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CHAPTERTHIRTY-THREE
CASSIA
I’m in the library when my phone buzzes with a call from Sydney. I rush outside before the call drops, inhaling the fall air deeply.
“Celebrity sighting,” she tells me, as soon as I answer the call.
“Who?”
“Scarlett Kensington.”
“Really?”
Sydney and I readHautemagazine religiously, drooling over chic clothes we’ll probably never be able to afford.
She tells me the full story—where she was, who she was with, what she was wearing—and ends it by admitting a pigeon pooped on her bag when she was walking to the subway afterward.
One minute we’re laughing at the terrible luck.
Then Sydney sniffles. Once. Twice.
And I know why she really called.
“Holden told you?” she asks.
“Yeah. I’m so sorry, Syd.”
“I’ve never had a mom, but it feels like I’m losing her all over again. How silly is that?”
“It’s not silly at all. It’s awful.”
“How could Holden not tell me sooner?”
I inhale, staring across the campus green. It’s a beautiful day out. I hate that I’m stuck in the library filling out vet school applications, but I wouldn’t be getting anything accomplished if I sat outside to enjoy the weather.
“Just a guess, but I think he was trying to protect you.”
Sydney sighs. “I’m sorry. I’m putting you in the middle.”
“You have a right to be upset.”
“But not a right to be mad at him, right?” More sniffles. “I could get tested. Just because Holden’s not a match…I could be.”
I don’t reply right away, not sure if she’s serious. When she says nothing else, I say, “Sydney, you’repregnant.”
“I haven’t decided if I’m going to keep it.”
“Yes, you have.”
She texted me asking if I liked the name Everett for a boy last week, before she found out about her mom.
“What if I’m the only person who can help her? The only person who could save her? She’s…she’s my mom.”
“You don’t owe her anything, Sydney.”
“Holden got tested, and he hates her more than I do. I thought he did, at least. It feels like there’s this big secret he’s been keeping from me.” More sniffles. “I’m sorry. Let’s talk about something else. What’s new with you?”
“Well…my parents are getting divorced.”
