Page 140 of The Chase

“Summer, wait.” Ben rushes over to me, concern etched into his face. “Are you all right?”

“Not really.” I gulp repeatedly, once again trying to suppress the tears.

“That’s really fucking shady what Laurie’s doing in there,” Ben says flatly.

“Tell me about it.”

“You need to report this to the department head.”

“And say what?” I ask in a sardonic tone. “‘Hey, I got a D-minus on my midterm. Fire the professor.’”

“No, but you can tell them that he humiliated you in front of your peers and implied that you’re an incompetent writer and—”

“I’m sorry,” I cut in, because I’m barely holding on by a thread here. “But I have to go.”

“Summer.”

“Ben, please. Just drop this.” I gesture to the doors. “Go back inside and wait for your midterm. I bet you did great.”

“Summer.” He shakes his head angrily. “This isn’t fair.”

“Life isn’t fair.” My voice cracks. “But I appreciate you coming out here to check on me. I really do. You’re a good guy, Ben. Thank you.”

I squeeze his arm and then walk away.

__________

At home, I find Fitz at his desk. He’s wearing his headphones and tapping on the game controller that plugs into his computer. Or I think it plugs into it. I don’t really understand his gaming system. He tried to explain it to me once, but I’ve already forgotten.

I pluck his earphones off, causing a startled Fitz to swivel in his padded chair. “Fuck, you scared me, babe.” When he sees the look on my face, concern fills his eyes. “What’s wrong?”

I inhale a slow, even breath. “I need to ask you something, and you have to promise to be honest with me.”

“Okay…” His expression grows wary.

“Was my essay a piece of shit?”

“What?” He scrapes both hands over his face, clearlyconfused. “You mean the fashion essay? About New York and the first half of the twentieth century?”

I nod. “You told me I did a good job on it,” I say shakily.

“You did a great job.”

I search his expression and find nothing deceitful about it. And his voice is nothing but sincere. “Do you really believe that, or are you only saying it because we’re dating?”

“Summer, if I thought your midterm sucked or that something about it was highly problematic, I would have told you,” he says firmly. “And I would have offered to help you fix it. I don’t see the point in lying about stuff like that.”

I sink onto the edge of his bed. Once again, my eyes begin stinging, but this time I can’t control a few teardrops from popping out and sliding down my cheeks.

Fitz is on his feet in a heartbeat. He kneels in front of me and places his big hands on my thighs. “Talk to me,” he urges thickly. “What’s going on?”

“I got a D-minus on the midterm.”

That startles him. “For real?”

I nod slowly.

The surprise on his face slowly transforms into skepticism. “But that’s practically a fail.”

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