Chapter Fifteen

In Which Elisa Goes Back to School

Elisa arrived at her first class of the new semester—Communications I—in a bad mood. Even though she had driven there, she’d still had to walk across the tundra that was the student parking lot, and some idiot in a pickup truck had splashed her with freezing water when he went through a puddle.

She’d managed to protect the textbook she was carrying, but her jeans and shoes were soaked. If it weren’t the first day of term, she would’ve just gone home to change. Not helping matters was the fact that she’d gotten into an argument with her mother that morning. Her mom found out Colin and Charlene were dating and was back to giving her grief for turning him down—now with added complaints about letting Charlene “swoop in” and get him.

She arrived in the classroom shivering but still on time, hoping her mood didn’t show. She managed a genuine smile when she saw a familiar face sitting in the back row.

“Willow,” she said, approaching her quickly.

Willow looked up. In the month or so since they’d met, she’d gotten a lip piercing. “Hey, girl,” she said. “I was wondering if I’d run into you.”

Elisa took the chair next to her. “How’ve you been?”

“I’ve been good. Starting on the track to that currently-undeclared major,” she said. “Christina and Keegan are both going for education.”

“How are they?”

“Keegan broke up with their girlfriend last week.”

She cringed. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Eh, don’t be,” she said with a shrug. “I didn’t tell you this when we met because Keegan still liked her back then—but she hated their dog. She pretended like she didn’t, but Christina and I both knew. Finally, she got sick of pretending, and she told them, ‘it’s me or the dog.’ So, they said, ‘it was nice knowing you.’ It’s for the best.”

She shook her head, chuckling. “Has saying ‘it’s me or the dog’ to anyone ever worked? I mean, really?”

“It sure as hell won’t with Keegan. They love that dog.”

Elisa cast a glance around the room. People were trickling in quickly, grumbling about being wet and cold. She had to laugh a little bit. At least she wasn’t alone.

“Is Darcy taking any classes here this semester?” she asked, hoping against hope they didn’t have any together.

Willow shook her head. “No. She’s staying with Bobby for a while longer, but she didn’t sign up for any classes. I guess she’s planning on heading back to Columbus soon. Well—I mean, we grew up just outside the city.”

“Oh,” was all Elisa could think of to say. She supposed she should’ve been relieved, but…

Arguing with Darcy or stubbornly ignoring her had become routine over the course of the past few months. Not a pleasant routine, but a routine. It was weird to imagine her days without it.

If Willow noticed how deflated she was, she didn’t comment on it. She just said, “Yeah. I think she misses Gianna. They’ve never been apart for this long before.”

“Darcy still living with your parents?”

“Nah. After she turned eighteen, she inherited her parents’ old place—before that, it belonged to another relative, technically. She moved back in there—until she came up here to stay with Bobby, anyway. She said it was to get out of Mom and Dad’s hair, but I think she just missed where she grew up. Gi thought about going with her, but she’s super close to my parents, so she decided to stay put. But, I mean, my parents’ place is only a ten-minute walk from Darcy’s parents’ old place, anyway.”

“Is Darcy’s place like Bobby’s?”

“Mine is like Bobby’s,” Willow said, fiddling with one of her many gel pens. “Darcy’s is much, much bigger. Our ancestor built it on land he owned—Darcy’s side of the family owns the entire surrounding area, which is about as big as all of Netherfield Park. I mean, there’s Bobby’s money, and then there’s her money.”

“Holy Hell,” Elisa said. “I knew your family was rich, but…”

She gave a nonchalant shrug. “Darcy’s dad’s company wasn’t on the Fortune 500 for nothing.”

Before she could reply, the professor, an elderly man who had clearly had this job for way too long, entered, and launched straight into his first lecture. They quickly shut up, though not before Elisa had the chance to whisper, “Let’s grab a drink from the commons after this.”

Willow smiled and nodded.

…

The student commons coffee tasted more like boiled water that had had a brown crayon dipped in it than anything actually digestible by humans, but it was caffeinated and hot­­—good enough. The commons themselves were packed, with no seats available, leading Willow and Elisa outside. They walked aimlessly around the campus, trying to keep moving enough that they wouldn’t get too cold.

“Do you have any other classes this semester?” Elisa asked. A gust of wind passed between them, making them both shiver.

