Page 57 of Suck It Up


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The walk to Bellerive Park would maybe take an hour, but I’m one hundred percent certain Lola’s brothers would give me a place to crash. I can text Damian for a ride home in the morning. I’m not alone here.

Funny, it took leaving, and staying away, managing entirely on my own for a few weeks, for me to understand that I have a support network. It’s not traditional. I can’t count on parents, guardians, or authorities, but there are people who have my back.

Erica might even be back. I know she left Europe yesterday. Though even if she was, I wouldn’t bother her after fifteen-plus hours of travel, given that I have other options.

I start to stride toward the entryway, my heart racing because I can hear and feel Camden following me. He’s not running, or even rushing, just stalking me like a predator.

He could make me stay, just like he could make me do anything else. He has all the power in our dynamic, and we both know it.

I’m in view of the front door when it swings open.

My best friend squeals and starts to run into my arms. I don’t even have time to process the entirely unexpected turn of events before I’m engulfed in a bear hug.

“Oh my god!” Erica screams. “You have to come with us next year. It wasinsane. We went to Rome, and Florence, and Venice, then to Egypt, and Morocco, and Spain, and France—and then!” She giggles. “London! London, Morgan! Oh, it was so amazing. The musicals! The palaces!”

“The rain,” Chase chimes in.

He’s leaning on the door behind her.

“I’m glad you had a wonderful time.” I wave at her husband. “Hi.”

“Hey back.” He circles us, making his way to the lounge, clearly familiar with the house. “Cam. I haven’t forgiven you for abandoning us in Brighton,” I hear him say.

Erica can’t bear to be parted from him for more than a few seconds, as usual, because she takes my hand and drags me back to the beige lounge.

“Overriding appointment,” Camden tells Chase. “I’ll make it up to you, though. When are you guys heading to Massachusetts?”

“You have us for a week.”

“Are you excited to start at MIT?” I ask Erica as we sit together on the smaller one of the two low sofas in the room.

The loveseat is the perfect size for two.

She pouts, put out. “Less so after hearing you’re not coming. What the hell, Morgan? I know it’s an expense, but going to community college when you were accepted to MIT is insane.”

I sigh, purposely keeping my eyes on her, though I feel the weight of Camden’s inquisitive stare.

Inviting my friend here was genius. He’s going to get all the answers I didn’t want to share by proxy, and he’ll have more ammunition to grill me about later.

I bet he did it on purpose.

“The tuition’s almost sixty thousand per year—that’s without counting housing or living expenses. Even with financial aid and the grant I got, it’s insane. I don’t want to be in debt until retirement.”

Erica looks at Chase, before saying, “We could have helped. We said we’d help. Chase could have loaned it to you—no interest.”

“And how long would it take me to repay, what, seventy thousand per year for four years?” I wrinkle my nose. “Money affairs always sour friendships, you know that.”

I’m talking to her directly, keeping my voice low, but I might as well be shouting, as the room is silent, and all four boys are focusing on us.

Nosy bastards.

“It’s not like when we lent each other a hundred bucks and we really needed it back fast,” Erica reasons. “Chase wouldn’t even think about the money. You could keep it and he’d never bring it up.”

“Which would make me a charity case.” I smooth the fabric of my shorts self-consciously, just to have something to do. “State school—that’s more my level.”

“I hate this.” Erica’s mouth’s a thin line. “You’re settling.”

“Not all of us have a choice.”

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