“No, I’m good. I can take care of myself,” she said, tucking her chair in and rapidly blinking away the tears that were just a few seconds away from falling. “We’re not together, remember?”She watched a wave of disappointment wash over his face, but his feelings weren’t hers to worry about anymore.
So, she put on her coat, picked up the bag, and began to reach for the scarf she’d walked in wearing. But as she looked at the embroiderednameon the scarf, she realized that while it fit perfectly, kept her warm, and smelled like home, the scarf wasn’t hers to keep. And neither was Drew.
39Drew
DAY EIGHT OF THE 2026 OLYMPICS
Ari could probably come up with a whole list of reasons why Drew wasn’t boyfriend material. He smoothed things over instead of dealing with uncomfortable conversations, allowed things to pile up instead of handling them right away, and waited for things to unfold instead of chasing after what he wanted. But even though he knew he couldn’t be the perfect boyfriend she needed, he wanted to find Ari and tell her that the only thing he really regretted about New Year’s was playing along with the wholethis could never work outthing in the first place. Because even though the part of him that doubted himself thought it was true, the braver, more important parts of him wanted to believe otherwise—wanted to believe that the way they talked, kissed, and looked into each other’s eyes when no one else was around meant that there was something there worth trying for.
Drew wanted to tell her how he really felt and try to convince her to stay. But the determination with which she left therestaurant made it clear that this was where things ended. Staying apart was probably for the best. Their situation had parameters, and because of his mistakes, it had reached an early expiration date. So, he stared at the restaurant exit until his family dragged him back to reality.
“Andrew, sit down,” his grandma said softly, reminding him that he was standing in the middle of the restaurant, frozen in the state Ari had left him. So, he sat down, tucked his chair in, and dipped a sad, not-so-toasty piece of bread into the fondue while trying to ignore his sister’s glare and his grandparents’ concern. After a few moments of silence, his grandpa cleared his throat and spoke up.
“If you like her, you should tell her, kid,” he said softly, taking a sip of his Old-Fashioned.
“Wait a minute, is no one going to address the elephant in the room?” Thandie said, refusing to let them glaze over the facts of the situation. “Drew is dating—sorry, is fake-dating, sorrywasfake-dating—Arikoishe Shumba. The girl who almost ruined my career. Can we address that first?”
“I didn’t know that when I met her,” he said, though he knew it wasn’t a good enough answer. If anything, the admission made things even worse.
“So, you’re saying that in all these years of talking about the defining moment of my adult life, you haven’t been listening to anything I’ve said?” asked Thandie, her annoyance turning to hurt. Thandie stared at him long and hard before telling him exactly how she felt.
“Do you know what, Drew? I’m sick of your shit.”
“Thandie,” warned their grandpa, shaking his head as he cut himself a forkful of schnitzel. The poor guy was just trying to have dinner.
“Why are we acting like my language is a bigger issue than the fact that Drew’s been in self-destruct mode for months?”
“What are you trying to say?” Drew asked, confused by the shift in the conversation. He thought she was annoyed about Ari, but now it just seemed like she was mad at him.
“That you’ve become such aquitter. You used to be this person I looked up to, but you’ve spent the past year getting in your own way, skipping out on all of your commitments, and self-sabotaging everything you care about,” she said. Drew felt like she’d just slapped him.
When Thandie wanted to hurt someone’s feelings, you could hear it in her tone. But as she spoke to Drew at the dining room table, she was calm and to the point. It made her words sting even more.
“You’re smart and talented and could make something of your life, but every time something is about to get good, you do everything in your power to stop it from working out,” she said plainly.
“No, I don’t.”
But Drew knew she had hit on something true. Thandie spooned some Älplermagronen onto her plate, ate a bite, and then ran through her brother’s self-sabotage highlights reel.
“The degree? The minute you realized you weren’t going to be at the top of the class, you dropped out. Living in California? You didn’t have the grit to stick it out, but I’m sure you just convinced yourself you were leaving because Grandma’s sick.”
Drew froze. His grandma’s face crumpled, and his grandpa reached out for her hand. The mood in the room fell to a new low as the illness took the seat at the table that Ari had left behind.
“You know?” Drew asked, in shock.
“Of course I know,” Thandie said. There was a mixture of sadness and hurt in her eyes.
“Oh, sweetheart, you weren’t supposed to find out yet,” their grandma said, her eyes tearing up.
“How long have you known?” their grandpa asked, his expression troubled.
“Since the summer,” Thandie said, looking down at the table. His sister had always been good at hiding her emotions, but Drew couldn’t believe she’d been able to go this long without talking to him about it. If she’d known since the summer and he’d only found out in November, she’d successfully carried it alone for almost half a year without showing any noticeable trace of distress. Meanwhile, he’d uprooted his life and embarked on a three-month crash-out.
“How did you find out?” Drew asked, leaning forward so he could study his sister’s face and figure out if she was actually okay.
“I noticed grandma was acting off, so I… read through her emails,” she admitted with a grimace as she used her fork to move food around her plate. She always fidgeted when she was worried.
“Thandie! That’s an invasion of privacy,” their grandma scolded.
