brothers.

32~ Last Day

There was a corner in Greenfield's library I found comforting. Like a sanctuary. Not many people came here, instead occupying the study rooms and tables around the building, and I preferred it like that.

Whenever I did homework, that was my 'alone time'. During classes and clubs, I faced the stress of socializing. Before, I wouldn't have minded it, but now, I didn't feel like talking to anyone.

My phone buzzed loudly with a video call. Amelia's beautiful face was on my screen. Smiling, I answered.

"Hey, babe," she said, walking. Ceiling lights passed over her head.

"Hey." I scratched my neck.

"How are you? I miss you."

"Okay. Getting there."

"I'm sorry I haven't visited yet."

"It's okay, I know. Freshman year is crazy."

"Oh, yeah." She sat down at a table, setting her phone against something so I could see her properly. "It's October and I have a project."

"For what?"

"Rhetoric and Composition." She brought out a notebook and flipped through the pages. "I can't wait to get through my Gen-Eds."

"Me, too," I agreed. "God, the Math course I have is so easy, I feel like I'm cheating. And people in my class are just stupid."

Amelia laughed. "Don't be mean. Any courses you're taking that you like?" she asked.

"Yeah. First Aid and CPR Training. It's my favorite," I said as I turned a page of my textbook. "The book was pretty expensive, though. But the professor 'doesn't like e-books'."

"Is it worth it?"

"Yeah. It's a fun class. Just expensive."

She paused, turning a page. "Jack... how have you been doing, really?" She clicked her pen and wrote something down.

"What do you mean?"

"You know."

I put down my book and sighed. "I don't know. It's like... I look at my parents, and they're complete strangers. Even Kyle doesn't talk to me that much anymore. And Tommy and Harry... they're angry with me."

"You didn't have to be so mean to them."

"It's because I've been having a hard time— because of her. And Mom and Dad want us all to just go back to normal. They're holed up in their room ignoring us." I mindlessly read the pages. "At least she won't be at Summit anymore."

"Oh, she's not?"

"She's transferring to online school. She starts on Monday. Tomorrow's her last day."

Amelia clicked her tongue. "Poor thing probably dealt with a lot at school." Her undertone instilled a wave of guilt, but I remained silent.

"Her caseworker's coming over on Tuesday, too," I finally said.

"I thought she was going tomorrow?"

"She was 'busy', so she postponed it."

"How does that go?"

"She'll just come over and see how we're doing. We just need to act... 'normal', and we'll be fine." I cringed at the thought. Acting was never my strong suit.

"Does Diana want to leave?" Amelia asked.

"I don't know."

"What about the bullying at school?"

"I don't know," I repeated robotically. "It's probably reported already." Did the caseworker know about her arms? Did Diana's therapist know? Probably not. She'd hidden it for so long.