Into the Stars (USC Series Book #2)

chapter four

INTO THE STARS
———
BRINLEY

I am in a slump, of sorts. That was the only way you could put it. I am stuck between what to do. Do I confront the issue head-on or do I wait until everything blows up in my face all at once? I am leaning more towards the third option, though—letting it play out to the point I have enough.

Slamming the textbook shut in front of me, I release a muffled groan. Frustration runs through me and I throw the textbook to the other side of me.

"You alright?" Brooklynn asks, narrowing her eyes at me suspiciously.

Through my periphery, I stare at her and nod slightly. I had had enough of studying for the night. My brain is attempting to contain so much information it might just explode. My new biology teacher has been working us extra hard, increasing the workload tenfold.

Silence swims between us after the question leaves her mouth, and I am thankful it isn't the awkward kind. The silence leaves room for thought and, as of recently; it seems I have been doing an absurd amount of thinking.

There is something about this quietness though that I don't have with other people. With Brooklynn, any time there is silence, there is no urge to do anything about it. It just feels... safe and comfortable. No one has made me feel like that before. Maybe it's because we are both so deep in our own thoughts we forget we have company or something else. It just always feels the same with Brooklynn.

She is the one person I can rely on that won't put me in harm's way, and the same goes for her. Brooklynn will forever be my best friend, through and through.

I inhale an agitated breath and I can tell Brooklynn is studying each of my movements to gauge my current mood.

Something people don't tell you about living with your best friend is that they can decipher every one of your moods. When I am angry, Brooklynn knows. When I am sad, Brooklynn knows. When I am stressed—you guessed it—Brooklynn knows.

I love living with someone like her. We share so many memories and I am thankful she has been the one by my side while we go through the struggles of college. Together.

I remember the first time I aced my midterm in freshman year and I was ecstatic, the first thing I did was run back to our dorm to tell her, despite having a class on the other side of campus only half an hour after my previous one ended.

I remember our first college party when the both of us were clinging to each other like our only lifeline. We knew no one, but it was fine because we had each other.

Looking back now, though, all of those wonderful memories are from so long ago. Very few of them are from the past year or so. I realise anytime we tried to do something recently, just the three of us—including Anna—there have always been obstacles that got in the way.

Things that more than likely revolved around Ben.

"Do you think Ben brainwashed me, in a way?" I blurt out the sudden thought, clearly catching her off guard.

She stares at me, her dark eyebrows tipped down. "What do you mean?"

"Do you think he made me lose sight of the normal things a college girl should worry about?" I clarify. I haven't thought about it until now, but... whether Brooklynn answers this, I think Ben did.

The last months of our relationship flood back to me and now, with a clear head, I notice all the red flags in mine and Ben's relationship.

Constantly needing to know where I was.

Dictating what I do with my spare time.

Refraining me from spending valued time with my friends...

Fuck...