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“Hey, I wanted to ask you something.”

“What’s up?”

“Next week, they’re having a family day here. It’ll be a cookout or something like that,” I tell him. “You think you could come?”

“Next week?”

“Yeah.”

“I can’t.”

I twirl the phone cord around my fingers. “Why not?”

“I’m heading back to UNC early. A couple of friends and I snagged a small house right off campus and we move in next week.”

“Oh, that’s cool.”

“Does Mom know about the cookout? She hasn’t said anything.”

“I don’t know. I haven’t told her.”

The line goes silent for a moment before he says, “She’s trying, Low. You shouldn’t be so hard on her.”

I clench the cord in a tight fist and swallow my annoyance. “Easy for you to say.”

“She cares about you. We all do.”

I shake my head because it’s all lies. “If any of you cared, I wouldn’t be here.”

“That isn’t fair. It isn’t like I have any say in this.”

“And if you did?”

He sighs and then goes quiet. Silence tells me he agrees with her decision, and I can’t do this anymore. Dropping the phone from my ear, I walk over to the desk and hand it to Marcus, saying, “I’m done.”

Tyler’s voice calling my name on the other end is audible, and when Marcus gives me a curious look, I tell him, “Just hang up,” and he does.

“Is everything okay?”

Why does everyone keep asking me that?

From down the hall, voices echo as everyone comes in from outside.

Marcus stands and nods toward the door. “Come on. Rec time.”

“Hey, where did you run off to?” Sebastian asks when he sees me step into the rec room.

“Phone call.” My response is clipped as I pay him no real attention.

“Everything okay?”

Again, with the question.

I shoot him a glare.

“Damn, you’re a moody girl.”

“Whatever,” I mumble as I turn away from him and go to the cubbies to grab a deck of cards.