Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 61951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 310(@200wpm)___ 248(@250wpm)___ 207(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 310(@200wpm)___ 248(@250wpm)___ 207(@300wpm)
Walking out of my room, my eyes instantly go to Noah’s door, and seeing it’s closed, I head down the hallway.
I find Hana in the kitchen, already sipping on her coffee. “Morning.” I grin at her as I pour myself a cup.
“Morning.” Hana’s gaze sharpens on me. “You look happy. What happened?”
I shrug. “I just slept like a rock.”
“Uh-huh,” she mumbles, clearly not believing me.
I lean back against the counter and say, “Noah and I made peace.”
Her eyebrows pop up. “That is good news. I’m glad to hear things are better between the two of you.”
Forest comes into the kitchen, and before I can say anything, he hugs me, murmuring, “I’m sorry you got caught in the shitstorm.”
Pulling back, I reply, “I was just shocked last night. Sorry for the dramatics.” I lock eyes with my cousin and search for any sign that he’s not okay, then I ask, “How are you holding up?”
He gets himself a cup of coffee. “I’ll be okay.”
Hana gives him the same look she gave me a minute ago. “Yeah?”
Forest nods, focusing on preparing the coffee.
“I talked with Aria,” Hana mentions.
“How did that go?” he asks.
“You’re both hurting,” Hana answers him. “Why can’t you just sit down and talk like adults?”
He sucks in a deep breath. “I tried.” Shaking his head, he sounds tired when he murmurs, “Trust me, I tried. She won’t open up to me.”
Placing my hand on his shoulder, I say, “Aria’s scared.”
He nods. “I know. I don’t know how to reassure her. I’ve tried everything.”
“You show her she has nothing to be afraid of,” Hana says. “Just be there for her. Once she sees you’re not going anywhere, I’m sure she’ll come around.”
“That was the plan,” he replies. Finishing his coffee, he rinses the cup, then says, “I’ll catch you later.”
The second he leaves, I look back to Hana and ask, “They’ll be okay, right?”
Hana nods. “Yeah. If Jade and Hunter can work through their problems, Aria and Forest will be fine.” Hana grabs her bag, then says, “I’ll see you later. Have a good day.”
“You too.” While drinking my coffee, my happiness is dimmed by what’s happening with Forest and Aria.
I need to talk to Aria.
Last night I hashed things out with Aria, and I feel much better now that the mess has been cleared up between myself and my friends.
I can see things are tense between the two of them, but I know I can’t get involved. It’s up to them to decide whether they want to be in a relationship or not.
After I’m done with my classes, I spend my entire afternoon in the library. I didn’t expect the workload to be so overwhelming, but I’ll be damned if I buckle under the pressure. If Jase could do it, so can I.
Leaving the library, my phone begins to ring. Seeing Mom’s name flashing on the screen, I smile as I answer, “Hi, Mom.”
“Hi, sweetie, how’s school?” I can hear pots and utensils clanking in the background.
“School is good. Just a lot of work. Are you busy preparing dinner?”
Damn, I miss Mom’s cooking.
“Yeah. Your father wants chicken piccata with lemon sauce and those cheese and herb potato fans you love so much.”
Instantly my mouth begins to water, and I change direction to where my car is parked. “Mind if I come over?”
Mom lets out a chuckle. “That’s a stupid question.”
My smile widens. “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
I hang up and tuck my phone into my bag. Reaching the vehicle, I slide behind the steering wheel and steer the car off the campus.
When I park in the driveway, I leave my bag, seeing as I won’t need it, and hurry to the front door. Using my set of keys, I let myself in and make my way to the spacious kitchen.
“Hey,” I say as I walk to where Mom is busy preparing the meal. I press a kiss to her cheek.
“If I knew all it would take to get you to visit was making potato fans, I would’ve done it the first day you moved out,” Mom teases while I quickly wash my hands.
I let out a chuckle as I dry off the excess water. I take my place next to Mom, and grabbing a potato half, I begin slicing strips into it.
“Sooo…” Mom draws the word out, “what’s new? How does it feel to live in the dorm? Have you made any new friends?”
I keep my gaze on the potato, so I don’t cut my fingers off as I answer, “I didn’t expect it to be such a huge adjustment, but I’m getting the hang of things now. At first, it felt like I was thrown into an alternate universe.”
“Yeah, it can be daunting,” Mom agrees. “When I started at Trinity, I only knew Layla and Kingsley, and we weren’t close yet.”