Page 102 of Learning Curve

“I’m with Trav.” Jack nods on a laugh. “If Winnie, Flynn, and Jude are anything like Ty and Remy, I might disown you fucks.”

Low rolls her eyes, but she also smiles when she says, “All this time, I thought I was the only girl stuck around a bunch of stinky boys, but I actually have a sister. How cool is that.”

“Are you going to try to come home for the holidays, Reece?” Jack questions, and Reece shakes his head.

“I wish, man. But I’m a broke-ass college student who can’t afford a ticket. Plus, I need to save up for when I make the big transfer to Dickson next year.”

“I still can’t believe you’re coming to Dickson,” I admit.

Reece flashes a knowing smirk at me. “After all the fucking fights you’ve been getting into? I think it’s safe to say I need to come to Dickson to keep your ass in check.”

I shake my head. “I’m done fighting.” Unbelievably, I mean it.

“Food’s here!” another distant voice echoes in the receiver, and when Jack and Trav glance over their shoulders, it’s apparent it’s on their end.

“This has been a real lovely chat,” Trav says with a wink. “But my new favorite brother Ty just brought a shitload of takeout, and I’m starved. See you fuckers on the flip side.”

He’s doesn’t look back, and Jack follows his lead, only offering his middle finger and a laughing, “Love you assholes.”

Low rolls her eyes and tells us she loves us, and Reece and I end the call shortly after that.

“So…I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but it’s kind of hard, you know?” Ace states, and I glance over my shoulder to find him eating a bag of potato chips on his futon. “Quite the turn of events, huh?”

“Yeah.” I run a hand through my hair and drop my phone on my bed. “A fucking whirlwind.”

“Don’t worry, man, I don’t even expect a thank-you or anything.”

“What?” I furrow my brow, and he shoves a chip into his smiling mouth.

“For calling my dad, who called your—who’d have guessed it—brother to come save your ass. It’s on the house. No charge. In fact, you can consider it a free service, complimentary with your roommateship.”

I don’t bother explaining that I’ve already known Ty is my brother for years. It’d mean having to explain the whole coming-to-Dickson-to-plot-his-downfall thing, and I don’t think that would go over too big.

“I have a hard time believing you were starved for attention when you were a kid, but you sure as fuck act like it.”

He laughs as I reach for my phone when it pings with a new text message.

Julia: Hey, just wanted to update you that I just left her dorm. I stayed all day until she literally made me leave, but she’s not doing that great. Honestly, she’s a mess. Embarrassed. Mortified. Doesn’t want to leave her room. She wouldn’t eat anything when I was there either. I’m worried about her, for sure.

I’m already on my feet, shoving my phone into my pocket and grabbing my keys.

“I’ll be back in a few,” I tell Ace, grabbing my jacket from the hook by the door.

He jumps to his feet, nervous. “Hold up. I thought you told Ty you’d stay in tonight.”

I roll my eyes. “I’m not going to get into any trouble, I promise. But there’s something I have to do.”

He’s reluctant, but he’s also Ace. There’s a reason I like him—he knows when it’s not a good idea to cross a boundary. “All right, dude. But call me if you need something.”

I nod and jet, running down the hall, down the stairs, and out the door, before anyone can spot me.

Thirty minutes later, I’m standing in front of Scottie’s door with a bag of food from her favorite hoagie joint up the street. Every cell inside my body wants to see her, talk to her, but I know she’s not ready for that.

So, I do the second-best thing. I set the food on the floor and knock three times before I jog down the hallway and out of sight.

I stay hidden, but I don’t leave until I see her open the door and take the food inside her room.

Her eyes look sadder than I’ve ever seen, and her body is sunken and hollow. I wish I had the power to turn back time—to change the course of her fate.

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