Apolonia

  ALSO BY JAMIE MCGUIRE

  PROVIDENCE (PROVIDENCE TRILOGY BOOK ONE)

  REQUIEM (PROVIDENCE TRILOGY BOOK TWO)

  EDEN (PROVIDENCE TRILOGY BOOK THREE)

  BEAUTIFUL DISASTER

  WALKING DISASTER

  A BEAUTIFUL WEDDING (A BEAUTIFUL DISASTER NOVELLA)

  BEAUTIFUL OBLIVION

  RED HILL

  HAPPENSTANCE: A NOVELLA SERIES

  HAPPENSTANCE: A NOVELLA SERIES (PART TWO)

  Apolonia Jamie McGuire

  Copyright (c) 2014 Jamie McGuire All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Cover designed by Sarah Hansen, Okay Creations, www.okaycreations.com

  Edited by Theresa Wegand Proofread and interior designed by Jovana Shirley,

  Unforeseen Editing, www.unforeseenediting.com

  To anyone from my childhood who held me back, tore me down, made me cry or feel worthless, looked down on me, or ever thought that I would fail,

  For the people who told me that, as an adult, I should stop wasting time chasing impossible dreams,

  And to my father, the late Darrell McGuire, for passing on his stubborn pride and rebellious nature.

  Every person placed in our lives has a purpose, teaches us a lesson.

  Thank you for the motivation to work that much harder to succeed.

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  "Everything that kills me

  Makes me feel alive."

  --One Republic, "Counting Stars"

  THEY'D KILLED ME, but I survived. While lying on the hotel floor, my long black hair saturated with blood, I'd thought my life was over, except it wasn't.

  I had woken up in a hospital, alone, without my best friend, Sydney, and without my parents. Their sacrifice had begun first, and so their murders had been more thorough. When it was time for mine, our killers had been too drunk and too high to be careful--at least, that was what the police report had said.

  But I knew the truth.

  Five months after losing Sydney and my parents, I'd left for the quaint college town of Helena, Indiana, four states away. I'd gone from a murder victim to a freshman at Kempton Institute of Technology.

  Standing in front of my dorm room mirror, naked, I raked back my too-long black bangs. Most girls gained a freshman fifteen. I'd been steadily losing weight for two years. It was hard to feel or taste or hurt after I'd died. There was nothing to celebrate anymore, so eating seemed more like a chore than anything else.

  A ratty white towel lay underneath my feet, ready to catch the dark locks that I began shearing away from above one ear and then the other. I had thick and shiny hair that my father had said could have only come from my mother.

  The scissors cut away all but four or five inches on top. I ran my fingers over what was left. It felt so good. The sides and a bit of the back were shaved, and the hair left on top nearly grazed my jawline. It was appalling. It was liberating.

  I loved it.

  Not that many people at KIT noticed me anyway, but if they had, they definitely wouldn't recognize me now. Seventeen inches of shiny black hair that, minutes ago, had brushed the middle of my back were now lying on the floor. Every strand I'd sheared away had once been wet with my blood. Every time I saw my hair in the mirror or touched it, it was a reminder. No amount of shampoo would be enough to wash that night away.

  To make sure I wasn't just being impulsive, I had waited, but I couldn't wait any longer.

  After showering to wash the scratchy bits of hair from my skin, I stepped out and looked at my new reflection. It was a bit startling but exponentially less repugnant. I zipped up my favorite black hoodie over a worn Kurt Cobain tee, fought with my gray skinny jeans, and then gave the small diamond piercing in the right side of my nose one full turn before grabbing my backpack. I looked back at the mirror, admiring the absence of my tainted hair, and letting the somber thought soak in that, had she been alive, my mother would have died all over again at the sight.

  Class one of week one of my junior year at KIT was Geobiology and Astrobiology with renowned astrobiologist, Dr. A. Byron Zorba. Dr. Zorba was what he was called by students, but because he had been my father's mentor when Dad was a student here and later a family friend, I always called the professor Dr. Z.

