The Perfect First (Fulton U, #1)(29)

But I needed to make sure she was okay. If he’d hurt her, I’d break his nose. I snatched the phone up off my desk and tapped on her name, next to the picture I’d covertly snapped the last time I’d seen her. She’d had on a bright red hat, which somehow clashed with everything else she wore. Two herringbone braids stuck out from under the hat and lay over her shoulders.

My finger hovered over the green button on my screen.





11





Seph





“If this attitude is what I get for allowing you to go to Philadelphia, why don’t I see if the committee would accept you after this semester is over rather than in the spring?”

Bile rose in my throat. “No, you’re right, Dad. I’m sorry.”

His sound of displeasure brought back memories of the thumbprints bruised into the base of my neck. I rubbed my hand across my skin. They were gone now, hadn’t been there for years, but sometimes those old memories washed back over me and made it hard to breathe.

“I’ll decide when you’re back here over Thanksgiving.”

Tears welled in my eyes. Arguing would only cement the idea in his head. I let out a breath to keep the shakiness from my voice. “I’ll see you then.” Ending the call, I sat on my bed, staring down at my phone.

There was a gentle knock on my door. Before I could say anything, it swung open.

“Persephone, Dan is coming over and we’re going to watch a movie.” Her plastic smile was so big I was surprised her cheeks didn’t crack. Maybe this was her way of making amends. After my violin concerto to beat all performances, she’d been less pushy. Maybe standing up for myself in my own roundabout way had shifted things.

“Sounds great. I’m sick of looking at these proofs anyway.” I closed my books. As I stretched my arms overhead, my spine cracked. I pressed my fingers into the small of my back, giving it a good stretch. All work and no play made Seph even more boring than she already was.

Her smile dropped. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Why else would you mention watching a movie?” I stood from my chair and walked closer to her at the door.

“Because I want you to leave.”

I glanced up at the door frame for the bucket of pig’s blood. Of course that was what she wanted. Why would anyone want to be around me? Hell, Reece had almost let me drown at the pool. People either pretended I wasn’t there or wanted me gone. Unless I was Good Will Hunting it in a dusty old classroom, no one wanted me around. Maybe it made sense to just go along with my dad’s plan. It’s not like I was going to have a thriving social life anyways. That hard lump in my stomach grew and I needed some fresh air. So much for turning over a new leaf.

Slamming my lips together, I nodded. “Right, I’ll go for a walk.” I grabbed my coat off the back of my door.

“Make it a long one.” She waved and closed her door behind her.

I put on my coat and stuck my hand into the pocket. My fingers wrapped around the folded piece of paper inside. Should I call Graham? He had seemed like he’d be up for my offer.

Walking out of the apartment and outside, I opened it up and stared at the neatly printed list. Not a single one checked off. No closer to my goal.

Holding it in my hand, I stared at it again, really looked at it. It was a list of things I’d made…why? So I could feel like I had a little control over my life. A list of things that would piss off my parents, maybe make me a bit more like my Aunt Sophie. It was stupid to even try.

I couldn’t even rebel properly. How do you rebel when the person you’re rebelling against doesn’t even know you’re doing it? And who the hell made a list to rebel anyway? It was like penciling in a revolution. Rebellion was supposed to be messy, and somehow I’d managed to not only not tackle anything other than buying a stupid red hat, but also to have the most boring end to a rebellion ever. I balled it up and threw the paper into a trashcan outside the building.

I made it two steps before a hand wrapped around my arm, tightening around my elbow. Yelping, I whipped around and slammed my hand into the grabber’s head as hard as I could. His hand dropped off my arm and he cradled his face.

I spotted the bright blue sneakers with white stripes and the unmistakable head of black hair, and my hands shot up to my mouth. “Reece? Oh god, I’m so sorry. I thought you were a mugger or something.”

“Yeah, I got that.” He rubbed his hand over his cheek, the street lights catching the deep tones of his eyes as he moved his jaw from side to side. “That’s a good swing you’ve got there.”

“What are you doing here?” I looked up at the building. Was he visiting someone?

“I came looking for you.”

“Me?” I pointed my gloved fingers into the center of my chest.

“You say that like it’s a total shock.”

“After how we left things at the pool, I think it’s a warranted shock.” Don’t go back through a play-by-play again, standing in the middle of the sidewalk like a deer about to get hit by a Mac truck.

“I’m sorry. I was an asshole. It’s a habit I sometimes fall into. And you dropped this.” He held up the crumpled piece of paper—my list.

“No, I didn’t. I threw it away.”