Page 144 of Crew Princess
The race to see who would get a deal began after that, and since Drake had gone in first, he got the best one. Race’s dad didn’t get as sweet a package, but credible sources said definite time was shaved off his sentence, or would be.
But all the Ryersons got jail time. Drake. Even Alex, since he confessed to knowing he was supposed to put drugs on me, though his time was minimal. And their uncle. Their uncle who did, in fact, go to prison where my father was.
One day, while we were getting ready to attend graduation, my brother had a visit with my father—my connected father who was now a member of the Red Demons. A day later, we found out two of the Ryersons had been attacked in jail. Drake got a beatdown. He’d spend four weeks in the hospital, we were told. And their uncle was in a medically induced coma.
Didn’t take a genius to figure out the connection. I was glad. Sometimes, sometimes violencewasneeded. Sometimes it did have a place.
But this was the day of our graduation, and I was more focused on that.
“You ready for this?” Cross asked behind me.
I had my gown on, my hat in hand, but no. I was not ready. I hadn’t even thought I would graduate.
“Bren?”
I straightened from my locker. The door was open, and I was staring inside at nothing. Empty. I’d cleaned it out two weeks ago, the last day the seniors needed to be in school, but it was habit.
I came to school. I parked. I walked inside. I went to this locker.
“Hey,” he said gently, shutting my locker and turning me to face him. He shifted closer. We were told to wait in the hallway. Graduation would be out on the football field. We had to line up and go out there to our seats. There’d been a whole assembly about this ceremony, but for the life of me, I was blanking on how I even got here.
“I’m not prepared.”
“What?” He inclined his head to hear me better.
I cleared my throat, but it didn’t matter. My voice was still hoarse. “I’m not ready. I didn’t think—”
I hadn’t thought.
I hadn’t planned.
I hadn’t looked ahead.
All those years, I’d just stopped moving.
I was in the car, but the scenery was passing me by. That’s what this last year had been for me, and it finally hit me. I had no plan.
“What are you doing next year?” I asked.
“Oh.” His head tilted as he looked at me.
His eyes. They were gentle, knowing, but pitying at the same time. I didn’t want the pity. I never wanted the pity, but this time, today, on this morning, I hung my head.
I was embarrassed. I couldn’t do anything or push off this emotion because no matter how many times I hadn’t wanted to think about the future, it was here.
I asked again. “What are you doing next year?”
He grimaced. “You want the truth?”
I snorted. “When do I not want it?” Wait. Except every time this conversation came up. “Yeah.”
“All three of us got accepted to Cain University.”
My head raised. “You did?”
They were leaving?
All of them?
