Chapter 1

The paperwork for Alderton University was already filled out, but canceling my enrollment still required a trip to Kellmore in person.

The station was packed the day the train departed. Elaine Hartwell and Bradley Collier sat side by side, one car ahead of mine.

They had promised to help me with my luggage before we left, but once we got through the gates, they went straight to their seats and got settled. The two of them got his suitcase onto the overhead rack without a second thought.

I was one car back, dragging two heavy suitcases through the aisle by myself. The aisle was narrow, and people kept grumbling as I squeezed past. I texted them and asked them to come help.

She did not reply for ten minutes.

[Bradley gets motion sick. He just fell asleep.

[My mom specifically told me to look after him during the trip. I can't just leave him.]

I stared at the screen, my hands and feet going cold. In the end, I tried to heave the suitcase up myself.

It was too heavy. Halfway up, my wrist gave out and the suitcase came crashing back down, sending a jolt of numbness through my entire arm. A stranger next to me reacted fast and caught it before it hit anyone.

I thanked him over and over. A minute later, Bradley posted a photo in our group chat. In the picture, he was leaning back in his seat while Elaine handed him an open water bottle. On the tray table sat a box of motion sickness pills.

That box was the one I had tucked into her bag that morning, just in case I felt sick on the ride.

I tagged her in the chat.

[Can you bring me one of those pills? I'm not feeling great.]

Two minutes later, she messaged me privately.

[Since when do you get motion sickness?

[Just drink some water.]

I turned off my phone and stared out the window. The ache in my chest grew with every bump of the train.

Halfway through the trip, a drunk man took the seat next to me. He reeked of alcohol, sprawled into the aisle, and kept kicking my suitcase.

Eventually he started yanking at the handle, muttering and swearing the whole time. I did not want to start something with a drunk, so I called Elaine.

The first time, there was no answer.

The second time, she hung up.

A text came through right after.

[Bradley just fell asleep. Stop it.]

Stop it? Those two words hit like a bucket of ice water.

In the end, a train attendant noticed the situation during a routine check and moved me to another seat.

It was late at night by the time we arrived in Kellmore. Elaine got off first, hand in hand with Bradley. I watched their fingers intertwine and suddenly thought of the night we graduated senior year.

The breeze had been gentle that evening. She had held my hand just like that, standing on the school rooftop, and whispered, "Leo, once we're settled in Kellmore, we'll make it official."

She and I had been close since junior year. Everyone assumed it was only a matter of time before we went public. However, she was now holding someone else's hand, and she did not even look back.

Without turning around, she called out to me.

"There's a problem with Bradley's apartment key. I'm heading over with him to sort it out. Just grab a cab to campus on your own."

She flagged down a taxi with Bradley and was gone before I could say a word.

I stood in the cold with my two suitcases and waited half an hour before I could get a ride. It was pitch black out. The driver did not know the area well and took a wrong turn, and the streets grew darker and more deserted by the minute.

I texted Elaine and sent her my route so she would know where I was, but the messages went unanswered.

It was not until my resident advisor realized I had not checked in and sent two upperclassmen to find me that I finally made it to the temporary dorms.

My phone was down to its last one percent when her message finally came through.

[Let me know when you get there. Don't make people worry.]