Page 39 of Echoes of Us
The study room had become their battlefield.Every afternoon from noon till six, he'd dissect equations with surgical precision, his voice steady and measured as he explained concepts that had baffled her until then.She'd watched him teach for years in their future and had always admired how he commanded a lecture hall, but being on the receiving end was different.Intoxicating.
He was brilliant.Infuriating.Completely focused on the task at hand, as if that charged moment between them had never happened.Only the occasional white-knuckled grip on his pen, when she leaned too close, betrayed any awareness of her as more than just another student.
"You're obsessing," Sarah announced, flopping onto Ashley's bed and disrupting her physics notes.Early evening light filtered through their dorm window, turning Sarah's strawberry-blonde hair to fire."I haven't seen you this focused since...well, ever."
Ashley gathered her scattered papers, carefully not meeting her friend's knowing gaze."Dale agreed to give me the research position if I ace the final."
"Which you will, considering Cole's apparently turned into some sort of physics drill sergeant."Sarah propped herself up on her elbows, studying Ashley's face."Speaking of Cole...you know he's not staying for summer, right?I heard he isn't even registered for masters next year."
Ashley's hands stilled on her notes.She knew differently - knew Cole would continue straight through his master's program.But she couldn't say that.
"Getting to know him through Dale is enough for now," she said instead, the half-truth bitter on her tongue.
She didn't add that she had to get close to Dale if she had any chance of preventing that terrible night.Didn't mention how the weight of foreknowledge sat heavy in her chest every time she saw his easy smile or heard his gentle laugh.
Sarah sat up, her expression shifting from playful to serious."Ash...are you using Dale to get to Cole?"
The question sent her mind spiraling.Because wasn't she?Using Dale to save him, using him to understand Cole, using both brothers in ways they couldn't possibly comprehend?
"It's not like that," she whispered, but even she heard the uncertainty in her voice.
Sarah moved to sit beside her, their shoulders touching."Look, I know Cole has this whole mysterious bad-boy thing going on, and Dale's like...the safe option.But they're people, Ash.Real people with real feelings.This isn't some romance novel where everyone gets a happy ending."
If only Sarah knew just how unhappy some endings could be.
* * *
Sarah's wordsfollowed her into restless dreams, haunting her until she gave up on sleep entirely.Dawn found her wandering the campus, her guilt as heavy as the morning mist that clung to Yale's ancient stones.
She hadn't meant to end up at the dining hall.Hadn't meant to search for either brother in the early morning quiet.But exhaustion had worn her defenses thin, and coffee called like a siren song.
The morning sun painted the vast room in stripes of gold and shadow, turning even the mundane act of getting coffee into something almost magical.Ashley paused in the doorway, taking in the quiet beauty of the nearly empty space.At this early hour, the usual chaos of students was replaced by a peaceful hush broken only by the distant clink of dishes and the soft murmur of early risers.
She'd pulled on worn jeans and an oversized cream sweater, her hair twisted into a messy knot at the nape of her neck.No armor today.No games.After a week of Cole's intensity and Sarah's accusations, she needed to just be.
That resolution lasted exactly as long as it took her to spot Dale.
He sat alone by one of the towering windows, morning light catching his wire-rimmed glasses and turning his dark hair almost golden.Same sharp jawline as Cole and the same elegant hands wrapped around a coffee cup, but where Cole radiated barely contained energy, Dale's presence was all quiet grace.A stack of papers surrounded his coffee cup, his neat handwriting visible even from where she stood.
She should walk away.After yesterday's charged encounter with Cole, the last thing she needed was-
"Ashley!"Dale's face lit up as he spotted her, genuine warmth radiating from his smile."You look like you could use coffee."
He was already standing, already pulling out a chair for her, and she found herself moving toward him before she could think better of it.Of course, Dale would be a gentleman - the kind of man who pulled out chairs and noticed when someone needed caffeine.The kind whose goodness wasn't an act or a mask but bone-deep and real.
"Rough morning?"He signaled to a passing server for another coffee.
Ashley sank into the offered chair, oddly touched by how he'd positioned it - close enough for conversation but not so close as to crowd her."Rough night," she admitted."Physics."
"Ah."He studied her for a moment, head tilted slightly."You know, I've been wondering something."
"Hmm?"
"Why physics research?For the summer position?"His gray eyes - so like Cole's but somehow kinder - watched her carefully."It's not exactly a natural extension of behavioral science."
Heat crept up her neck.Her fingers found the edge of her sweater, twisting the soft material."I-"
"Because if it's about spending time with someone..."His smile turned gentle, almost shy, and Ashley's guilt twisted sharper in her stomach as she realized what he thought - who he thought she was interested in.