  For reasons unknown to me, Dad and Dr. Z had kept in touch over the years, and my father had consulted with the professor often. When Dr. Z visited, I'd relished hearing about his expeditions and research stories over dinner. The daughter of two idealistic scientists, I not only didn't fit in with other children, but I also had no interest in conformity. When most children were pretending to be firemen or superheroes, I was working toward the Nobel Prize in my cardboard lab. Barbies and boys bored me, and I was sure I bored them. I could monopolize a conversation about the Keck Telescope before most kids knew how to write their names, and Dr. Byron Zorba was my hero.

  After my parents' funeral, Dr. Z told me I was going to Kempton whether I wanted to or not, and he practically filled out my college application. He also made sure that my inheritance was funneled properly and swiftly into a college fund.

  Just before my first spring semester, Dr. Z offered me a position as his research assistant. Living on scientists' salaries, my parents had struggled to pay the bills, and so a work-study program plus a research assistant scholarship would help subsidize my skimpy trust fund and provide for the day-to-day expenses that a college fund didn't cover.

  Freshly back from his most recent summer exploration trip to Antarctica, Dr. Z was still on a high from his find--a twelve-inch-by-fifteen-inch, twenty-seven-pound rock. I would be in charge of recording data. Admittedly, the rock didn't exactly impress me, so Dr. Z's enthusiasm was baffling.

  I walked into the classroom, immediately squinting from the morning sunshine pouring in from the numerous long windows that lined the opposite wall. Dr. Z's small and messy desk was at the bottom of a steep incline, center stage to dozens of tiny desks attached to uncomfortable chairs.

  I joined the line of students making their way to whatever seat they chose, my feet shuffling slowly forward.

  "Hey!" a familiar voice said right into my ear.

  I leaned away, recognized the face, and began climbing the stairs that hugged the windowless wall. For reasons completely unknown to me, Benji Reynolds had hunted me like a bluetick coonhound since freshman orientation. I had hoped the new do would scare him away. He was clearly a mama's boy and far too attractiv
e and happy to appeal to me.

  "Did you have a good summer?" he asked with a huge grin.

  I was sure he did. With his golden tan, I imagined him lying by a pool from May to August or running along the beach next to the multimillion-dollar beach home his parents likely owned.

  "No."

  "Did you even try?"

  "No." I was beginning to get annoyed with the stream of students ahead of me who were taking far too much time to choose a seat.

  "Hi, Benji," Stephanie Becker lilted from her seat. She was short but had stunning curves, and she twirled a piece of her long blonde hair while staring at him with the most ridiculous look on her face. Her head was tilted, and her eyes clouded over when Benji looked for the source of his spoken name.

  "Hi," he said, giving her only a moment of his time before turning back to me. "I was hoping you'd be in this class." His brown eyes brightened.

  Even if he did have a strong jawline and a sweet disposition, I still couldn't see him as anything but...well, Benji.

  Finally at the tenth row, I sidestepped halfway down the aisle to the same desk I'd sat in the year before. I'd been in that classroom with a different professor the semester before, and I had a strange attachment to that desk.

  Benji sat next to me, and I glared at him.

  "It's okay if I sit here, right?" he asked.

  "No."

  He laughed. His teeth were too straight, and his posture was too perfect. "You're so funny. Your hair is...wow," he said, trying to find the best inoffensive adjective.

  I waited for him to admit his disgust, but he offered a small smile.

  "It's unique and wild and interesting. Just like you."

  "Thanks," I said, resentful that he forced me to be nice to him.

  He pulled his arms out of his jacket, revealing his perfectly ironed white oxford. Maybe, if the sleeves had been rolled up, I would have forgiven him, but no, they were buttoned at the wrist.

  "You could shave it all off and still be beautiful," he said.

  "I thought about it."

