“Nothing. Just Nicky being an ass. He’s been driving me nuts all weekend. Has he always been this uptight, or did it happen once he became a lawyer?”
She says “lawyer” as if it’s a dirty word. Though to Summer, it probably is. My sister had declared at the age of twelve that law is “hella boring”, and eight years later her stance remains the same. She only agreed to attend an Ivy League college to placate our parents, but last we spoke, she told me she wants to go into interior design after she graduates.
“Compared to you, everyone is uptight,” I tell my sister. “Which isn’t to say I approve of all the batshit crazy things you do.” Summer is two years younger than me, but she gives me a run for my money when it comes to grabbing life by the horns and seizing the day and all that crap. I’m surprised our parents haven’t disowned her yet.
A thought suddenly occurs to me. “Why are you in Manhattan? Shouldn’t you be at school?”
“I felt like visiting my big brother.”
Her tone is way too innocent for my liking. “Bullshit.”
“It’s true,” Summer protests. “I wanted to see Nicky. And I want to see you too, so don’t be surprised if I show up on your doorstep sometime soon.” She pauses. “Actually, I’m thinking of transferring to Briar.”
An alarm goes off inside me. “Why? I thought you were happy at Brown.”
“I am. But…uh…yeah.” Summer sighs again. “I’m on probation.”
I halt mid-step. “What did you do?” I demand.
“What makes you think I did something?” There’s a sniff over the line.
“Save your Little Miss Innocent act for the parentals.” I snicker. “Not that it works on them anymore, either. Now tell me what happened.”
“Let’s just say there was an incident at the sorority house. Togas were involved.”
I choke down a laugh. “Can you be more specific?”
“Nope.”
I groan in exasperation. “Summer—”
“I’ll tell you all about it when I see you,” she chirps. “Nicky wants to talk to you now.”
“Summer—”
She’s already gone. My brother’s deep voice comes on the line half a second later. “Hey,” he says.
“What’d she do?” I ask him.
Nick gives a hearty laugh. “Oh no, I’m not spoiling it for you. All I’m going to say is, classic Summer.”
Fucking hell. I’m not sure I even want to know anymore. “Do Mom and Dad know?”
“Yup. They’re not thrilled about it, but it’s not like she got kicked out. It’s just two months of probation and twenty hours of community service.”
The last bit distracts me from Summer’s woes. “Speaking of community service…” I quickly fill him in about O’Shea’s new gig at Briar.
“Shit,” Nick says when I’m done. “Did he mention Miranda?”
“No, but it’s obvious he still blames me for everything that happened.” Bitterness clogs my throat. “A part of me is tempted to track her down and talk some sense into her, maybe ask her to speak to her dad.”
“She didn’t bother doing that back then,” Nick points out. “Why do you think she’d do it now?”
Good point. “I know, but…” I reach my car and jam my finger on the key fob to unlock the door. I’m still on edge from O’Shea’s unexpected reappearance in my life, and I just want to get the hell away from the arena. “Whatever,” I say darkly. “I guess it’s stupid of me to think Miranda would want to help me. I’m the monster who broke her heart, remember?”
“You want my advice? Just keep your head down. Show up for practice, do what O’Shea says, and don’t start any shit. Spring will be here before you know it, and then you’ll graduate and never have to see that bastard again.”
“You’re right,” I concede. “It’s not worth stressing over. I’ll be out of here soon enough, right?”
“Yup. But let me know if he gives you any trouble, okay? I’ll try to come up with a good reason to sic a lawsuit on him.”
I chuckle. “You don’t practice civil law.”
“For you, baby brother, I’ll make an exception.”
I’m in a far better mood after we hang up. My friends like to mock me about being a rich kid from Connecticut. I’m sure they think my parents are snobs and my siblings are spoiled, but truth be told, my family is awesome.
Both my parents are high-powered attorneys, but they’re the most down-to-earth people you’ll ever meet. Don’t get me wrong, my siblings and I definitely had a ton of perks growing up. We had a nanny and housekeeper. We went to private schools and got a cushy weekly allowance. But we also had to do chores and finish all our homework before we ever saw a dime. If our grades slipped, we’d be grounded in a heartbeat. And if we tried pulling that gimme-whatever-I-want-because-we’ve-got-oodles-of-money crap, we were punished for it. The one and only time I demanded money from my dad, he turned around and donated my entire college fund to a charity for underprivileged kids. Then he made me clerk at his firm for the whole summer to earn it all back.