Page 40 of Austen, Edited

Chapter 24

After what felt like the longest week of her life, Abby finally got the chance to sleep in on Saturday, waking up around nine in the morning.

“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty,” Tiffany cooed from her desk at the other end of the room.

“I can’t believe you’re up before I am,” Abby said, stretching her arms high over her head. She threw her covers off, already missing the warmth in the cool room.

Tiffany shrugged, opening her eyes wide as she applied mascara to her lashes. “I fell asleep really early last night and didn’t stay asleep the whole night. Todd and I broke up.”

Abby frowned. “Is this the guy who took you to the dinner cruise?”

“Yes. We made it a whole two weeks. Can you believe it?” She paused, her mouth open as she ran the mascara brush over her bottom lashes. “But it just didn’t work out, you know? He goes to school an hour away, and, I mean, we hadn’t seen each other since that night.”

Folding her arms, Abby tilted her head down, trying to make her roommate look in her direction when she said, “Tiffany, are you serious? What relationship have you had that has been over two weeks long?”

“So I haven’t found the right guy yet. That’s not the end of the world.” She pulled lipstick out of her bag and applied it, smacking her lips together after.

“What you mean is, you don’t want to try when things get hard.” Abby stood, unplugging her phone from the charger and turning it on. She still hadn’t received anything from Greyson about what they would be doing that afternoon. And she still had so much reading and homework to do.

When she looked up, she saw Tiffany’s eyes glaze over a bit. “Really, Abby? You’re going to say I’m the quitter?”

Her comment stung, and Abby slumped down in her desk chair, trying to hold in her own set of tears.

After several seconds of silence, Abby looked up and said quietly, “We both have our own relationship problems, you because you’re a serial dater and me because I struggle to tell the one guy I’ve been in love with for over a decade that I have feelings for him.”

Tiffany stood and walked over to Abby, wrapping her arms around Abby’s neck. “You’ll be fine. Just tell him and get it over with. Right now is actually perfect because he’s almost done with the app, and if he doesn’t feel the same way, you won’t have the constant reminder of him every time you turn around.”

“He still lives next to my aunt and uncle, though. Pretty hard not to remember him when I have to go there for Christmas break.”

Kneeling in front of her, Tiffany smiled wide. “Yeah, but after graduation, you’ll be getting your own place. You won’t have to cross paths unless it’s intentional. But we shouldn’t even be talking like this. Of course he has feelings for you.”

“Just because you’re rooting for me to date someone doesn’t mean you have to lie to me about him.” Abby folded her arms on the desk next to her and dropped her head on top of them. It was a bit dramatic, even for her.

“Come on, Abs. He’s done everything he can to hang out with you since he came home. Don’t you remember how he looked at you that evening on the dinner cruise?”

Lifting her head to stare at her roommate, Abby said, “Yeah, but I’m not dressing up like that every day, so if that’s the only time he’s attracted to me, then good luck.”

Tiffany rolled her eyes and stood, walking back over to her desk. “Whatever. There’s no harm in just telling him how you feel, no matter how scary it is. You’ll at least know instead of being stuck in this limbo you’ve been in since I’ve known you.”

Her comment gave Abby the boost of confidence she needed. Admitting her feelings to Greyson was even worse than facing her uncle right now, but she needed an answer. “Okay, I’ll do it. When we hang out tonight, I’ll tell him I’ve liked him for a long time and see how things turn out. If I come back early, though, just don’t talk to me until tomorrow.”

The idea that he could reject her pressed down on her chest, making it difficult to breathe.

“How about breakfast at the dining hall? I’m craving a ham-and-cheese omelet made by someone who won’t burn it.”

“I’ll be happy if our dorm doesn’t smell like burnt food for the next two days. We need to teach you some cooking skills.” Abby chuckled at Tiffany’s sour expression.

“Okay, so I’m not the best cook in the world, but I’ve survived this long. I still don’t get how you know how to cook. The Harringtons have a cook, which means you didn’t have to do anything.”

Abby nodded. “True, but I was often assigned to help Lita with preparing the bigger meals. She showed me a few tricks.” She grabbed her school ID card and slipped on some shoes. She didn’t bother to change her clothes as it was a Saturday morning and most of the other students would be dressed in pajama pants or sweats.

As they walked down the hill toward Lower Dining Hall, she noticed a few leaves on some of the trees had already begun to change. If only she could have the same beautiful change to her relationship with Greyson.

* * *

I’ll pickyou up in thirty minutes.

Abby checked the time stamp and saw Greyson’s text had been sent twenty minutes before. She’d put her phone on silent while she was in the library where she’d spent the rest of the morning and afternoon.

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