"Who..." James hissed, glancing around again.
The person on the other line picked up before Evan could respond. "Evan, darling! So nice to hear from you!"
The sound of Adriana's voice made James relax a little, though he still glanced side to side to make sure that they weren't being listened in on.
"Hey, mom," Evan said easily. He pushed his foot more firmly against James', as if warning him not to flee, and James couldn't stop himself from narrowing his eyes a little as he folded his arms across his chest. "You have a minute to talk? I had a question for you."
"Of course! I always have time for my children, darling. How are things? How is James? You still need to bring that new roommate of yours around to meet us, sweetie, it's almost like you've been hiding her..."
"Mom," Evan interrupted gently. Her words cut off with a little giggle, and Evan continued, looking at James as he said, "You remember the discussion we were having the last time I was over, about the trust for James?"
"Of course," Adriana said promptly. James reared back a little in surprise, the words news to him. They...had talked about this? About him?
All this time...all these years, James had thought that Evan's offer was an independent reach. Something he did because he pitied James and his shitty relationship with his father. It was one of the many reasons that James had declined him so many times; he didn't want to be a burden to any one person in that way.
"James asked me if the offer was still on the table. I told him yes, of course, but I thought that he would want to hear it from you." Evan prodded the phone towards James before he could protest or walk away, the feeling of being on the spot suddenly weighing heavy in his chest.
He didn't say anything, the phone sitting in his hand like a grenade for a second before Adriana prompted gently, "James, are you there sweetie?"
James cleared his throat, but his voice still cracked a little when he spoke. "Yeah, hi, Adriana. Sorry, I didn't know thatEvan was going to call you when I brought this up." Shame made his face hot, and he wanted to flee, wanted to run.
"Do you need help, sweetheart?" Adriana's gentle voice made him feel, if possible, even worse, and James' throat swelled with the unwelcome beginnings of tears. He opened his mouth, but no words came out, and after a moment Evan took the phone back from him.
"Yeah, mom, he does," Evan said softly. "We can do it, right?"
Adriana didn't hesitate. "Get me his social and I'll have the trust set up within the hour. Anything we can do to help you, James. We love you."
The words made tears prick at the corner of James' eyes, and Evan nodded. "I'll take care of it, mom. Gotta go, I'll call you later, okay?"
"Okay, I love you too!"
Evan hung up on Adriana before James could manage any words to express the warring gratitude and grief in his chest. The easy acceptance that Adriana had offered, no hesitation in the face of him needing help in such a fundamental, humiliating way...
"How do I repay this?" he finally whispered, his voice choked.
Evan shook his head, reaching out and linking their fingers together again in a steadying hold. "There's nothing to repay," he said. His voice was quiet but steady, after a moment, James nodded a slow, shaky nod.
"Okay."
Chapter ten
Evan
There was a new commotion on campus a few days later, and Evan didn't like it. More whispers than usual, even for these children of high-society assholes who thrived off gossip and slander. More glances his way, though Evan was able to brush that off with relative ease.
It wasn't until he followed the instinctual tug low in his belly across campus, drawing him to the library where he saw a large crowd gathered around the bulletin board that posted campus updates for anyone who didn't check their email regularly. There, he found Camelia standing with her friend, Aria, near the edge of the crowd.
Aria's expression was uncharacteristically grim, and her arm was looped through Camelia's lax one as she leaned close, muttering something in Camelia's ear. The other times that Evan had seen the girl, she'd been the epitome of energy and human sunshine. A bubble of positivity that was only emphasized by thebright colors that she chose to wore and the jewelry that gleamed obviously against her dark brown skin.
It was Camelia's face that made Evan's eyes narrow, though, his instincts roaring to life. She was pale, a light sheen of sweat on her forehead as she gazed past the heads of the crowd in front of them. She looked like she was about to fucking collapse, the minute tremor in her knees enough to make Evan quickly step up next to her and wrap his arm tightly around her waist.
"What's going on?" He turned his attention the direction that they were both looking as he asked, narrowing his eyes as a few students walked away from the message board, whispering to themselves. They looked at him briefly, then at Camelia for a beat longer, their eyes lingering before they walked away. Camelia's body was stiff under Evan's touch, and the moment that his eyes focused on the heading of the new notice, Evan knew why.
List of Currently Enrolled Alphas and Omegas by Ridgeview Academy Class
Evan's stomach dropped out from underneath him, and he didn't need to take a closer look to know that both his and James' names would be listed under the Alpha senior's list. It was common knowledge, their status, though it had never truly affected their lives in any meaningful way.
The Omega list, though...
