Page 7 of Off Limits

“I postponed so that I could help my mom at the store they opened together. Chelsea was sweet enough to stay with me.” I turn to her with a tight smile while my fingers tap against my paper cup.That’s when I get ‘the look.’ The one most people give me. The one full of pity. I’ve grown so used to ‘the look’ it hardly fazes me anymore.

After Dad died, ‘the look’ always made me want to shrink in on myself. There were only a few people who I didn’t receive it from. Lochlyn was the main one, as his expressions never changed. Even Chelsea had it for a long while. I found that only other people who had experienced loss were able to talk to me without pity.

As with most, the pity fades to a gentle smile, a hushedI’m so sorryand a quick change of subject to take the attention off of me.

“What are your plans after WCC?” Rachel flips her straight brown hair over her shoulder. It’s a few shades lighter than mine, but I’ve always been jealous of girls with naturally sleek straight hair. She could straighten it, but mine never came out that shiny.

“Cornell. For both of us. How about you two?” I answer without pause. It’s just that easy for me. It’s barely even something I have to think about.

“Cornell? Wow, you must both be pretty smart.” Rachel seems truly awestruck.

Chelsea and I look at each other and shrug. For us, it’s commonplace. Cornell holds a major role in both of our households.

“She definitely is,” Chelsea says as she cocks her thumb at me. “Me? Not so much.”

“Oh, come on, Chels, you got in, you’re smart.”

“Yeah, by the skin of my teeth.” Although Chelsea would never admit it, I know it’s a bit of a sore spot for her.

“I just study more than she does,” I say as I motion my hand toward her, looking back at Rachel and Eve.

“It’s justeasierfor you. I swear she’s just like my brother. He definitely got the brains in the family.”

“He alsostudies. A lot.” When I notice the furrowed brow as Rachel and Eve look at each other, I realize they don’t know much about us, so I rush to explain. “Chelsea has an older brother, Lochlyn. We’ve all been friends for fifteen years. Though I’m much closer to Chelsea.”

Their eyes widen. “Your brother is Lochlyn Reynolds? Like,theLochlyn Reynolds?”

Chelsea just purses her lips and nods. “Yup. So what brings you two to WCC?” She’s always been good at dodging questions about Lochlyn. She loves him, but she doesn’t love to talk about him. Well, to anybody else but me. With me, I never hear the end of it, but it’s usually complaining, not praising.

“Oh well, my grades were shit. I didn’t get in anywhere else.” Rachel flicks her hand like it’s nothing, but her face says otherwise; the disappointment that settles over her features impossible to miss.

“Couldn’t afford anything else and don’t really know what I want to do after school. I didn’t want to get myself more in debt than I needed to while I figured things out.” Eve seems a little smarter, or at the very least, more self-aware. It’s possible she had the grades, just not the money.

I shrug while I fiddle with my coffee cup. “Not necessarily a bad plan. No point in putting yourself in debt to leave with a degree you may not use.”

“Exactly.” Rachel and Chelsea appear to have started their own conversation beside us. “So, what made you settle on Cornell? Kind of high sights, no?”

“I’m lucky that my parents were never stern about me going to college. It was expected I go, but they were okay with wherever I chose and whatever I wanted to major in. Cornell has always beenmydream. My dad went there.”

“That’s a nice way to honor him.”

“Yeah, I’m not sure how he’d feel about me postponing it, but…here I am.” It’s always been one of my biggest worries. What would he think of me? Of me risking my future and dreams of Cornell.

“I’m sorry if this is inconsiderate, but what made you decide to stay? Was it hard?”

My brows shoot up and I start playing with the lip of my coffee lid. “My parents own a household supply shop named Sterling's, in town. They opened it years ago. It had been their dream or something, I don’t know. But my mom felt a little…overwhelmed. To say the least. So I stayed behind to help her as the dust settles and she gets used to running it alone. Staying was the hardest decision of my life.”

“That’s really noble of you. I don’t know, well, anybody who would do that for their family. It’s really nice of Chelsea to stay with you.” Her green eyes dash to my right to see if Chelsea turned her attention toward her name.

“Chelsea’s my best friend. She’s really more like my sister, always been there for me. You know how sometimes in middle school and high school, new cliques form and you go different ways? That never happened with Chelsea. She always fell into the popular crowd and I, well, I didn’t. But Chelsea never let me feel left out or behind for that matter. She made sure I was invited to the events, and if I wasn’t, she’d avoid too, if possible.” A slight shift in my seat and an adjustment of my shoulders allow me a second to gather my thoughts.

“I never asked her to stay behind with me. She did it to be supportive and believed we’re going through life together. It’s just that simple.”

“You’re really lucky to have a friend like that.” Eve’s voice is quiet as she runs a hand through her strawberry-blonde hair.

“I am. So, no thoughts on what you want to be when you finish school?” After the quick subject change to take the attention off myself, I take a sip of my hazelnut coffee, rendering myself incapable of speaking, so Eve has to.

I may be willing to talk about Dad’s passing and my life choices, but that doesn’t mean I want tocontinueto do so.

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