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It’s going to look weird if I just walk right past him. I veer away from the stairs and stalk straight to the fridge like it was where I meant to go. “Hey.”
“Where you been?” he asks around a full mouth of food. “You missed the first day of class.”
“I had some shit to take care of out of town.”
He raises a curious eyebrow. “What shit?”
“Meeting up with my favorite bang buddy. Your mom says hi, by the way.”
“Oh, fuck off.” He looks like he wants to throw something at me, but the only thing within reach is food. Cole doesn’t waste food. “My parents are very happy together.”
“Even more now that I put that permanent smile on your mom’s face.”
He throws a fork at me that I easily dodge. “You’d be lucky to get within five feet of her, Van Koch.”
“More like nine inches, but I appreciate the compliment.”
“Gross, dude.” Cole meditatively chews as he studies me. “You’ve been gone since last week. What else were you doing?”
I bury my head in the refrigerator even though I’m not hungry, wracking my brain for an explanation that will get him off my back while still sounding believable. “Just some stuff with my family. You know how it is. When daddy calls you on the carpet, it’s always better to just take your punishment and move on. Apparently, my credit card bill required an in-person explanation.”
“That’s always how things go. Dad is usually too busy with politicking to pay attention, but his accountant sure loves to chafe my ass sometimes.”
The fridge is as empty as I’ve ever seen it, but I still grab an apple out of the crisper before closing the door. “Did I miss anything good?”
“Nah. Back to school week is always deader than a nun’s funeral. We got a little worried when you missed the first day of class, though. I called you a few times, but it went straight to voicemail.”
“I left my charger here and my dad only uses Android.” I take a bite of the apple and turn away so he won’t see the lie on my face. “Then I missed my flight back and had to spend like half a day in the airport.”
“Sounds like the trip pretty much sucked all around.”
“That is an understatement.” I’m itching to get upstairs, but I need to keep this looking natural. Under normal circumstances, I’d sit here and shoot the shit while Cole systematically eats everything in the fridge. “How did everything go here?”
“Fine. Nolan switched out of his morning class because he read some article about how lack of adequate sleep can give you wrinkles. Vaughn gets to drive a golf cart around campus because he’s still hobbled. Lucky asshole.”
“Vaughn is back?” I ask, trying to keep my voice even. After he abruptly left halfway through winter break, I wasn’t convinced he’d return for classes. He doesn’t tell me much these days, so I shouldn’t be surprised.
“One of his brothers drove him back last night. Baron, I think.”
A trickle of unease moves through me. “Baron still around?”
“Don’t think so.” Cole opens his yogurt and licks the metal top. “He said something about wanting to see Brady, but I think he left town this morning. You probably just missed him.”
“What a shame.”
“I’m not even sure why Brady is still hanging around. At this point, I just want to get the Initiation over with. I’m not even having fun anymore.”
The fucking Initiation. I’ve been doing my best not to think about that too much, except in the context of Brady going back where he came from.
It doesn’t seem to matter that Brady is a first-year broker at one of the most cutthroat firms in New York, meaning he directly competes with guys who work an average of seventy hours a week. If the alumni told him to take a leave of absence and go hang out at his alma mater for a few weeks, the only thing he’d ask is how soon they wanted him to leave.
All of us know what we’re signing up for by going through the Initiation. The perks of privilege come along with a debt that we’ll spend the rest of our lives paying. Havoc House is the only reason Brady got that job in the first place. He’ll walk away from it completely if that’s what the alumni tell him to do.
Cole glances at the fridge. “You want something to eat?”
“Like the penne you just inhaled?”
“There’s another tray in the fridge.”
