Miles From Kara by Melissa West Page A

are.” He was standing before me now, staring down, his presence a force I couldn’t ignore. “And I think you are the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen in my life. So beautiful, in fact, I have a hard time being around you . . . without staring.”
    At some point my mouth fell open, and I worked to close it. I stood, unable to stop myself from pushing his hair from his eyes. “Colt . . .”
    Just then we heard the sound of keys in the lock, and then the front door opening sent us startling away from one another. Ethan came into the room, looking frustrated and angry. His gaze landed on me, then on Colt.
    â€œKara? What are you doing here?”
    I shook my head, fighting for clarity that wouldn’t come. My mind and body were completely intoxicated by Colt. “Hey. I had a bad day and just needed to get away. I texted you.” I nodded toward the phone in his hand.
    He shook the phone. “It’s a piece of shit. Hasn’t been working right for weeks. I got a flat on the way up to mountain weekend and couldn’t even get a call out. I’d stupidly taken out my spare to make room for my equipment. I had to walk five miles to a gas station to use their phone. I tried to call you, man, where were you?” he said to Colt.
    Colt looked as though he’d forgotten how to speak. “Oh . . . I . . . My phone’s charging in my room. It must’ve been on vibrate. Sorry, dude.”
    Ethan released a long breath, then came over to me and wrapped his arms around me. “Sorry you had a bad day, babe. Want to tell me about it while I take a quick shower?”
    â€œUm, yeah, sure.”
    He started for his room, and I glanced quickly at Colt to see him shaking his head. He disappeared into his room, closing the door behind him, and I stood in the common room, staring at each of the doors. Behind one was a past I couldn’t let go. And the other was a future that would never be mine.

Chapter Eight
    â€œI’m going to fail my final,” Sarah said from beside me. We were laid out on beach towels on the open lawn in the back of Charleston Haven, staring up at the forever-blue sky, the sun so bright it was impossible to look at. The pool had been overflowing with people and loud, so Sarah, Olivia, Alyssa, and I decided to take our books and sit out in the sun for a little while.
    I switched onto my stomach and flipped the page in my biochem notes. “You aren’t going to fail. We’re too smart to fail things!”
    She grinned at me. “How are you always so positive, Kar? I wish I was as optimistic as you about everything.”
    Olivia snorted, and I yanked up some grass and tossed it at her. “Hey!”
    â€œI didn’t say a word,” she said with a grin.
    â€œI just don’t think foreign languages are for me,” Sarah continued. “My brain doesn’t absorb them. I’ve tried Spanish and Latin, now French. Nothing sticks!”
    I gave her a sympathetic look. Sarah was studying to be a high school math teacher, which required several foreign language credits. She wanted to coach soccer and teach, and she was perfect for both, but her curriculum nemesis was foreign language. Just like chemistry was mine.
    â€œI can tutor you, if you’d like,” Alyssa said from the other side of Sarah. “I lived in France when I was little. I’m pretty fluent.”
    We all jerked up and stared at her.
    â€œWhat?!” Sarah said. “Why am I just hearing this now?”
    Alyssa shrugged. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were struggling so badly.”
    I eyed Alyssa. Her expression had changed, as though she didn’t want to talk about herself anymore. I realized then that I knew very little about her. “Do you ever go back there? Do you have family there?”
    She looked uneasy. “I do, but I’ve only been back a few times. My mom just