Page 67 of The Young & the Sinner

Olivia

I survivedthe first day of school somewhat intact.

Lorenzo’s ghost followed me around, even though there was no way he could be at the school. He was in my head, and it’s hard to run away from your thoughts. Luckily, the university was fairly big, and I didn’t know a lot of people.

By the time I got off the bus and began my short walk home, I was physically and mentally drained.

I found Max’s car in the driveway. I made my way to the front door and found him sitting on the recliner in the family room, reading a book.

He looked up when I entered. “Hey, kiddo. How was school?”

I shrugged. “It was alright.”

“Just alright?’ I nodded. Max paused, his eyes taking me in. “Are you okay? I know it can be tough going back to the school especially with everything that happened with Lorenzo—”

I cut him off before he could say anything more. “It’s not that. I’m really okay going to school, despite everything that happened. Really. I just didn’t realize how overwhelming being on a college campus can be.”

Max nodded, and I pretended not to notice how relieved he was that I still wasn’t hung up on all that happened over the summer. “Yes, it can be a little daunting to take in all the changes. But I promise you, those changes are good. You’ll be just fine.”

Again, I shrugged. “I don’t really know what I want to study.”

“That’s okay. Not everyone knows right off the bat what they want to do for the rest of their lives. You still have time.”

“But what if I run out of time and I still don’t know?”

“I don’t think that will be the case, but if it does happen, we can sit down and talk about it. You can even take some time off of college to look for the answer.”

“You didn’t need to do that,” I said, and that was true. Max knew he wanted to major in finance since day one. He had always been exceptional when it came to numbers. And Lizzie knew what she wanted to do. She had known since she was thirteen and read Death of a Salesman for the first time.

He closed the book and stood. “We all move at our own pace. And that’s okay. Now, I don’t want you to worry so much about this. Everything will work out, I promise.”

“Okay.”

He smiled. “Do you want to know why I’m home so early?”

I frowned, only now realizing that this was an unusual time for Max to be home. He had been such a constant presence at home as of late, I didn’t even think anything of it. But four o’clock was a little early for him, especially on a Monday, his busiest workday. “Yeah, why are you home?”

“Come on. I got a surprise for you.”

“A surprise? Ooh, I love surprises. What is it?”

Max laughed. “If I tell you, it wouldn’t be surprise, would it?”

I pouted and Max laughed harder. “But now I’m impatient.”

He tapped my nose. “Come now. We have to drive there.”

“Oh, okay.” I was literally buzzing with anticipation. Once we were settled in his car, I turned to him. “Are we taking a trip? A beach vacation?”

Max shook his head, smiling indulgently at me before he pulled out of the driveway. “I don’t think now would be a good time for a vacation, do you? You just started school.”

“I know. That’s what makes it a surprise. Wait, is it a puppy?”

“Do you want a puppy?”

“Why, can I have one?” That would be something. I always wanted a pet growing up. But with my mom’s working hours, a pet just wasn’t ideal. But now… that seemed like a great idea.

“No, the surprise isn’t a puppy. And why don’t we table that thought for another time?”

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