Page 5 of The Scars We Heal

That Flynn boy will probably be in jail by the time he turns eighteen.

My drink sloshed around in my cup as Colter elbowed me, pointing toward the hallway. “There she is.”

My eyes snapped up as Caitlin walked straight toward us.

“You guys made it!” She had a rosy flush to her cheeks, and she flashed a beaming smile before pulling both of us into tight hugs, catching me off guard. “Are you having fun so far?”

“We just got here, but yeah, it’s cool.” Colter shrugged, like he was trying to seem nonchalant and not like a new freshman on campus.

“What do you think of it here so far?” She glanced over at me.

“Who, me?” I pointed to myself.

Caitlin laughed, the sound tickling my eardrums in the best way. “Yeah, silly. Do you like it here? Is it what you expected, or better?”

“I do. Like it here, that is. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but yeah, it’s good. I didn’t walk into the wrong room on the first day of classes, so I’ll consider that a win.”

Some of my peers weren’t so lucky and didn’t realize they sat in the wrong class until it was too late, subjected to the “walk of shame” and having to a hasty retreat once the professor started talking about the syllabus.

A laugh slipped from my lips, but I wasn’t alone, because Caitlin joined in.

“Well, that’s good. Hopefully Colter hasn’t been a horrible roommate.” She reached over to ruffle the hair on top of Colter’s head.

He swatted her hand away in protest with a, “Hey!”

I shook my head, swallowing my laughter. “He’s all right, I guess,” I joked, earning myself an elbow to the ribs.

“Colter, hey!” an unfamiliar voice, belonging to a guy with auburn hair around our age, called from the doorway to the kitchen.

“Hey, Zach!” Colter pushed off the counter, pulling the guy into a big bear hug. They exchanged pleasantries, and eventually Colter told me that they were going to catch up but he’d be right back.

I waved him off, not worried about being abandoned at this party. Besides, I still had Caitlin for company.

“Did you do any of the welcome week stuff when classes started?” she asked as she poured the contents of some bottle with a pink label into her cup.

“We walked around the club and involvement fair a bit,” I replied before moving so I was leaning against the countertop. My shoulder brushed hers, but she didn’t move away.

“I love the club fair. You wouldn’t believe the crazy things people come up with.”

“Oh, believe me, I know now. I was half tempted to sign up for the sandwich club.” A huff of laughter tore its way out of me. “That seemed like it might be right up my alley. Are you part of any?”

She nodded. “I’m not in as many as I was my freshman year, but I’m in the country dance club, and I volunteer with the campus food pantry a lot.”

“Country dancing, eh?” I winked. “You’ll have to teach me some new moves.” Normally, I wouldn’t flirt so openly with a girl, but there was something about Caitlin that pulled me in, made me comfortable to be myself around her.

“You know how to dance?”

“I grew up in a small town in Montana, Caitlin,” I pointed out. “Of course, I know how to dance.”

“Cait,” she blurted.

One eyebrow raised, I waited for her to continue.

“You can call me that. My friends…they all call me Cait. But not Caity. I hate being called that.”

I hummed in understanding. “Noted.”

“What are you studying?”