"That I should take my time. That the room is mine for the rest of the semester if I want it." I laugh, but there's no humor in it. "He was so calm about it. So detached. Like it doesn't matter to him one way or the other."
"Maybe he's trying to be nice."
"Or maybe he genuinely doesn't care." I throw the shirt in the bag. "Which is what I wanted, right? Clean break. Move on.Except now that he's actually doing it, I feel like a husk of a human. I’m hollow."
Keira is quiet for a moment. "You miss him."
"Of course I miss him. But that doesn't change anything." I grab my textbooks from the desk and stack them in a box. "I made my choice. I left. I don't get to feel sorry for myself now."
"Sutton—"
"I'm fine," I cut her off. "Really. It's just awkward right now. Once I find a new place, everything will go back to normal."
"What if you can't find a new place? You know how tough it is to get housing here, especially since the first semester is already starting.”
I know that. I know I’m in the hockey house until I graduate. I’ve accepted that fact.
“I’ll be fine. I always am. I’m like a cat; I always land on my feet.”
But even as I say it, I'm not sure I believe it.
“Five minutes!” A man’s voice echoes down the hall.
“This is such a disaster,” I mutter.
“Have you talked to your dad?”
“I texted and told him I was fine. He didn’t ask questions.”
“Your dad is so cool. I wish my dad were like him. If I call my dad, he asks how much I need.”
“I hope you’re not trying to get your poor homeless friend to feel sorry for you because you are stupid rich.”
She bursts into laughter. “Right. Sorry.”
We drag four stuffed bags downstairs and into my car. It’s sad. But I tell myself there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I’m heading in the right direction. I just have to keep going.
I get home—home. The hockey house is home again. Pierce sees me through the window and comes outside to help me drag my stuff upstairs.
“Thank you,” I tell him. “Not just for the help carrying my shit back in.”
“Seems kind of silly it ever got dragged out, right?”
“I’m sorry I left without talking to you guys. I just wanted to make a clean break.”
Pierce leans against my doorframe while I shove the last bag into the corner. His arms are crossed, but he’s got that big brother expression.
"Can I ask you something?" he says.
I turn to face him. "Sure."
"Was it us? Did we do something that made you want to leave?"
The question catches me off guard. I can see the genuine worry in his eyes, and it makes me feel like a complete jerk. Pierce has always been like this—the steady one, the protector. He's been nothing but kind to me since the day I moved in.
"God, no." I sit on the edge of the bed. "Pierce, you guys were great. You are great. This had nothing to do with you, Ashton, Crew, or Holden. I loved hanging out here with you guys. You guys never made me feel unwelcome or in the way. You took me in. Made me feel like one of you."
"Then what was it?"
