Page 54 of Pucking Good Girl

A gust of cold wind causes me to shiver. The night looks so dark that the eco-lights on campus barely provide any visibility.

“Talia,” Carissa runs after me with an umbrella in her hand. “Take this.”

The Dean’s daughter and I have never been particularly close. But it isn’t lost on me that tonight, aside from Sam, she was the only one who was on my side.

“Thank you.” I whisper, taking the umbrella from her. “I thought I had dozens of friends here, but I was wrong. Thank you for trying to help.”

She leans to whisper into my ear. “Don’t believe what you saw tonight. When the meeting started, most of the sisters were against kicking you out. But Gen was clear that unless they voted with her, everyone who lives in her father’s apartment complex would lose the discounted rate they were offered when they moved in. And she hinted at having ways to make life very unpleasant for the ones who live here.”

That shouldn’t surprise me. Hearing that my former sisters might not hate me after all, and that their hand was forced, is only a partial consolation. It doesn’t change the fact that I’m homeless.

CHAPTER 14

ROCK BOTTOM

Talia

When the door of the Zeta House slams shut behind me, the awareness that I have nowhere to go hits me harder than the pelting rain.

Isn’t it ironic that when someone hits rock bottom in the movies, our hero is shown living out of their car?

Having a car to sleep in sounds like a luxury right now as the freezing rain seeps through my clothes and I’m drenched in mere seconds.

Walking away from Greek Row feels ominous; like I’m leaving a huge part of my life behind. Like tonight, I’ve lost more than my room in the Zeta House.

Because, let’s face it, not only do I have nowhere to go, I’m alone too.

The campus feels bigger and scarier without a soul out here on this dark and stormy night.

My feet carry me to the library, but with everyone choosing to stay in their dorms tonight, the librarians must have decided to close early.

If this had happened a couple of weeks ago, I would have gone to the Gamma House and begged my brother to let me crash in his room. I know Tucker would have never turned me down. But as it is, my big brother is taking up the one spot on my parents’ couch that could have been a not ideal, but solid solution to my problems.

My parents’ apartment is still a possibility. Even if I had to sleep on the floor.

But the second I give it serious consideration, I know I’m going to regret it even before the sun is up.

The way this will play out is totally predictable.

Tucker would never let me sleep on the floor, so he’s going to offer me his less than enviable spot on the couch.

That’s going to make Dad object that sleeping on the floor is a terrible idea. Tucker needs to perform if he wants to keep his future NHL team from sending him to a farm team or worse, dropping him altogether if he has a bad season.

So Dad is going to insist on sleeping on the floor, giving up his bed to me.

I haven’t slept in my parents’ bed since I was a small child and I was sick or scared of whatever monster I was convinced lurked under my bed.

The idea of sleeping with Mom sounds sort of comforting, but I can’t do that to Dad.

Since he injured his back at work eighteen months ago, he’s been in constant pain. He had surgery, but that didn’t solve his problems; if anything, it made it worse.

I know getting decent sleep is a challenge for him most nights, so I can’t risk having him sleep on the floor like I know he would be adamant to do.

Sleeping arrangements aren’t the only thing that’s keeping me from asking my parents’ help.

If I turned up soaking wet and in tears, my parents would have questions. I can’t even blame them. I would too if the roles were reversed.

There’s no way this can go well. First off, because I have the worst poker face in town. Maybe in the state, even. So lying isn’t really an option when my parents would read me like an open book. Secondly, Mom was a Zeta before she dropped out of college to marry Dad. She would want to know why I was kicked out. And she would offer to help me by calling one of her contacts at the central chapter.