Page 215 of Only With You

She wipes away at the stream that cascades down her cheek and peers up at me. I take the moment to look at her neck and have to stop myself from looking shocked when I see the hickey.

“There’s no way you and Landon argued that much? This is too much. I can’t accept this.”

I flatten my lips to smother a laugh because as shocking as it is for her, it was for me. And because I was right and wasn’t seeing things.

A few days ago, Landon and I decided to count the money in our argument jar. It’d been a few weeks since we last put a bill in and knew we wouldn’t be adding any more.

It’s astounding how much we accumulated. I know we’re notorious for arguing but not to that magnitude.

“Please don’t feel bad, because we really want you to have this.”

We did add a little extra because it wouldn’t have covered everything, but Landon told me not to tell her that because she’ll refuse it.

“I really can’t take this. This is too much money and not your responsibility.”

I step away when she tries to hand it back.

I’ve always been privileged. I’ve never had much to worry about except whether a grade was going to be enough for Dad or if Mom was going to be upset over an extra pound on the scale. Those are just a few of the things I’ve never had to think about until I moved in with the girls. Hearing Gabby’s story has made me realize how little I’m educated about the things that truly matter and have put a lot of perspective in my life. I’m not diminishing my struggles because Landon keeps reminding me that, but it makes me appreciate certain things.

So after doing research on DACA, I told Landon I wanted the money to go to Gabby. Because Landon likes to go above and beyond even though he calls it the bare minimum, he added more money. He didn’t tell me how much, but said it’d be enough to cover for the next renewal and get herself something extra.

He still refuses to tell me where he got the money from, but I know he’s not stupid enough to do something illegal. He said he’ll tell me one day.

“You have to accept it. It’s your Christmas gift.”

She warily stares at me, then drops her gaze to the jar, staring at it with uncertainty. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, we’re sure.” I beam at her, and finally, she accepts it and goes to thank Landon, giving him a fist bump because she knows how he feels about hugs.

He briefly glances at me, and when I nod, he subtly drops his gaze to her neck.

When Gabby disappears into her room with Jagger, my phone vibrates in my pocket. My heart accelerates when I see the email notification from Roberts saying exam scores have been submitted.

Landon hovers next to me, but I don’t look at him as I log into Canvas. Holding my breath, I click on the grade tab and almost lose it when I see a ninety-seven out of one hundred.

“Oh God, you’re going to kill us,” Landon mutters next to me.

I shoot him a glare, but it doesn’t deter the grin on his face and he hugs me. “I’m proud of you, Love. I was confident you’d do well.”

“Really?”

He cups my neck, staring intently at me. “I never doubted you for one second.”

I can’t contain my giddy smile and snake my arms around his shoulders. “You’re probably going to regret it because you have to let me drive your car now.”

“What?” Saint stares at us, dumbfounded. “You’re going to let her drive your car but you won’t let me?”

“Well, he’s going to teach me first,” I say.

His mouth falls open. “What the hell,stronzo? No offense, Juls, but how are you going to let her if she doesn’t know how to drive stick and I do?”

“Because you’re not her,” Landon replies like it should be the most obvious answer. “I’ll be back. I need to grab something from my car,” he says to me and leaves the apartment.

Saint stops complaining when Daisy tells him to shut up. Then he says something else and she tells him to shut up again. It becomes a cycle of him running his mouth and her telling him to shut up until Cara breaks it up.

When Landon shows up, he stands in front of me again, holding something in his hand. I take it and remove the neatly-wrapped paper and find a mug with heart-shaped cherries and music notes around it.

“I still don’t understand who needs to have that many mugs, but I figured you could add another to your collection.”

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