“Bullshit,” he snaps, cutting me off.
“Aidan!” I sputter, and for the first time, he meets my gaze. His usually cool blue eyes are hot with anger and rife with pain.
“My brother doesn’t give a fuck about me, my mother, or anyone else in this town.”
“I-I’m sure it seems that way right now, but—”
He cuts me off again with a shake of his head. “Are you telling me he hasn’t been avoiding you, too? That he hasn’t written you off the way he has the rest of us?” he demands.
I drop my eyes to the sand, shaking my head sadly.
“Fucking dick,” Ava says under her breath, and I can’t disagree. Still, I feel like I have to try to help. To … say something. Despite how he’s treated me, I hate the thought of Riley’s relationship with his brother suffering too. It’s not right.
My nose stings and my eyes water with unshed tears. I draw in a steadying breath before continuing, “Look, I don’t disagree that his behavior has been unusual, and … okay, plain awful. He’s … hurt me,” I struggle to say, and hate how my voice wavers. “And clearly, he’s hurt you and your mother, too. But the good news is, school’s almost over, and you guys will have the whole summer to work things out.”
I can’t deny I’ve been clinging to the idea myself. College exams should be wrapping up any day now. Soon, Riley will be home, and maybe, once he’s back …
But the look Aidan is giving me now is … well, I’m not quite sure what it is. I feel exposed. Like he can read my mind, see my hope, and—
“That’s just it,” Ava says softly, interrupting my thoughts. “Riley called them last night. He’s not coming back.”
My head snaps back as though I’ve been slapped, and I stumble a step away.
No, that can’t be true.
But then … am I that surprised?
Yes! Yes, I am. I thought—
I mean … I really thought—
All I can do is shake my head, over and over again. In shock. In disbelief.
My breaths are coming in fast and sharp, my chest struggling to expand.
He’s not coming home.
It reallyisthe end.
With that thought, the final thread of hope I’d been clinging to snaps and is carried away into the swirling wind. My cheeks are wet, and it takes me a moment to realize the suddenly near-black sky has just opened up. Fat, cold raindrops splatter against my face, and my hair is instantlysoaked.
It’s not tears, I tell myself ridiculously, though I know those will be along shortly.
“I’m sorry,” Ava murmurs, and I’m reminded they’re still here. The little ethereal-looking blonde and the sad, angry boy, both witness to the breaking of my heart for the hundredth and final time. She offers me a sympathetic smile, all her earlier bravado having disappeared.
I reach up to wipe the rain from my cheeks, but my efforts are futile. It’s coming down harder and faster now, hitting the sand around us with heavy muffled thuds. A quick glance at the sky again tells me we need to get the hell out of here.Now. I turn back to tell them both so, to urge them to get home, to take shelter. And that’s when I recognize the looks they’re both giving me now.
Pity.
6
Steph
Then
“Excuseme.I’mlookingfor Riley Walker’s room?”
The man at the security desk for the Bransome Hall dorms glances up at me distractedly. He has a receding hairline and a decidedly pronounced paunch.