  Benji chuckled and looked down. Any other girl at Kempton would have jumped at the chance to date him. It wasn't that he was unattractive--quite the opposite. We'd had other classes together, and he was one of Kempton's brightest students. It wasn't even that he was dull because sometimes he made me laugh. I guessed I was just waiting for something...different.

  Dr. Z was lost in the mess of papers on his desk, and I was glad. The room had already begun to fill, and I didn't want him to make a scene when he greeted me. He was kind but excited about life in general, and I wasn't in the mood for that. But as I relaxed against the back of my seat, his head popped up.

  "Rory! I almost didn't recognize you! I just sent you an email! Did you get it?"

  Everyone turned to see whom the professor was addressing.

  "No," I said quietly, sinking into my seat.

  Dr. Z, small and plump with just a bit of silver hair circling the midsection of his scalp that matched his unkempt beard, watched me expectantly.

  I pressed my lips together and then bent over to my bag, pulling out my laptop. He obviously wasn't going to let this go. The computer lit up, and I navigated my way to my inbox.

  Nodding to Dr. Z didn't satisfy him. His eyes widened, and he nodded his head, encouraging me to continue.

  I ran my fingers over the trackpad and clicked on the message he'd sent with the subject line, OPEN NOW. The email contained line after line of data he'd compiled over the weekend from the unimpressive rock. After scanning the bulk of it, I nodded once.

  He seemed sufficiently satisfied. "We'll talk more tonight."

  A small twinge of guilt panged in my chest. The disappointment in his eyes was evident, but it was a rock. Granted, its material hadn't been recorded on Earth, ever, so that meant it had come from somewhere in the universe. An alien rock. If we still thought the world was flat or if we weren't aware of the surrounding universe, I could understand Dr. Z's excitement, but as it was, it was...boring.

  Dr. Z, however, was very excitable and, at times, dramatic. This particular email ended with, Secrecy is imperative.

  Secrets I could handle. Gossip wasn't a problem. Typing was easy. Listening to his incessant enthusiasm about markings on a rock until three a.m. and then being alert for an eight a.m. course...not so much.

  "Cyrus!" Dr. Z said loud enough to catch my attention. "We can talk about your request to be a research assistant after class."

  What the hell? I'm his research assistant.

  I looked in the same direction as Dr. Z to a pair of dark topaz eyes surrounded by olive skin. The male gender wasn't something I was preoccupied with, so the twinge I felt in my stomach took me by surprise. It didn't matter. I already hated him.

  Cyrus sat in the first row, directly in front of Dr. Z. He was so ordinary. He wore a red-and-navy-blue plaid shirt with sleeves rolled up to the elbows and tan cargo pants. I couldn't see his shoes, but I imagined him wearing a stupid pair of brown hiking sneakers. His clothes gave him a casual look, but it seemed forced. He seemed forced--his movements, his expressions--as if he were trying too hard to blend in. I couldn't stop staring at the back of his head, noticing every strand of his dark hair, admiring him and wishing for his sudden death at the same time.

  "Welcome!" Dr. Z began. "I am Dr. A. Byron Zorba, and you've arrived at Geobiology and Astrobiology...uh...with lab. That's a separate class. Uh...later," he added. "You should also be enrolled in the lab, separately from lecture. If not, see administration. So! Here, and in the partnering lab, you will study organic matter from microbes, rocks, and environmental samples. In lab, you'll extract and, more importantly, interpret these samples. Beyond that, we will reconstruct ancient environments to understand how life evolved within the samples."

  "Yeesh," Benji whispered.

  "It's really not that bad. Don't be a baby," I said, keeping my voice low, as the professor went over the rules and syllabus.

  "I'm still running in the mornings," Benji said. "You should come with me sometime."

  "I don't run."

  "It's good for you. You should try it."

  "I'm not getting up at the crack of dawn to run until I stop freezing. That's not healthy. It's stupid."

