. He became more obsessed, more insular and isolated. I'd accounted for pretty much his entire social life, and his world had come crashing down when I left. A normal person might react by finding a new social group, getting involved in other things. But no, not Brad. I continued to be his everything, his entire life outside of his work. Only now, now he was on the outside, looking in.

  It was so fucking creepy that I had no option but to move.

  “Get a restraining order.” It wasn't only Sarah who said that. Frankly, I didn't think that would make a difference. I changed my phone number, I was changing college. I even thought about changing my name.

  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.

  Chapter 2 - Elle

  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 handb
ag 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.