Read Uncovering You: The Contract for Free Online Page B

I get my food, and then—
    No .
    The idea of being someone else’s property, someone else’s pet , and continuing to wear this horrible collar is nauseating. It is the sticking point that my conscience cannot overcome. I will not serve as the passive vessel to the perverted fantasies of some sick freak.
    It is quite ironic. The collar is the object that keeps me bound. But, were it not for the collar, I am certain that I would have signed the contract days ago.
    A sharp stab of hunger pulses through my body, triggered by one unintentional breath drawn through my nose. I shiver and hold myself tight.
    How much longer can I resist? My blood sugar is dangerously low. The slightest movement leaves me desperately dizzy.
    I close my eyes and think back to the circumstances that brought me to California in the first place….
     

Chapter Thirteen
    (Seven months ago)
     
    It is March. The death-grip that winter has held over New Haven for the last three months is finally showing signs of relenting.
    I’m sitting with my legs tucked under me on the red, circular rug in the common room of the dorm I share with two other girls: Fey and Sonja. We met during orientation week of our freshman year, when all three of us got stranded in the middle of a rainstorm and took shelter under the same willow tree. While our heavy workload and extracurricular commitments keep us from being inseparable, we are as close to it as anyone is going to get at Yale.
    I have half a dozen textbooks spread out in front of me. Every page is marked up by my personal blend of pink, yellow, orange, red, and blue highlighter. Sonja calls my studying style OCD. I call it, “ having a system” … although the specifics of that system seem to change every day.
    I smile at the thought and get back to my books. Unlike Sonja or Fey, I’m on the hook for full college tuition. Sonja got a full ride; Fey has rich parents. I am in possession of neither, so every semester I spend here costs me dearly.
    That’s why every term so far, I’ve taken the maximum four courses, then petitioned the administrative board to add a fifth. I was denied first term freshman year, but granted every term after. Since I managed to keep my GPA respectable, I finagled the administration into letting me add a sixth course this year.
    While course number six has not exactly been the straw that breaks the camel’s back, it’s come damn close. I’ve been surviving on less than five hours of sleep for most of my junior year. Fey and Sonja have expressed their concern, even going so far as to stage an intervention—by smuggling me onto a bus and taking me with them to the largest party of the year for the annual Harvard-Yale football game. But, I think I’ve managed pretty well.
    Sure, I might not have any semblance of a social life. The last time I had sex was with my ex more than eighteen months ago. (What they say about athletes, by the way, is patently false. He may have excelled on the court, but in bed he had the stamina of an octogenarian.) However, if it means getting my diploma faster, and for less money, I’m all for it.
    The door bursts open and sends a gust of wind that picks up my papers. Fey darts into the room, followed by her boyfriend, Robin. He’s been following her like a shadow since she agreed to a date after meeting him in her study group last Thanksgiving. Sonja and I both think he’s going to propose soon. While I do see how good Fey and Robin are together, I think Fey is too young to get hitched. Then again, I’ve always been a romance cynic.
    “Ohmygod, I’m so sorry!” Fey exclaims when she sees me scrambling for the sheets. “Here, let me help you.”
    She squats down. Robin is right there beside her. He gives me a shy smile and then focuses on the floor.
    I’ve never been able to figure out why he’s so afraid of me. Sonja once told me that I give off “intimidating vibes.” But just because I have a backbone and am not afraid to stand up for myself