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Dropping his head back, John responds with a booming laugh, slapping his hand on his thigh like I just said the funniest thing in the world.
Fuck this shit. I get to my feet and start back to my room.
But Thomas grabs my hand. “Wait. Wait just a minute. Ken is not reporting anything, and you aren’t being kicked out of school.”
Huh?
He continues. “He came to us, too, and we… resolved it, you might say. He didn’t bother following up with you?”
I shake my head no, wondering what the hell he’s talking about.
He grimaces. “We’re… not proud of what we did, but there was really no other choice.”
I sit back down, but on the edge of my seat in case I want to bolt. “What’d you do? Throw him off a bridge or something?”
The guys enjoy this and slap each other on the back while cracking up.
They notice I’m not laughing. Not even smiling.
“We got him to back the hell off.” Thomas looks around to make sure we have complete privacy, then leans a little closer and lowers his voice. “I told him I’d kick his ass if he didn’t keep his mouth shut.”
My hand flies to my mouth. My God, they’ve made a bad situation even worse, which I didn’t know was possible.
Now we’re really screwed.
“Brilliant. That’s really brilliant,” I deadpan. Talk about poking a bear.
Thomas shakes his head. “Rose, I’m not kidding. He’s not saying a thing. Seriously.”
John chuckles. “You should have seen him, Rose. Thomas scared the shit out of him.”
“It was funny. It really was, taking that little weasel down a notch,” Matthew adds.
I’m so confused.
Was all my anxiety, dread, regret, and self-loathing for nothing?
“I… I thought I was out of here. That my college career was over,” I say in a small voice.
“What, are you kidding?” John says, rolling his eyes. “You didn’t think we’d let that guy get the best of any of us, did you? C’mon, Rose.”
My college career is not over. It’s a freaking miracle. Maybe these guys should be priests.
Thomas doesn’t miss a beat. “Look, the most important thing is that we all learned some important things about ourselves at orientation, and we wanted to tell you about that.”
“Um, okay,” I say, wondering how long it will take me to unpack my shit. “What happened? Was it a good… orientation?”
“It was… productive. And we have news to share. Important news.” He takes a deep breath. “John and I are no longer going to seminary. Matt is the last one standing. He’s gonna try it. See how it goes. But I personally don’t think he’s one-hundred percent committed.”
He glances at his friend, who rolls his eyes.
“Thanks for the support, man,” he says.
Oh my God. Did I ruin their lives? How will I live with myself?
I attempt to speak several times until the words finally come. “I… I don’t know what to say. I’m so sorry. That… must have been a hard decision to make. It sounds so upsetting…” I trail off, unsure whether to offer condolences or congratulations.
John jumps to his feet. “Rose, don’t you get it? This is a good thing. It’s great that we figured this out now rather than further down the road.”
