AllFreeNovel
Share Us
All in all, most schools accept me, which you'd think would ease some of my tension—if it weren't for the letter I saved for last. Nerves ripple through me, revealing a slight tremor as I grab it.
Jeremy rests a hand on my shoulder. "Whatever happens, it's going to be fine."
"I know," I whisper, my tone unconvincing in my own ears.
Hayden lifts an eyebrow, acknowledging us for the first time in ten minutes. "What's so special about this one?"
"It's her top choice."
Hayden freezes, his hand halting midway through wiping a napkin across his lips. His eyes narrow, speaking with food still in his mouth. "I thought Princeton was."
My stomach flip-flops, so violently I miss the worry dripping from his tone, as I swipe a thumb across the letters on the envelope's front. "Columbia has a better Video Game Design program."
When he doesn't respond, I look up, finding him scarfing down his food again, without a care in the world about what lies inside this envelope. A twinge of disappointment strikes me, but it doesn't stand a chance against the sickness that overcomes me when I stare down the letter.
"Remember, whatever happens, it's meant to be."
I breathe deeply through my nose. He's right. I know he's right. There's no changing the outcome. The rest is up to fate. So, I surrender to it, and with two words, I reshape the trajectory of my future.
"I'm in!"
Mom loops her arms around my middle, hugging me tightly. "I know I've said it twenty times by now, but I'm so proud of you, sweetheart."
Emotions catch in my throat as I hug her back, but I manage to keep them in check. "Thanks, Mom," I say, my voice hardly audible over the music blaring through the hallway from the living room.
"Sorry again about the ruckus. I promise we'll be just as rowdy next week when we throw you a celebration party."
I snort. "I doubt Grandma and Grandpa and the rest of the family can outdo Jeremy and his high school friends."
"I don't knooowww, you'd be surprised," she teases with a chuckle, stepping back. "Well, I'm off to bed, sweetie. Get some rest—if you can."
"Night, Mom."
I watch her walk down our narrow hallway and disappear around a corner, before heading into the bathroom I share with Jeremy, flip on the shower, and crank my speaker to full volume.
Mom's right. It's going to be impossible to fall asleep. Not because of my brother's party, but because of the excitement flooding my veins, like a shot of dopamine straight to my cranium.
But I'll try, nonetheless.
Steam billows from the bathroom on my exit. Wrapped in a fuzzy bathrobe, with my damp hair draping behind my shoulders, I hum the beat of my last song on the short trip to my bedroom. When I shut my door, the thumping music softens, just a tad, before I twist around and—
I gasp as my heart nearly catapults from my chest.
My computer chair swivels around toward me, revealing Hayden in his usual attire. Navy chinos, shiny yacht shoes, a short-sleeved pressed polo that shows off his tan arms. He's straight off the front page of a fashion catalog, the spitting image of cocky Manhattan royalty.
Here. In my bedroom.
With shadows churning in his blue eyes.
"H-Hayden? Are you o—"
"So..." His gaze peruses across my tiny room, for perhaps the first time—and maybe the last. "You're just going to leave, then?" His words slur slightly.
"Umm..." I pick at the side of my nail, unsure of what to do with myself. "Aren't you supposed to be on a plane to—"
"Answer me, Jules." I roll my lips, like always, when he calls me by that nickname. No one ever does, and even if they did, it wouldn't sound like that. "You're going to Columbia, not Princeton?"
I shift uncomfortably, stuck by the door as water drips off my hair and splashes against my heels. Why does he sound so upset? "Yes, I am. Is that a problem?"
