“No, it started because you kicked me out of the house for a bullshit reason. And it continued because…” I took a deep breath. This next bit was difficult to force out. “Because I was angry and hurt, and I wanted to hurt you back. But I’m over that petty bullshit now. Or at least I want to be.”
She looked less like she wanted to bury my body in a shallow, unmarked grave, but she was still clearly wary.
“What do you want?” she asked quietly.
“I’m not sure. I’ll tell you what I don’t want. I don’t want to take the presidency from you. I don’t want to be someone who takes on a responsibility like that just so someone else can’t have it. I don’t want to be a bad sister.”
Man, admitting that hit me on multiple levels. My clarity didn’t only extend to wanting a better relationship with the girls in my sorority; I wanted a better one with my brother too.
Seriously, who the fuck ducked off to parts unknown and felt more comfortable discussing it with a stranger than his own sister? And while I’m glad Brody did what he did because it brought me Drew, it was still a symbol of just how messed up our relationship was.
Aamee’s face showed hopefulness before shuttering again. “Is this for real? I can get past a lot of things, but if you’re fucking with me right now, I swear—”
“I’m not,” I interrupted. “I promise. While the idea of being president has grown on me, I don’t want it like this. And the fact is, it means more to you than it does to me. But I…”
When I didn’t continue, Aamee said, “What?” in the softest tone she’d ever directed at me.
“Can you just promise you’ll be fair? That you’ll be the president that Zeta Eta Chi deserves?” I had to get the question out there. While I didn’t want to place contingencies on my bowing out of the race, I wasn’t going to go back to idly sitting by while Aamee was a dick to whomever she felt like mistreating. There had to be progress on both sides.
I could see her gearing up to argue with me—to defend herself against my words. But whatever internal battle she was fighting, the side that had her taking a breath and relaxing her posture won.
“Yes. I can promise you that.”
Smiling, I extended a hand toward her. “Then I guess we have a deal.”
She stared at my hand for a beat before offering me a small smile in return and grasping my hand. “I guess we do.”
Our hands remained clasped for a few seconds, as if we were cementing the truce. When we broke apart, I moved to the door and slid it open. As we walked back to where our sisters were, Aamee said, “I guess this means you want to move back into the house.”
“I wouldn’t be opposed to the idea.”
Her exhale was audible. “I guess. As long as you keep your bait-and-switch drama out of the house.”
I swung my head in her direction and gaped. Did she…?
A smirk played at her lips as she kept walking steadily forward.
“You know, don’t you?” I asked, unable to keep the disbelief out of my voice.
“Whoa, are you giving me credit for knowing things now? My, how times have changed.”
Sarcasm dripped from every word, but I couldn’t think of a solid retort. I was too dumbfounded. A thousand questions were on the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed all of them. This was her chance to prove to me she could be different. That she wanted things to be different. While she’d been trying to make everyone believe I’d been fucking my brother, she hadn’t exposed the actual truth.
Maybe she hadn’t known it long enough to expose us. Or maybe she preferred to discredit me on a rumor that, while annoying, was too unbelievable to have real staying power. Only time would tell which it was.
And as we went in and told everyone of my decision, I was thankful I’d get the time to find out.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
S O P H I A
Even though I wasn’t going to be president, I was still on a high from everything that had transpired, and I couldn’t wait to go home and tell Drew all about it. Maybe it was a weird thing to want, but I was proud of myself, and I thought he’d be proud of me too.
I hoped my parents had either left or made themselves scarce. I needed to have an unguarded moment with Drew to tell him not only what I’d done at the sorority house but also how he’d impacted me making that decision—how he’d helped me become a better person.
I charged into the apartment and gave a quick look around, thankfully not seeing my parents anywhere.
“Drew?” I called.
“In here” came his voice from the direction of the bedroom.
It was all I could do to avoid sprinting down the short hall, though I was moving at a rate that could likely qualify me for a race-walking competition.
“Hey,” I said, my voice loud and exuberant. Until I took a look around the room. “What’s going on?”
Drew’s back was to me as he put clothes into a large duffel bag. “Just packing up.”
I should’ve anticipated this. It was logical that my parents weren’t going to allow a stranger to stay in an apartment they were paying for. I walked over to him and slid my hand up his spine.
“We can find a hotel until we can sort out a more permanent solution.”
Drew stood and stepped away, causing my hand to fall. I watched him go over to the dresser and grab some more of his things. As I looked around the room, I noticed almost all traces of him were already gone. A few bags were lined up by the door, and he was clearly gathering the last of his things.
“Drew?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you already have a place you can go?”
“Yeah. My parents said I could stay with them until I can sort out the situation with the guy who sublet my apartment.”
“Oh. Okay. Well, I can help you take your stuff over there.”
“That’s okay. I got it.” His tone was cold and brusque, and all the happy feelings that had been fluttering around inside of me evaporated.
I tried to remind myself that this was a difficult situation. It had only been a few hours since we’d been lying in bed discussing the future of our relationship, and then my parents had barged in and ruined everything.
I sat down on the bed. “At least the semester is almost over. There’s no way my parents will blow the whistle on Brody and ruin the grades you’ve earned him. So, you’ll be able to attend the last few classes and take the finals. Though maybe taking finals isn’t exactly a positive,” I joked, hoping it would break the weird tension between us.
“Your dad said he’d handle getting Brody excused for the rest of the semester. I’ll text Brody later and see what he wants me to do. We had a deal, after all.”
The way he said the last sentence sounded odd—bitter almost. But I didn’t want to focus on the negative.
“And then we’ll be free of school for a few weeks,” I said. “We can hang out without that added stress weighing us down.”
Drew finished tucking the last few items into his bag and zipped it up before carrying it over to where his other bags sat. He stood there for a second, facing away from me, before whirling around and rubbing a hand over his jaw.