In Between The Lines| BOOK #2 IN THE PSU SERIES

Somewhere In The Middle Introduction

•TRIGGER WARNING— DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU ARE IN A BAD MENTAL STATE•

Ellie Webber

Maybe I was jumping into the deep end.

But I wanted to do anything and everything possible to make grandpa and grandma know that I didn't want to be at this college anymore. This wasn't my happy valley—this was a valley of depression.

And I was drowning in it.

So I broke the lease.

Can you blame me—really can you?

I mean I wasn't that far away from Sloane and Finn—I was right across the hallway from them. But still, it's time that I stopped taking bullshit from everyone else and I needed to stand up for myself.

Which meant, I wasn't going to be known as Naomi anymore. I was Ellie. Well, Ellison, but anything but fucking Naomi. I loved my older cousin but not enough to want to be her.

So—as you might have guessed it, stealing grandma and grandpa's credit cards to purchase a new apartment wasn't fun. In fact—I was being punished for it. I mean, I thought that this would give them a more coherent idea that I didn't want to be at this fucking college.

I wanted to be in Ohio.

I wanted to be away from here—away from everyone I knew, I didn't want anyone to know me.

I was so much more than my last name.
I was so much more than coach's granddaughter.

I was so much more than Penn's sister.

And I was so much more than Naomi Black.

I narrowed my eyes at the time at the bottom right—hand corner of my computer screen. I didn't want to wear my glasses because what if I looked weird? I mean the pink highlights already made me stand out enough.

Oh yeah, pink highlights. You guys probably already could guess how grandpa reacted to that shit.

Penn just told him I was going through a midlife crisis, but I wasn't.

I was going through withdrawals.

Withdrawals because every time I searched up 'Ohio State' on Instagram, I would get sad. Sadder than sad—I would become overtaken by emotions. Because everyone else was enjoying their dream at their dream college.

While I was stuck here because my college was free and almost everyone in my family went here. I mean everyone except grandma and grandpa funnily enough.

Somehow they could go to a different college but it's okay I couldn't?

So to try to piss them off I have for one, stolen their credit card information and move into an apartment across the hall, and number two, I have put temporary pink highlights in my hair. I was going to do permanent but I was only doing it for a cry for help.

I didn't actually want pink highlights.

Plus I think they just enhanced the excessive amount of stress acne I've been having.

"Hey, can I run the vacuum, or are you about to do tutoring?" Blaire asked. Ah, sweet Blaire. I fucking love Blaire. I met her in the Poetic Justice Club. We bonded over hating these two men in the club who said that Elizabeth was the problem and not Mr. Darcy.

First of all, fuck Darcy.

I had to convince her—well bribe her to be my roommate. She didn't want to live in the doors anymore because her Korean parents were extremely strict and they would drop by at any time. So, she moved to where they couldn't control her because they weren't paying for any of it.