Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 109903 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109903 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
"Sure," Andrew said, a bright and blatant lie. He was gone a heartbeat later.
"Seriously," Nicky said when the door slammed behind Andrew, "what did I miss?"
"Answers now, Aaron," Wymack said.
"I don't know," Aaron said.
"My ass you don't."
"I don't know," Aaron said again, a little louder. "I don't know why Higgins is calling. Call him back or take it up with Andrew if you want answers. He was Andrew's mentor, not mine. I only met the guy once."
"He obviously left an impression if you still remember him."
"Oh," Nicky said in startled realization. "Is he—?"
He didn't finish, but Aaron understood what he was asking.
"Yeah," Aaron said. "He's the one who told me I had a brother."
CHAPTER TWO
Aaron's cryptic remark was the only answer they got from him at practice. Wymack stopped pushing the second things got personal. Neil expected the upperclassmen to say something about it when they put court walls between themselves and Wymack, but apparently they shared Wymack's tact. They flicked curious looks at Aaron and Nicky from time to time but no one pushed for an explanation.
Without Seth around to pick fights with Kevin and Nicky, Allison on hand to fuss at anyone within hearing range, or Andrew chattering away in goal, their drills were almost alarmingly quiet. Practice could have been a complete waste of time if not for Kevin and Dan. Kevin was too single-minded about Exy to let anything distract him when he was on the court, and Dan knew her role as their captain. She kept them moving when they slowed and talked through the awkward silences. Even still, Neil thought they were all relieved when Wymack finally called an end to practice.
They left the stadium at the same time, but Nicky's distaste for traffic laws got them to Fox Tower first. Nicky found a spot near the back of the athletes' parking lot and they headed for the dorm as a group. Halfway there they noticed the figure waiting for them on the sidewalk. Andrew sat cross-legged on the curb, hands on his ankles as he watched their approach.
"You shouldn't be outside if you're coming down with something," Kevin said.
"Such concern." Andrew grinned at Kevin's cool tone. "Don't cry, Kevin. It's nothing a nap and some vitamin C can't fix."
Nicky crouched in front of Andrew. "Hey. You good?"
"You ask strange questions, Nicky."
"I'm concerned, is all."
"Sounds like your problem. Oh, there we go, finally."
Neil looked back as Matt turned into the parking lot. Matt circled twice before he found a spot large enough to fit his truck. Andrew batted at Nicky's face in a silent order to get out of the way, so Nicky stood and stepped off to one side. Andrew waited until Dan, Matt, and Renee were close enough to hear him before lifting his hand in greeting and saying,
"Renee, you made it! Welcome back. I'm borrowing you. You don't mind, do you? I knew you wouldn't."
Renee nodded. "Do I need anything?"
"I've already got it." Andrew hopped to his feet and set off across the parking lot.
Renee did an about-face and followed. She caught up in a couple long strides and fell in alongside him. Neil looked at Dan. Her mouth was a thin, hard line but she didn't look surprised and she didn't call after them. Matt opened his mouth, then took his cue from Dan's silence and decided not to say anything. No one else moved until Andrew and Renee reached the far edge of the parking lot, and then Aaron turned abruptly away. Instead of heading inside, he started down the sidewalk that looped around front of Fox Tower and led back to campus.
"Right," Matt said at last. "Are we going to talk about this?"
Nicky rubbed his arms as if warding off a chill, never mind that it was almost a hundred degrees outside, and jerked his chin at the door. "Not without a drink, we aren't."
The school's Exy team had three suites on the third floor. Andrew's lot had the room closest to the stairs, the girls were in the middle, and Matt and Neil were on the end in the room they'd once shared with Seth. Dan slipped her hand into Matt's as they approached the suite door and squeezed so hard her knuckles went white. Matt didn't seem to take any strength from it. He stared at the key ring in his free hand like he'd forgotten which one would let him in.
"He was such an asshole," Matt said quietly.
"I know," Dan said.
Matt sucked in a slow breath and finally unlocked the door. He pushed the door open, then flinched back from the doorway and clutched harder at Dan's hand. The grim look on Dan's face had Neil edging forward, but it was difficult to see past Matt. Neil didn't have long to wait; Dan steeled up the courage to move first and tugged Matt into the room with her. Neil paused in the doorway to take stock of the changes.
Neil hadn't been in his room since Sunday morning, and then he'd stopped by only long enough to pack a bag for Wymack's place. On Sunday the room looked as it always had. In the few days since then someone had come by and cleared out Seth's things. The third desk was gone, as was the nightstand Seth converted into shelves for his schoolwork. It left a too-obvious gap between Neil's and Matt's things.
Neil left Matt and Dan staring at the new emptiness and went to the bedroom. His and Matt's beds were still lofted one above the other, but Seth's bed had been taken back by resident services. The remaining two dressers that'd once been hidden under Seth's bed were now exposed to the room, their neglected tops covered in a fine layer of dust. It was like Seth had never been here, like he'd never existed at all.
Neil wondered if he would disappear so easily.
He left his duffel on his dresser and went back into the living room. Matt and Dan were sitting pressed together on the couch. Matt was looking at the wall where Seth's desk used to be. Dan studied Neil's face but said nothing. Maybe she knew he didn't need her comfort, or maybe there was just nothing to say.