Page 27 of Autumn on My Mind

My smile dies as I blink in surprise, but Dominic doesn’t elaborate. He just ducks his head, runs one hand over his hair, and takes a deep breath. Then, sitting up straighter and adopting a more businesslike air, he asks, “Did you bring your homework?”

I settle myself in the wooden chair across from him, trying to convince my cheeks to stop burning.

Unfortunately, I don’t think it works that way.

“I didn’t only bring homework,” I say. “I brought two textbooks, my laptop, my three-subject notebook, and my file folder.”

“A prepared woman.”

“A desperate woman,” I correct. “Who has a partial scholarship to maintain.”

His smile grows a bit. “Scholarship, huh?”

“Partial scholarship, GPA-dependent.”

“All right, desperate woman,” he says. “Make yourself comfortable.” He gestures to the chair I’m sitting in. “If you can, that is.”

He’s not wrong. I’m half convinced these seats are made to be uncomfortable so that people don’t fall asleep.

I nod. “I might actually start with my American history stuff first, if that’s okay?”

“Don’t ask me,” he says, looking faintly surprised. “You can do whatever you want.”

And I can feel heat creeping further up my neck and into my cheeks at this, because he’s right. Obviously he’s right. I don’t need to ask permission.

Somehow I find myself asking anyway, all the time, about things I don’t even need permission for.

“I’ll let you know when I get to the study packet?” I say after clearing my throat.

“Sure,” he says. “I’m not going anywhere.”

I pull my hair into a quick braid—and by quick I mean messy—to keep it out of my face. Then I pull all my books and paper out of my bag. The silence is strangely comfortable as we work, broken only by distant sounds or the scratching of pencils on paper or the click of computer keys.

My keys click significantly louder than his, because Roxanne the Laptop has been my companion for more years than is recommended. She works hard, but she’s on her last legs, huffing and puffing and getting much warmer than she should. I give her encouraging pats and make sure to keep open only the programs I need at any time, but I’m not sure it helps.

When I feel the call of nature not long after we settle, I save everything and close the laptop so I can use the restroom. Just to give Roxanne a bit of a break—she’s earned it.

But when I return, she’s open again, a Word document pulled up. I blink at it, confused, and then sit down, peering closer.

There are only four words typed on that blank page: YOU CAN DO IT!

Judging by Dominic’s subtle smile when I look up at him, it’s his doing. Something warm blossoms in my chest as my lips twitch into their own smile. I shake my head, minimize the document, and then get back to work.

We’ve been sitting in the quiet for maybe fifteen minutes when Dominic’s phone vibrates, a low buzz against the tabletop. He picks it up, looking tired as he sees the screen, and then answers. Even though we’re not in the quiet section of the library, there’s little enough noise that he keeps his voice low.

“Hey,” he says.

I can’t hear the answering words coming down the line, and it’s none of my business anyway, but it’s a deep male voice—his dad, maybe.

“Yeah,” Dom says. “I’m at the library.” He glances up and gives me a brief smile, mouthing Sorry.

I wave his apology away and turn my eyes back to the notebook in front of me. Even though I’m no longer looking directly at him, however, I can still see the way he slumps back in his chair, a long sigh issuing from his lips.

“It’s going fine,” he says, and after a quick pause, he goes on, “Yes.” His words are more insistent now. “It really is.”

My hand finds my necklace absently—a delicate feather charm on a chain my dad gave me when I turned sixteen—and my history notes swim blindly before my eyes as I listen to the tired note that rises in Dom’s voice when he speaks again. “I know. I will,” he says. And then, a second later, “Yeah. Okay. Bye.”

Only when he sets the phone back down on the table do I look back up at him. His eyes shutter closed for the tiniest second, but then he squares his shoulders and sit back up.