Waking up that next morning was cathartic, the sunlight streaming in through the windows a prime reminder that although the world seemed to be falling apart all around me, at least the sun was still shining and it was another day to endure.

Because Kalen would always have his father, and his world that was separate from mine.

He would always have something to fall back on, and I—

I was the poor girl, the girl with a criminal mother who'd stolen from his father and would never live up to the expectations he was sure to have set forth for him.

Just because Kalen hated his father didn't mean that he didn't have any influence on him—it was why we were hiding our relationship from everyone in the first place.

I felt absolutely sick to my stomach, an unease gathering at the base of my gut like a volcano preparing for eruption.

It was only the sound of the door opening that pulled me out of my melancholic reverie, Franny and her abundance of energy slamming into me like a freight train as she stumbled through the door.

"So, I know you're completely heartbroken over the fact that you weren't able to finish your essay that isn't even due for another month last night, so I decided that I was going to lighten your mood by inviting you to your favorite place in the entire world: the library."

"How... altruistic of you."

"Altru-who?"

"Nothing. Just pointing out how generous you are."

She threw me a saucy wink.

"Well, I aim to please."

"I'm sure you do."

She slung her backpack over her shoulder and slid her elbow in with mine, our footsteps matching the same cadence of my steady heartbeat as we traipsed down the stairs of our dorm hall.

"See? We can make it without falling apart at the thought of the two of us being lonely and single. You never did tell me why the two of you broke up though."

I sighed while putting my face in my hand that wasn't locked with her elbow.

It had been all too easy to lie to her, to say that I had broken up with Kalen.

We had never discussed if we were going to tell our close friends the truth about us, but after everything that had gone wrong in my relationships with Colby and Franny, I had figured that it was a non-issue considering that my two friends had wanted nothing to do with me at that time.

Now, however?

Now it was taking everything inside of me to keep quiet, those laughter inducing gossip sessions from our friendship running through my mind as the memories swam through me.

"It's not a story worth retelling."

The words fell flat the moment they were out of my mouth.

"Oh, come on.  I told you all about my shitty relationship drama, the least you could do is tell me the same."

I narrowed my eyes at her, quickly coming to the conclusion that she wasn't going to stop until she got what she wanted out of me: answers. 

Answers about what had really happened between the two of us. 

So, I decided to give her exactly what she wanted. 

"It was never going to work out between the two of us.  We both come from such different backgrounds...his family is rich and he actually has two parents.  After everything that happened with my mom, it wasn't hard for me to see where everything could go wrong if I didn't break it off with him because in the end we were just too different. I didn't understand where he came from and when I tried it was like I hit a brick wall. He didn't understand where I came from, but he never even tried to see things from my point of view. It felt like I was the only one in the relationship and honestly, I'm just so tired of drama and love and just emotions in general after the year that I've had."

Franny glanced up at me after my tirade, her eyes going wide as a surprised laugh fell out of her mouth.

"Yeah I guess you could say that. I'm a little tired of love too. Maybe we'll start a singles-only club on campus."

"Can we please ban your brother from ever attending our prestigious singles-only club?"

Franny immediately stiffened and I was worried that I'd said the wrong thing when she turned to look at me just as we secured a seat at my favorite table in the library. 

Vaguely I wondered if Kalen would be around...it was his designated study hour, after all, and we hadn't had the time to see each other once since I'd left the football house the day before. 

Sure, we'd called and texted, but it was harder keeping up the ruse that we were broken up while chatting idly on the phone at midnight, especially when he had practice the next morning and the both of us had roommates that were too nosy for their own good. 

"Speaking of Colby..."

I groaned as Franny's words tore me out of my mind and the spiraling I was about to undergo about Kalen and the little time together we would have for the rest of the school year, especially keeping everything a secret between us.

"I know, I know, but...I think I finally figured out why he's been acting so crazy this semester."

