Lexi
"Where the hell have you been? I've been waiting for you!" I snapped at Jace as soon as I opened the door and found him standing at the doormat.
"Sorry, had a few errands to run,"
"Nothing illegal I hope,"
"I'm never going to live this down with you am I?"
"Nope."
"I figured. Anyway, let's go. I'll tell you about on the way,"
Jace said.
"You really think they will work?" Jace asked.
"Well, we don't have a choice now do we?"
"No, we don't," Jace sighed, running his hands through his hair as he drove us tohis school .
"Mom called last night."
"She did? What did she say?"
*She said not to tell you but she was rushed to the hospital last night,"
"What?" My heart stopped.
"Before you go into panic mode, She's fine and I've asked Susan to look after her,"
"Why do you guys always wait till the last minute to tell me these things?"
I snapped.
It was always like this with them. They always waited till the last possible minute to tell me anything. I knew it was so they didn't burden me too much but it was more of a burden finding out later than sooner.
"Is she okay now?"
"Yes but, well, she needs her surgery right now more than ever,"
"Oh my God,"
"No,no, don't panic. Everything is going to be fine."
"We are both jobless, Jace. There's nothing that's fine about this. I can't believe this."
"Maybe you should take that job after all.". Jace suddenly said.
"What job?" I frowned.
"The one from your boyfriend,"
"Huh? I never told you anything about that, Jace."
"Oh,"
"Oh my God, you talked to him didn't you?"
"No, I didn't."
"Then how did you know? I overheard you talking about with Rhes yesterday,"
"I said nothing of that sort."
"Okay, fine. I did talk to him but only briefly..I was on my way to find a job when I saw him. I spoke to him briefly. No big deal."
"No big deal?"
I raised an annoyed brow at him.
"I swear. I spoke to him for only a second!"
"You know what? I don't care. Let's just get this over with," I said. I knew putting an end to the conversation was the best way to control my temper.
*****
"We are here," Jace patted my shoulders.
I groaned out, stretching my limbs. I had no idea when or that I had fallen asleep.
I looked out the window and we were in fact at the campus.
I let out a breath, squared my shoulder and stepped out of the car.
The fresh crisped air hit me and I couldn't help but breathe it in.
We were finally here.
I said a little prayer,hoping the dean would listen to me
Jace may not look devastated bit football is his entire life, losing his scholarship and being kicked out of the team was probably destroying him inside but he was too stubborn to show it
"Alright, what's the plan again?" Jace asked, falling into steps beside me.
"The plan is to strike a deal with your Dean and pray this whole thing can be reversed."
"And if he doesn't?"
"Black magic," I joked, my way of keeping the mood light till we got there.
As we made our way through campus, all eyes seemed to follow us or more specifically, Jace. He was the popular boy of the campus.
"Hi, Jace," a girl brushed past him and I could have sworn, she touched his penis.
"Jace, you're back!" Some random dude ran towards us, about Jace's height and age and build.
"Hey, Kyle. Yes, sort of."
Jace answered.
"Oh, my God, who is this goddess?" Kyle suddenly noticed me.
"Someone old enough to be your mother…"
"I don't mind older women. I'm Kyle,"
"…And I'm not interested," I cut in with a tight smile, pulling Jace away before Kyle could say another word.
"Wow. Harsh," Jace murmured, stifling a laugh as we walked away.
"He was literally two seconds from undressing me with his eyes."
"That's just Kyle. He's got a thing for women who look like they could destroy him emotionally."
"Well, he should come with a proposal next time."
"I'm sure if you give him the chance he will."
"Over my dead body,"
Jace chuckled, but it didn't reach his eyes. I could tell his nerves were catching up to him the closer we got to the administration building.
I wanted to say something comforting, but I knew anything I said would sound hollow. So instead, I bumped my shoulder against his, giving a small nod to make sure he knew I was here. No matter how frustrated I was, I had to be there for him. He and mom were all I had left.
When we reached the tall, glass doors of the building, Jace paused.
"You ready?" I asked.
"No," he replied but let's go anyway."
Inside, the atmosphere was all polished floors and fake plants. A woman behind the front desk looked up at us with an unimpressed expression. "We're here to see Dean Whitmore," I said.
"Do you have an appointment?"
"No, but it's urgent.
The woman stared at us for a beat before sighing and picking up the phone. After a short conversation that consisted mostly of her saying "Uh-huh" and "Yes, sir," she hung up and pointed to the hallway on the left.
"Second door on the right. Don't take too long."
****
"This is his office," Jace said as soon as we got to Dean's office.
"Why does it feel like behind that door is Count Dracula?"i glanced at my baby brother.
Jace chuckled. "He's not so bad.. actually, scratch that."
"Do you think I should talk to your coach first?"
"No, there's nothing he can do. The dean has to approve it anyway,"
"Argh, I hate Ivy League schools."
"Me
fucking too, sis."
"Language" Jace chuckled. I took a deep breath and stepped forward.
'let me do talking."
"Sure thing," Jace said and I knocked.
"Come on in," A voice said and I opened the door, praying that this worked out.