Page 158 of From Now On

Aidan is on his laptop. Conor is scrolling through movie options on the television.

It’s the last weekend before finals start. Which means it’s one of the final weekends of college—ever. Eve went to a concert with Harlow and Aidan said Rylan is hanging out with her roommates.

We haven’t hung out, just the three of us, in a while. It’s sentimental, knowing we’ll never live together again. Hart won’tknow where he’s headed until the draft next month, but I’ve officially committed to moving to Philadelphia. And Aidan…

Aidan sets his laptop on the coffee table next to Conor’s feet. “Check this out.”

Evergreen Beer Companyis all I can read from this angle. I stand and move behind the couch so I can see more of the screen.

Conor leans closer. “What are you doing? Ordering beer? There’s a six-pack in the fridge, Phillips.”

“I’m not ordering anything,” Aidan answers. “This is the website for my new brewery.”

“Your newwhat?” Hart sounds stunned.

I’m only marginally less surprised.

Since our conversation on the way home from Gaffney’s, Aidan hasn’t mentioned what he plans to do post-graduation. I had no idea he was still considering opening a brewery, let alone acting on it.

“My new brewery. I also got a job at a marketing firm in Seattle. I start in June. So if this whole thing falls apart, I have a backup plan.”

“Wow,” Conor says.

I echo the sentiment, adding a “Congrats.”

Aidan shows us the whole website. It’s a simple layout, but it looks very official. Then, he pulls up the listing for the old warehouse he bought in Seattle, telling us about the plans for the renovations. Once they’re completed, he plans to launch the website and announce the business. We’re the first people he’s telling, I realize.

The pizza arrives midway, so we chomp on slices as Aidan talks us through building permits and water lines.

I’m impressed. Impressed that he’s doing it, and impressed he’s done it without saying a word. Aidan usually discusses everything aloud.

Then again, he kept things with Rylan a secret for a while, so maybe it just depends on how important it is to him.

“Have you heard from Sean?” Conor asks once we’re caught up on Aidan’s plans.

I shake my head. I told him and Aidan about my brother—the good, the bad, and the overdose—the morning after the team dinner.

And I’ve gotten updates from my mom—Sean was discharged from the hospital and is recovering at a rehab center—but my brother hasn’t called.

Not only has he not called me, he hasn’t answeredmycalls. I know he has his phone because my mom talks to him at least once a day.

But he won’t talk to me.

And I don’t know why, aside from the way our last conversation ended. I told him not to call me high. I didn’t ask him to stop answering my calls sober.

I’ve realized, since I started calling, that Istoppedat some point. That every recent time I talked to my brother was when he called me. High, but still.

I’m very tempted to drive home and confront him about it. But graduation is in two weeks. I don’t have time for a thirty-four-hour road trip, and I’ll be home for most of the summer before heading to Penn.

I’m planning to visit Eve at some point. She found an apartment in Greenwich Village, close to a coffee shop where she got a barista job, and is moving at the beginning of June. But otherwise, I’ll be in Wyoming, and Sean won’t be able to avoid me.

“Give it some time,” Conor advises.

“That’s what I’ve been doing. He could at least answer my calls.”

Aidan stands and heads into the kitchen. A couple of minutes later, he returns with a stack of glasses and the expensive whiskey we broke open after winning the state championship. He pours an inch into each one.

“Seems like we should be drinking beer, to celebrate your brewery,” Hart comments.

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