Page 142 of Show Me

“Thank you.” Mr. Cole doesn’t give out compliments, so his praise makes my chest tighten.

He clears his throat like that’s enough and heads back to his desk.

I sit down, fingers hovering over the keyboard. School. A career. Things I can choose. Things I can build without waiting for someone else to decide if they’re staying or going.

Chapter Seventy-Five

Xavier

The house is warm when I step inside. Something savory lingers in the air. The television hums in the background. Squirt lifts his head from his bed, then decides I'm not interesting enough to stay awake for.

Ruby barely looks up. She's curled into the corner of the couch, papers spread around her. Notes. Printouts. Highlighted sections. A pencil tucked behind one ear.

I shut the door behind me. She glances up then. “You're early.”

“Wrapped the site before dark.”

“That's good.” Her attention drops right back to the paperwork.

That's it. No smile. No smart comment. No teasing. Nothing.

I shrug out of my jacket and hang it by the door. “What're you working on?”

“Paperwork.”

I move closer. Close enough to see the pages. Course descriptions. Program requirements. Deadlines. Not paperwork. Plans.

My hand closes around one of the sheets before I think better of it. Columbia. Bachelor's in Veterinary Technology. Two hours away. My stomach drops. “You applying for a bachelor's program?”

“Yeah.”

I look down at the page again. “You decided against the associate's degree?”

“I'm leaning toward the Bachelor's.” Matter-of-fact. Already decided.

I set the paper down. “You didn't tell me.”

She shrugs. “Didn't seem like something I needed to run by anyone.”

The words are like a punch in the gut. I look back at the paperwork. Back at the school. Two hours away. The knot in my stomach tightens. “When were you planning on telling me you were moving?”

Her head snaps up. “What?”

“The school.”

Understanding flashes across her face. Then disbelief. “Xavier.”

“What?”

“It's online.”

“It's what?”

“The program.” She points to the page. “It's online.”

The fight drains out of me so fast it leaves me dizzy. “You're not moving?”

Her brows lift. “No.” The answer comes slowly. Like she can't believe we're having this conversation. “I wasn't planning to move.”