"A reason why he's so hot and cold all the time?  Why he sometimes acts like the old Colby we all know and love, and other times he turns right around and undoes all the good he's ever done with one sentence?  Yeah, I'd really love to know what caused such a drastic change in him."

The pallor of Franny's face rapidly changed from the soft pink to an almost sickly green in an alarmingly short amount of time.

"What, is it really that bad?"

She shook her head. 

"Worse."

"What...what happened?"

"Mom threw one of the biggest fits I've ever seen over a piece of mail that wasn't addressed to her, but to him.  The weird thing was, it was from our family doctor, and you know Colby.  He wouldn't be able to make a dentist appointment by himself, let lone one to our family doctor.  The mail, it was a letter, referring him to a specialist—a neurosurgeon."

"I'm confused."

She shook her head, a sad smile playing on her lips. 

"Do you remember his sophomore year, we were freshman, and it was the homecoming game?"

"Yeah, of course."

I remembered that game vividly—it was the game where Colby had been pushed so hard, his head smacked the floor of the court so loud it reverberated through the arena, but there'd been a fight, and then a dog pile, and Colby had to be taken out on a stretcher, just as a precaution, of course.

"He said he was fine, he didn't show any signs of concussion or lasting brain damage or trauma.  They advised him to take better care of his health, his diet, his sleep, all kinds of things.  Turns out, he took that advice, but flipped it on its head.  Where before he would've had grilled chicken, he purposely ordered fried.  When before he would've gone to bed at ten, he was staying up past midnight on a school night, working out in the garage without our parents knowing."

"Okay, so he was sabotaging himself?"

"No, worse.  He was trying to up his weight, and was training twice a day, every day—sometimes even more.  Then, he fell again—remember that game with Pine Haven?  He got shoved by that senior. It happened again later that year.  He kept hitting his head, Gracie.  He's got a TBI."

"A TBI?  Traumatic brain injury?  Did he really hit his head that hard each time he fell?"

"The doctors think it was his first fall that caused him to really lose his balance and could've contributed to the other falls later down the road."

"Damn.  So what does this mean about...his behavior?  I mean, he literally picked a fight with Kalen and got the shit beat out of him for it."

"I don't know.  All I know is that mom was beside herself, and that Colby is not acting normal, like he used to.  He's angry and temperamental.  He doesn't care about anyone else's feelings, at least not at first.  He's getting sloppy on the court and his balance is shit, and he really shouldn't keep playing at the level he's playing at right now."

I was about to respond with another question when footsteps sounded through the library, the deep thud of boots on carpet a distinct noise not usually heard in my favorite place. 

"What's campus security doing in here?"

Craning my neck around the tables to see what Franny was looking at, the blood froze to ice in my veins. 

"Um, Gracie, why does it look like they're coming straight to us?"

That was because they were. 

It took only a few more seconds before the campus security reached our table and stared me down, the two security guards looking like they would've rather been anywhere else, doing anything else, in that moment. 

"Miss Hart?"

"Yes, that's me?"

One of the more burly men grabbed ahold of the back of my chair and pulled it out for me.

"We need you to come with us."

"Whoa whoa whoa, is she like, under arrest or something?"

One of the men who had an oily mustache and corded muscles for arms merely shrugged his shoulders before turning his attention back on me. 

"Something like that."

"What—"

"It's fine, Franny.  I'll go."

"The hell it is!  What the fuck is happening?  Why does she need to go with you?"

"Let's go."

The burly one with a beer gut placed his hand on the small of my back, and the shadowy tendrils of unease from the motion set my nerves alight. 

"Well, I'm not letting you go alone."

Franny took up her spot at my side as we marched out of the library, curious eyes on us as we were escorted from the premises. 

The only thing that kept flashing in the back of my mind with each step was a phrase I asked myself multiple times a day:

What did I do this time?

***

Author's Note:

What did you think of this chapter?

What do you think will happen next?

What do you WANT to happen next?

Until next time my lovely readers,
Kristen :)