Page 13 of Switching Graves

My mother’s expulsion was front-page news in Nocturne Valley, the small Ravenshurst University town, for months. It was severe enough to have her blackballed from her entire family for the sake of preserving their own perfectly manicured reputations. It’s a topic that would have her blood boiling within seconds of bringing it up. I suspect it had a lot to do with her mental health issues, but no one ever outwardly admitted such a thing.

My father kept the newspapers framed in his office. Whatever happened there, he was proud of her for the part she played. Not proud enough to tell me the truth about it, though.

“Well, it wouldn’t matter. You’d be using my name . . . my mother’s connection.”

I shake my head dismissively. “It would never work, Poppy.”

“Why not?!” She sits forward and stands on her knees on the couch, her mind going a hundred miles a minute.

“Because I’m not you,” I say, a little too loudly, immediately offering an apologetic grimace. My irritation is misplaced, and it’s not fair to take it out on her simply for grasping at straws in a desperate situation.

“So? We’ve taken a lot of the same classes at Briarwood. I copied you for everything, so our GPAs are almost the same.”

I open my mouth to object to that and point out that mine is over an entire half-point higher. Not to mention, I have nearly a semester’s worth of extra courses that I’ve worked my ass off to get stellar grades in. I may have only been able to attend college part time, but I’ve mostly made up for it with summer classes while she was off vacationing on her parent’s dime.

Before I can say it, she holds her hands up and amends, “Okay, not the same, but close enough. This is one of your dream colleges that you’ll never have a shot at otherwise. If you have to retake a course or two, so what? You’ll just do that much better. Plus, everyone always says we could pass as sisters. This could work . . . Howcouldn’tthis work?”

I allow myself a moment to fall into the madness beside her. To imagine a reality where I could attend such a prestigious school without the weight of tuition or bills holding me down. It would be a dream come true, and the perfect solution to my current situation.

But just as quickly as the fantasy appeared in my head, reality chases it away. It’s not possible. Perfect situations don’t exist.

“Poppy, why don’t you just tell your parents what you really want to do?” I ask her gently.

Deflated, she falls back onto the cushions in a pout. “Because they’ll never understand.”

“They’ll have no choice but to understand eventually.”

“I think we have a better shot at having you go to Ravenshurst in my place.”

I snort out a laugh. “So I can earn you a degree while you get to travel the world?”

It was meant as a joke, but Poppy springs forward with a serious expression. “Of course not. We’d get everything cleared up by the end of your time there. With your academic history, I’m positive you’d blow them out of the water and ensure they couldn’t deny you your credits.”

“You’re crazy.”

She tilts her head and blows me a kiss. “At least you love me for it.”

I grab the throw pillow sitting beside me and toss it at her face, sending her into a fit of giggles.

“Hey, maybe if you get kicked out, we can travel together, since I’ll be homeless anyway,” I offer hopelessly.

“What do you mean?”

I explain the conversation I had with Carol, feeling just as dejected now as I did when it happened.

Poppy’s face softens, her brows pulling together in a concerned frown. “You’re always welcome back home, Sonny.”

“Divina would never allow that. Especially with you off at Ravenshurst,” I reply dejectedly.

She bites her lip. “Shit. What are we going to do?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe I’ll take a semester off so I can keep my schedule open for any job that wants to hire me. Or maybe you’ll tell your mom to shove her ideals up her ass and we’ll run off into the sunset together.”

Poppy burst out laughing, the somber look marring her face completely gone.

“I don’t feel like wallowing over what we can’t control anymore,” I add with a sad smile.

“You’re right. Let’s take a beat and forget about it for the night. My favorite episode is on, anyway.”

---