The door flew open and in walked Josie. She looked between me and Sara, immediately hurt. “What’s this?”
“She’s just filling me in,” I said.
“She’s lying!” Josie immediately insisted. Her eyes were filled with rage as she narrowed in on Sara. She flung herself at her, but I stepped in, keeping her back.
“You’re both insane. I am telling Autumn, and I suggest you two make it right with her. She’s a good person. She didn’t deserve your shit.”
Josie jerked away from me. “What do you even know about her, Liam? She took off with her family’s money after half of them died in a suspicious accident!”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but Autumn came from a bad home. Her brother may have committed suicide. He left that money to her to start over and get away from their abusive dad. And then you paraded him around, shoving it in her face.”
Josie looked stunned, and for a moment I thought I saw her eyes fill with tears. “Liam, I’m sorry.”
“I’m not the one you should apologize to!” And with that I left. Rage filled me as I ran from the building and in the direction of the coffee shop. If she wasn’t there, she would at least have to walk by it on the way to her dorm.
I spotted her red hair piled on top of her head. She was looking at her phone, walking past the coffee shop where I’d asked to meet.
“Autumn?”
She looked at me, disappointed. “You missed the final.”
“I emailed the professor.”
“Must be nice to get everything you want.”
“That’s hardly the case.”
“I know how she found out.” I completely ignored her jab at me.
She stopped walking, turning to face me. “And how did you do that, Liam? Hmm? Drinking? Punching your best friend in the face? Who the hell are you? Because this is not the guy, I fell…” She cut herself off, twisting her lips into disgust.
“If there’s even a small chance you care about me, listen to me. I think Sara and Josie will tell you. I kind of went off on them.”
Her eyes went wide. “You went to see them?”
“Sara was digging into you at the records office, and Josie had a camera, and they found everything out.”
“You know how crazy you sound, right?” She stared at me as if I had grown two heads.
“I know, but you have to believe me.”
She looked down, thinking. “I don’t know what to believe, Liam. Maybe when Josie shows up and tells me herself. Maybe then someone can explain to me why someone stole my money.”
“She did what?”
She shook her head in disbelief. “I need to put my stuff up. I’ll call you later.”
I watched her walk off, not daring to go after her. For the first time in two weeks, I had a glimmer of hope. She would call me. Josie and Sara would do the right thing. It would work out. It had to.
Thirty-Four
Finals were finally over. I could breathe. My first semester of college was behind me, and somehow, I finished with a 4.0. The dorms were emptying by the minute as students left for the break. However, the few stragglers who stayed behind were getting ready for the end of semester party hosted by, you guessed it, the fraternity Liam was in.
It was fine, though. We were past it. We talked when we saw each other; there was zero awkwardness. That was exactly why I let Gabby talk me into going tonight. His birthday was last week; I texted him happy birthday. After our phone call, he asked if I had heard from Josie or Sara. He had tried to explain again, but I just couldn’t allow myself to go back. Without absolute proof, I would always wonder. That wasn’t fair to either of us.
Zero.
Awkwardness.
As I walked to my car, I felt a pang of sadness. For the past semester, I had constantly been with Gabby or Liam. Everything had changed in the last month. Gabby spent all her time with Tyler, and Liam, well, I tried not to think about what he did with his time.
I didn’t turn on the radio the entire drive over. I couldn’t stop thinking about everything that had gone down, wondering what went wrong. How I could have done things differently. When I neared the house, cars were lined up on the street, but it wasn’t like previous parties. Most students had already left for the break.
Smoothing down my red sweater I walked up the lawn, awkwardly walking through the front door. At least two dozen students were peppered around the foyer and living room. I squeezed my way through, knowing my crowd usually hung back in the kitchen.
As soon as we made eye contact Gabby squealed and ran over to me, pulling me into a tight hug. “I haven’t seen you in forever!”
“I know. I’m sorry, but I’m free the next three weeks,” I said, shrugging. Class was over and the bookstore was closed. That left me with absolutely nothing to do.
“Stay with me?” she offered.
“Sure. I need to be around a friend,” I said, and she nodded knowingly.
“Hey Autumn.” My blood ran cold. The last time I’d heard that voice, it ruined my entire life in the State of Washington.
“What the hell do you want?” Liam asked her before I could.
“I wanted to explain…” Josie replied.
“It’s a little late for that, don’t you think?” Gabby asked, gesturing between Liam and me.
“That’s why I wanted to now. Look, I’m going to another school next semester. I just want a clean slate. I’ve ruined everything here in the last year and a half.”
“That’s the only true thing you’ve ever said,” Liam seethed.
“I deserve that,” she said, looking at him before fixing her gaze on
