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‘No way, get fucked, fuck off.’ I sent back to him, knowing he would get it.

“Hey, Hannah!”

I looked up. Andrea had sat directly across from me. I put my phone down and smiled. I was going to be mature.

“Hey, Andrea, how are you?” I kept a smile on my face and reached for my water. “Do you want something to drink?” I automatically went into host mode.

“Um, I’ll think I’ll join you and just have water,” she smiled. Andrea was extremely pretty. She was a gifted model. And I don’t know what brought her into the club but Brad took notice of her as soon as she appeared.

I poured her a glass of water. Just as I handed it across to her, Brad appeared at her side.

“Hey, Brad, do you want something to drink?” I asked, keeping my eyes on Andrea. I was going to treat him like I always had done before. As a friend.

When he didn’t answer, I looked at him. Why was he staring at me like that? I arched my eyebrows.

“Do you want anything to drink, Brad?” I repeated myself. God, I was the only making sure no one thought anything was off. He was the one being a mute.

“I think Abby’s already getting him a beer,” Andrea answered for him and then glanced up at him. “You sitting down, babe?”

His eyes broke off me for the first time since he’d got here. Thank god for that. Maybe now he could act normal. I was acting normal! He could at least try. I think him seeing me naked was factoring in. It was like he couldn’t look at me now without being ashamed of what he’d done.

“So, how’s school, Hannah? You still dominating your lessons?” Andrea sipped her water and waited for me to reply.

“I don’t know about dominating. But I am getting through it. And because I’m doing advanced units already for next year, there really isn’t anything for me to study at a level I haven’t completed.”

“God, I never had that problem!” Andrea shook her head. “So what does that mean?”

“Means university,” I grinned and actually sounded excited about it. I wasn’t, though. I reckon come next year I’d be spending more time at the hospital being poked and studied. I’d probably be sicker, not heading to university early.

If anything, I was facing an early death. But I kept a smile on my face.

“Local or interstate?” Andrea asked.

That was a question I didn’t have an answer for. “Actually, it could be overseas.”

“What!”

I looked at Brad who was looking at me like what I had just said was smashing his world apart.

“What do you mean overseas?!” he rudely snapped at me. “You’ve never mentioned that as an option!”

God, he needed to calm down. Andrea frowned at him. Yeah, his reaction was over the top.

I wasn’t shutting him out of my life or anything. “Um, yeah, I got a few letters offering me a spot. And I don’t know where I’m heading right now.” I tried to keep my answer simple. “But it would kill me to be that far from Mum and Dad, so that’s factoring in.”

Brad scoffed and shook his head, not happy with my answer.

Well, I was just telling the truth.

His eyes were back on me and it was like I had broken an unspoken rule or something. Mum was back and handing him a beer but he didn’t even say thank you as he was too busy looking at me; well, not looking, more like glaring.

I didn’t know what to say so I just looked away.

“So, when did you decide heading overseas was an option?” Brad snapped at me. He was rude. And if Mum and Dad had overheard that, he would have beenscoring their attention.

I wanted to roll my eyes. I did tell him that I couldn’t be away from Mum and Dad, right? God, why was he acting like I was about to disappear?!

I looked back at him. He really needed to pull his shit together. “It’s just an offer. Not like I’m accepting it.”

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