Page 84 of Built to Fall
Just the idea makes me queasy. “I’d rather go through a slow, painful death than ever have to suffer through a Mr. Big plotline.”
Meredith snorts as she walks back in and drops onto the armchair. She doesn’t answer the question because we all know hers would be Braxton. And only because of all the back and forth they’ve been doing for reasons that are still unknown to the rest of us.
Although, I do have hope that Braxton is a much kinder man than Mr. Big. He handles Meredith in a way she needs, and even if I’m skeptical about my own love life, I’m rooting for the two of them.
Eden fiddles with her cardigan, letting it fall off her shoulders. “I think mine is still to be determined.”
It’s well known that Eden is the only one of us to have never been in a relationship. Her pure, hopeless romantic heart has always been more enchanted by the mess than actually beingin it.
Mr. Big would be her worst nightmare. He’s the equivalent of commitment issues wearing a Rolex. Eden would never be able to stand that.
“Hey,” Kara says, eyeing Meredith, “Could you ask Braxton to bring us ice cream?”
Eden and I nod in agreement.
Meredith rolls her eyes like we’re ridiculous, but she picks up her phone anyway, already typing up a text.
Kara smiles victoriously, leaning further back into the armchair. “Sunday is saved.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
LINA
One thing I’ve learned since being at Yale is that the rumor mill isalwaysspinning.
Walking out of my early morning International Justice class, I get a text from Eden.
EDEN
FYI, it might be a good idea to stay away from Grant for a few days.
“What?” I mutter to myself, my brows furrowing down at my phone.
I haven’t seen Grant since Sunday morning after I spent the night at his apartment, and despite his offer for me to continue sleeping at his place, I wanted to try on my own for a few nights.
And I know that fact annoys him. He spent weeks trying to get me to finally agree, and now that I’ve done it once and it worked exactly how he said it would, I’m pulling back again.
It’s not that I’m adamantly against going back. I’m not. It would be stupid for me to suffer for more than a couple nights when I now know what works. And I’m hoping Grant can understand that just because I’m trying to keep this frombecoming a permanent solution, that doesn’t mean I’m opposing his help.
At the same time, I think I owe it to myself to try. Because once I start relying on someone—reallyrelying on them—it gives them the perfect chance to undo me.
Merging onto the outdoor path that leads back to my dorm, I dial Eden’s number and put my phone to my ear. It rings a few times before she picks up.
“What’s going on with Grant?” I ask her, not wasting time on pleasantries.
The wind is whipping in the background, and it makes it so I can barely hear her when she says, “It’s not a big deal, just normalNotes of New Havendrama that I doubt you’d want to be involved in.”
Figures. Grant is a hot commodity around campus, which makes him one of the top discussion topics on the gossip site.
“Where is he right now?”
“Um…” she trails off, like she doesn’t think it’s a good idea to tell me. “I’m not sure, but I know Braxton is at the training facility. So if I had to guess, Grant is probably with him.”
I take a sharp right at the sound of that. “Perfect, I’m about to pass by there right now. I’ll head in and figure out what’s going on myself.”
“Lina—”
“I’ll talk to you later, Eden.”
