Nobody like me would need love or at least that's what I though until… him. You see Asher Cross had a reputation for being well…. Bad. He had a sister, my age…. Well not anymore.

To forget my past and erase it—I pored over hours worth of study materials. Acing exam after exam. His sisters death would be my undoing.

Everywhere I went it was always 'She's a killer' but now? Now it's a whole different story.

It was another season of exams—my notes were open, papers scattering my desk, pens strewn about. I don't know how I'll survive this at all. My head rested against the jagged edges of papers—fresh blank ink dancing through my nose in unpleasant ways.

"Lilly? Are you studying up there or wasting time?"

Great it's mom. Not really my mom. She's a woman who married my dad cause… money. "I'm trying mom! Nothing is working. The exam is in a few days…. And what the heck do I do?"

And no he's not here. Well where he? Business trip. Light footsteps echoing through the halls stop near my room. "Honey?"

I lift my head—ball of weight that sags over anything and everything filled with unnecessary thoughts and tension. "I expect another A by the end of this semester or you're not gonna be considered for dinner later.."

She meant well with her sentiment but that just sat on my chest—like a disease I couldn't get rid of. Another perfect A and I will be part of the family or else everything will crumble. Archer's sister—my best friend was the only other person I could go to.

Her blue eyes and dark hair lingered in my mind. That laugh when I joked with her. She told me about Archer—two years older than us. Wish I could turn back time when things weren't as complicated.

Before her untimely death, I didn't care about grades or the perfect score. Somehow I was the cause of everything going down hill—like a trajectory of sadness. Her funeral? I couldn't go. I didn't wanna be seen as the killer.

I shouldn't have done what I had done—4 years ago. It's not something someone can erase but I did or at least that's what I thought.

Two days later, I had zero clue Archer Cross would show up—a ghost in perfect disguise around campus halls. Students in the hall whispered about how 'bad' he was and what things he did. If only they knew what my past is.

As I grabbed some books for my class that day, a voice sweet—deep like a lullaby said, "The infamous Rhodes. Lily, right? Perfect student with perfect grades?"

I slam the locker—hard, fast and turn to him. "And your Archer Cross, right?"

His face lights up—a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. Same blue eyes, dark hair. Chiseled jawline that cut anything in half. "Right you are, Miss Rhodes."

"Why are you here?" I ask, hugging the textbooks close.

"You could guess."