Early Imprint [Book 3] ✔️

23 • Surprise Call

QUIL'S POV

Having Claire away at college wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I thought that I would be in agonizing pain because my imprint wasn't around. Instead, I was able to function pretty much as normal. It probably had something to do with the fact that not a day went by that I didn't hear from Claire.

Claire and I talked on the phone a couple of times a week, and we emailed each other several times a day. It didn't matter if the emails were long, or if they were just a short email that said "thinking of you." Any form of communication kept me going. And we were so in tune with each other now that I always knew when she was going to call. On more than one occasion, I would grab my cell phone, and it'd ring seconds later with Claire on the other end.

Most importantly, Claire was loving college life. Her classes were everything she had hoped for. She had adjusted well to school, and she and her roommate, Jessica, got along great. She had also gotten a job within walking distance from campus. She was happy, and because I could sense it, I walked around in a happy mood most of the time. Seth of all people said that I was even beginning to annoy him, because I was always humming or joking around at work.

I also always knew when Claire had a major project to turn in or a test coming up, because I would begin to feel anxious. I would try to send her an email telling her not to worry, or I'd call her cell phone and would tell her that she was brilliant. I'd do anything I could to make sure my imprint was happy and feeling confident.

I made sure to call her cell phone only though, because I never knew what I'd find if I called the phone in her dorm room, and she very rarely used it anyway. One time I made the mistake of calling her dorm phone and I never did it again. On that particular day, I hadn't been able to get a hold of Claire on her cell, and I had wanted to find out how she did on a test she had been worried about. When I called her dorm, a strange male voice had answered. The fury and jealousy I'd felt had been indescribable.

"What?" The man had asked impatiently. I'd heard a groan in the background. It didn't take a genius to figure out what I had interrupted.

"Is Claire there?" I'd asked, barely able to contain my anger.

"She's not here," the man had practically shouted at me.

Then I'd heard Jessica's voice clearly state in her heavy accent, "BD, you better hang up that damn phone and give me my orga--"

I had hung up the phone immediately. When I'd finally gotten a hold of Claire on her cell, I embarrassingly admitted that I'd interrupted her roommate having sex. Claire had just laughed.

"Well, I don't care what Jessica does, as long as I don't have to walk in and see anything."

"So Jessica's dating already?" I'd asked. What I had wanted to ask was if Claire was involved with anyone.

"Yes, she's dating Bryant Patrick Douglas the third. His family owns an art museum in downtown Seattle. They're big names in the art scene. Jessica met BD when he came to her class to give a lecture."

"And what about you?" I'd finally asked, not giving a shit about Jessica's love life. "Anyone interest you yet?"

Claire had paused and I'd felt my heart freeze. "No...after dating Sully for as long as I did, I've decided to take a break."

I'd felt instant relief and had quickly switched topics. Other than that awkward moment, everything was going smoothly for me and my imprint. Ironically, the bond between us seemed to be stronger than ever, even though she was practically across the state. There was something very freeing in realizing that I was in love with Claire. I didn't feel confused anymore about my feelings, and our connection seemed 10 times more powerful because of how I felt.