Chapter 2
Fly? I almost smiled coldly.
Yeah, actually. That’s exactly what I’m gonna do.
I took a deep breath to keep my voice steady:
“I mean I’ll handle it myself. Just take care of your Sophia.”
Hearing that I seemed to give in, Aaron’s tone finally shifted – now he sounded satisfied, almost smug.
“There’s my good girl. Stop being silly.”
“So get on finding that ticket, yeah? Standing room isn’t gonna kill you – quit being such a drama queen.”
“I gotta go get Sophia some food. She cried all night, her eyes are totally swollen.”
“Okay.”
I didn’t want to say another word.
“Alright then, I’m hanging up. Talk later.”
He rushed through the goodbye and ended the call.
I calmly started packing my stuff for the Thanksgiving break.
I’d just zipped up my small suitcase when my phone started buzzing again.
Aaron. Again.
I raised an eyebrow and answered without saying anything.
“Rachel.”
His voice sounded way more relaxed than before.
“Whatcha doing? Any luck with tickets yet?”
“Haven’t checked,” I said curtly.
He paused – clearly my coldness caught him off guard.
But he bounced back quickly and kept talking: “Oh… no big deal, plenty of time. So, um… Sophia woke up for a bit and when she heard about your ticket getting canceled, she felt really terrible about it. She wants to bring you some gift from home to say thanks…”
1 stayed silent, waiting for the real agenda.
There was no way Sophia was being that thoughtful.
Sure enough, Aaron switched gears.
Werwally am Rachel there’s one more thing…”
You know how crazy the bbrary gets after breaks all the good study spots get taken immediately. And since you’ll porady you know, get home and not have much going on…”
He was stumbling over his words: “Maybe… could you come back a couple days early and save some seats for Sophia and me? were planning to study together when we get back…”
I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly
Beginning of freshman year, td shown up at Aaron’s dorm with a fresh notebook and his favorite coffee.
“I heard the window seats on the library’s top floor have this amazing view of campus especially pretty in fall.”
rd looked up at him with bright, hopeful eyes: “Want to go claim a spot tomorrow and study together?”
Aaron had frowned and pushed away the coffee I’d brought him: “Come on, Rachel. The library’s so far it’s like a twenty minute walk. I’d rather just study in my dorm.”
And now he wanted me the person whose ticket they’d stolen, who might have to stand for eight hours on a crowded train- to come back to campus early and save library seats for him and Sophia?
My silence seemed to make Aaron think I was hesitating or maybe agreeing.
“See, this way you won’t be bored sitting at home doing nothing, and you’re helping us out total win-win, right?”
“Sophia’s gonna be so grateful when she finds out. If she’s in a better headspace, she’ll totally ace her next exams.”
I swallowed down the wave of nausea rising in my throat.
If I blew up at him now, I’d miss out on whatever amazing performance they had lined up next.
I deliberately lowered my voice: “…Fine. Got it. You guys… have fun.”
Hearing me cave again. Aaron’s tone turned completely cheerful, like he’d just solved some major inconvenience.
“Now that’s more like it! Rachel, you’re seriously the best – so understanding.”
“Alright, so we’re all set! I’m counting on you for those seats. Try to get the ones by the windows with good airflow – Sophia likes those.”
“When I get back, I’ll take you to that restaurant you’ve been wanting to try.”
He even had the nerve to give me specific seating requirements.
“Mm.” I made a noncommittal sound.
“Sweet, gotta go – Sophia’s calling me over for something.”
He couldn’t hang up fast enough.