  Benji just smiled, clearly amused.

  "Excuse me, Professor," Cyrus said, holding his pen in the air. "Whom shall I contact--"

  I blocked out the rest of his question. The trace of a British accent in his voice and his perfect grammar would never have piqued my attention before, but on that day, it was annoying and snooty.

  Not only was Cyrus tall, dark, and handsome, but as class progressed, he also proved to be Dr. Z's most adept and eager student.

  Dr. Z paused after answering Cy's latest question. "May I ask...from where do you hail?"

  "Excuse me?" Cyrus responded.

  "I was curious to know if you happen to be Egyptian?" the professor asked.

  I didn't know what expression was on Cyrus's face, but he must have smiled because Dr. Z clapped his hands once, and a wide grin made his already full cheeks puff out.

  Dr. Z patted Cyrus's shoulder and shook his finger a few times. "We'll have much to talk about. See me after class."

  "Oh Christ, get a room," I snarled under my breath.

  The professor's hobby was trying his hardest to be an Egyptian scholar. I thought maybe Cyrus's origin was the reason for Dr. Z's fascination, but that didn't turn out to be it at all. Cyrus never answered the questions that Dr. Z presented to the class, but he asked at least a dozen of his own. He was curious, and I couldn't deny that his questions were a work of art.

  Dr. Z answered a few questions before lecturing for just ten minutes, giving us a reading assignment, and then waving us away, twenty minutes earlier than expected.

  Everyone looked around, unsure what to do, until I began packing my things. That started a chain reaction, and noise filled the room as students crammed their laptops into their bags and moved to leave. br />
  After our dismissal, Cyrus stood next to Dr. Z's podium, and they spoke in low voices with a lot of nodding and a few smiles.

  Oh, hell no. I stood up, grabbed my bag, and walked down the steps, standing in the space next to Cyrus.

  "Cyrus has just returned from a summer in Mali," Dr. Z said, smiling.

  "Oh?" I said with cold eyes. "You have family there?"

  "No," Cyrus said flatly.

  He didn't offer further explanation, so I stared at him until he became uncomfortable and looked away. That was my very favorite thing to do to everyone.

  "Cyrus is researching the Dogon tribe. Very interesting," Dr. Z said. "He's the third member of our team."

  "What?" I said the word louder than I'd meant and in a tone high enough to be embarrassing.

  Cyrus nodded once to us both, and then he was gone.

  "Are you replacing me?" I asked, my heart pounding. My assistant job was connected to my scholarship. If Cyrus stole it from me, I could be in real danger of losing that money. It was too late to find a student position that wasn't already taken.

  "Of course not. You saw the data I sent. You'll never have time for anything else if I don't add someone to the team."

  "I can do it," I said, only feeling a tiny bit relieved. "You know I don't go home for the holidays. I don't mind working weekends."

  Dr. Z smiled. "Rory, I know you don't mind working weekends, but you should."

  He walked out of the classroom, leaving me among his weird sculptures and artifacts. None of it made sense. Dr. Z had always been careful. I couldn't imagine he would invite someone he didn't trust into his precious laboratory. Something about Cyrus felt off, but he didn't seem dangerous or untrustworthy. If the professor had been considering Cyrus as just a third team member, he would have mentioned it before today. The only explanation for my exclusion from this news was that he was planning to replace me. What was more, hastily inviting a new student into his lab wasn't just uncharacteristic. It was troubling.

  My eyes were all over the place, looking at a different inanimate object with every thought. I couldn't lose my position as Dr. Zorba's assistant. Everything was riding on it.

  The room grew darker, bringing my attention to the large windows. The clouds outside were gray. At this time of year, the weather was more likely to bring in a cold front than a storm. The wind began to blow the few leaves that had just started to fall from the huge oak trees. I pulled one of several tubes of lip balm from my jacket pocket and ran it over my lips. I loved fall up until the night I died. Now, it just seemed ominous.