Page 9 of Terms + Conditions
I squeeze my eyes shut, feeling the burning building in them. I swallow back the lump in my throat and blink away the tears. I didn’t mean to do it. I didn’t mean to screw up everything we’ve worked toward. “I’m sorry, Mom.”
“How did the university find out?”
“One of the new guys went to the hospital. I-I dropped him off. One of the sophomores, a legacy, went too far, and—”
“You killed a boy?” I think she might pass out.
“No!” I reassure her quickly. “No, I didn’t—He didn’t die, he just got a little banged up.”
Mom sighs heavily and tears brim her eyes. “What has the school said?”
“We’re all suspended. Expulsion pending dependent upon their investigation.”
“Why didn’t they call us?”
I shrug. “I’m an adult. I don’t think they’re going to tattle to my parents when I do something wrong.”
“We cannot tell your father.” Her mood instantly shifts as she begins to plan how we’re going to handle this. “He cannot deal with this. Business has been slow, and…Well, we cannot let something like this get out. It would ruin our reputation, absolutely ruin it. You know how people are around here, they talk and…”
“Mom, I’m sorry.”
She raises her hand to silence me. “Let’s just figure out what you’re going to do to fix this.”
“Dad is going to ask why I’m home,” I say as Mom gathers her things and tosses them into her backpack.
“You’re on fall break,” she says nonchalantly. Her shoulders rise and fall with a shrug like it’s no big deal. Like we aren’t talking about my entire future being on the line. And, it reminds me of so many times in the past that I’ve watched her put up this wall to disassociate from whatever she’s about to do. Whatever she has to do to protect the family—protect me.
“What about when I don’t go back at the end of the week?”
“Let me worry about that.” Mom heaves her backpack onto her shoulder, grabs her purse, and pushes me toward the door. “For now, you go about your business as usual.”
That seems easier said than done.
CHAPTER FIVE
NOW
MICHAELA’S MOUTH HANGS OPEN. Her blue eyes are blown wide. Utter shock is the only way to describe the expression on her face. I can see the wheels turning; she’s trying to piece it all together. The when, the how, the why…none of it makes any sense to her. When I finally look at Finn, his expression is unreadable. His lips are pulled into a thin line, gaze narrowed as his thumb picks at the label on the beer bottle. I’m sure he’s wondering why I never told him. He is my best friend, after all. That’s something I could tell him, right? Should tell him. We told each other everything. Except that one time he was sleeping with my sister and didn’t tell me…But who’s counting?
“Josh.” Michaela chuckles dryly. “You can’t be serious. Please tell me you’re joking.” When I don’t deny it, she shakes her head in disbelief. “You hazed someone? You? Joshua Isaiah Davis. You—”
“I didn’t hurt anyone.”
“But, youhazedsomeone.”
“I-I guess…I mean, yeah, but—”
“Oh my God.”
“Mic—”
“Who are you?” The shock is replaced with genuine hurt. “My brother would never do that. First, a sham of a marriage, now this? I feel like I don’t even know you anymore.”
If I’m honest, I hate to see her this hurt. I’ve always been protective of my sister, tried to be a good example for her, and tried to be there when she needed me. I hate that I’ve turned into someone she feels like she doesn’t recognize.
“I didn’t hurt anyone, Michaela. I wasn’t the one beating the shit out of the kid. But I was the one who took the kid to the damn hospital while the others just stood there.”
When I close my eyes, I can still see it. Him. His seemingly lifeless body in the middle of the frat house basement, with the rest of them just standing around staring down at him. The boy who had done it still clutched the handle of the paddle. I’ll spare you the details of the rest of the scene, but the sight made my stomach churn and I was starting to get a taste of dinner for a second time that night.
