Page 10 of Oblivion

Sighing sadly, I shake my head. “I’m not, but it was fun pretending for a while. Kingsacre is a great school, but Harvard is…well, it’s Harvard. My trust fund isn’t big enough for me to live off for the rest of my life, so I actually need to think about what I’ll do after graduation. Being at Harvard will give me more opportunities than I’d get here.”

When everyone but Evan opens their mouth to speak, I start to talk again, cutting them all off.

“I love you guys, and I’ve loved living with you and getting to play at being mega rich for a while. But being at home this summer and Hunter getting engaged has made me realize that you’re all getting on with your lives, and I’m still just playing. I am serious about the girls’ night, though. I still want to see you all once a month, but I thought we could trade off flying back and forth.”

The silence is deafening as I scan the faces of my friends one by one, trying to assure them with my eyes that this is the right decision for me.

“No,” Sebastian growls again.

“You’re not leaving,” Clay snaps, tapping at his cell before decisively placing it down on the table. “Your Harvard acceptance just went away. You’re not playing at being one of us, Sammy. You are one of us.”

Tears fill my eyes as emotion builds inside of me, threatening to make me dissolve into a puddle of mush. Instead of burstinginto tears, I roll my eyes and flip up my middle finger at Clay, knowing if I speak, my voice will break.

“I need you here,” Starling whispers.

Turning my head to look at her, the sight of tears rolling down her cheeks almost has me changing my mind and agreeing to stay. I don’t want to be the cause of my bestie’s tears. She’s shed too many in the last few years. She just got married, she got her happy ever after, and I refuse to be the reason she’s sad.

Shaking my head, I blink away the glassiness in my own eyes. “No, you don’t,” I say with a shaky smile. “You’re one of the strongest people I’ve ever met. I mean, Jesus, you survived everything these guys threw at you, and look at you now. You’ve got Sebastian twisted around your finger.”

Starling’s expressive, fear-filled gaze locks with mine, and I try to silently assure her that just because I’m leaving doesn’t mean we won’t be friends anymore. But before I can say a thousand silent words, Hunter speaks, pulling my attention.

“We all want you here,” he says, his voice rough and low. “Your home is with us. If you need opportunities, who better to give them to you than us? Tell us what job you want, and we’ll find one for you. If we can’t find one, we’ll create one for you. You brought Starling back to us. You helped January and then brought her back to us. You’re already standing up for Bunny, and you hardly know her. You’re the best of us. We won’t let you go.”

His words hit me low in my belly, making my stomach clench and tighten. I’ve never had friends like this before. In high school, my friends were Drew’s friends, and when I left for college, I did it knowing that I wouldn’t really care if I never saw any of them ever again. But these people I know, no matter what happens, they’ll never just be a part of my past.

“No,” Sebastian says again, the single word saying a thousand things, and all of them are refusing to let me leave.

“Sebastian.” I laugh, the sound thick with unshed tears.

His intense, furious eyes bore into me. “I can have a pretty cage made just for you if you want. You know I would. If you go to Harvard, we all go to Harvard, and I don’t want to go back there. So, stop causing trouble, be a good girl, and I’ll show you photos of your security team.”

I can’t help it, I burst out laughing, the sound so loud and ridiculous that it shatters some of the pressure that had surrounded our group like a bubble. “You really are a psycho, aren’t you?” I ask him.

Instead of answering, he shrugs, flashing me a smug grin.

“Did you think I was exaggerating all this time?” Starling asks. “He’s right, though. If you go to Harvard, I go to Harvard.”

“Me too,” January says quickly. “Which means Clay, too.”

“And us,” Hunter blurts, flashing a look at Bunny, who just nods.

“Harvard is a good school,” she says with a shrug.

At the sight of all the people I love, showing me just how much they love me back, I feel all of my muscles soften and relax.

“No one is going anywhere,” Evan snaps, speaking for the first time since I brought up the idea of me leaving. His voice is icy and cold, and so at odds with the warmth I’d been feeling that my spine snaps straight.

Since that night in my bedroom, I’ve actively avoided looking at Evan, but my eyes move to him now without my permission, and I find my gaze locked with his.

“It’s not happening, Sammy, so get that fucking idea out of your head,” he snarls.

Before I have a chance to tell Evan that what I do is none of his business, Hunter claps his hands and orders us all into motion, and the subject is dropped, at least for the moment.

8

EVAN

She wants to leave. A part of me knows that her not being here would be better. That not being tempted by seeing her every day would be a good thing. That it’d give me a chance to get over this all-consuming obsession I have with her. That the distance would be good for both of us.

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