“Just one. Introduction to ASL,” Willow said, sipping her coffee. She grimaced at the taste. “It’s a Tuesday/Thursday course, though.”

“I’m taking Art History—that starts in about an hour, actually,” she said. “I’m also in Chem I. I figure if I get all the math and science out of the way early, I can use my last couple of semesters on classes I don’t hate.”

“I’m just gonna take a bit of everything,” she admitted. “I’m trying to find something I could actually do for the rest of my life. Or at least the rest of my education.”

Elisa was about to say she wished she had the option of just trying things out, instead of needing to get a degree and out of college as quickly as possible, when she spotted something across the green.

George Sedgwick, holding hands with another girl. They were laughing, heading toward Wick’s car. The girl looked just as charmed as Elisa had been when she first met him. She stopped walking, just staring after them.

Willow turned around when she realized Elisa was no longer at her side and tilted her head curiously at her. “What’s that look on your face?” she asked.

Wordlessly, she pointed.

As soon as she saw Wick, Willow’s lip curled in disgust. “Ugh,” she said. “You know Wick?”

“We went out,” she said, moving to stand next to her again. Wick and the girl had gotten into his car and were now driving away.

She frowned slightly. “Was it serious?” she asked, voice more weighted than Elisa had ever heard it.

Elisa sighed, shaking her head. “No. I—I really have no right to be upset. We went on one date. It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t great. After that, we texted, but then…we just sort of lost contact. It was mutual. I really shouldn’t be mad. I mean, I’m not mad, I’m just…”

“I get it,” Willow said. “But trust me—I’ve known Wick for years, and you can do better.”

They reached a bench and sat down. “You sound like Darcy,” Elisa said. “She told me to stay away from Wick, but she wouldn’t tell me why.”

She looked away, focusing on her coffee for a moment, before saying, “It’s not my place to say why. I can tell you Darcy’s right, though. I know you don’t always get along with her, but trust me on this. She was trying to help you.”

Elisa frowned. It was perfectly in character for Darcy to clam up and be annoyingly cryptic—but if even Willow was radio silent on the matter? That was weird.

Sensing her confusion, Willow said, “It’s…it’s a really personal family thing. I’d tell you, but it’s not my story to tell.”

“I understand,” she said, though she wasn’t quite sure she did.

Before, she’d been certain Willow hadn’t known anything about Darcy getting Wick expelled. Now, she wasn’t so sure.

…

Elisa got home after her art history class, inwardly reciting what she was going to say to her sister. Her class would be making a trip to Columbus over spring break, spending the entire week there touring the Alexandra Pemberley Museum of Classical Art. Pemberley was extremely old, and one of the highest-regarded art museums in the country. The place was massive, with dozens of exhibits. Even the week-long trip wouldn’t be enough time to see it all. Elisa had always wanted to visit. However, due to travel and hotel expenses, the students’ portion of the cost was a hundred dollars each.

It wouldn’t be the end of the world if she couldn’t go on the trip. After all, it wasn’t mandatory. But she still really, really wanted to. Unfortunately, she was broke, and asking her mother for the money was out of the question. It wasn’t that her mother wouldn’t want her to go—it was that Elisa wasn’t sure she’d be able to pay for it.

Julieta, however…

Part of her felt bad for even thinking of asking. But the other part of her knew that visiting Pemberley every day for a week would be so expensive, not even counting travel expenses, that the class trip would be the only way she’d be likely to go.

She knocked on the inside of the bedroom door.

“Am I interrupting?”

Julieta glanced up from her laptop. “Oh no, not at all,” she said, smiling. “I was just taking a break, actually. How was the first day?”

“It was pretty good, mostly. I have a class with Willow.” She set her backpack on the floor and sat on her unmade bed.

“Darcy’s cousin?”

“Yep.”

“She seemed nice.”

“She is. I also saw Wick.”

“Oh yeah?” Julieta asked. “What’d he say?”

“I said I saw him,” she said. “I never said he saw me. He has a new girlfriend.”

Julieta winced. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said.

She shrugged. “Don’t be. I mean, I was never super into him.” She moved on, not wanting to dwell on the matter of George Sedgwick for longer than she had to. “My art history class is taking a field trip to Pemberley during spring break.”

“Oh, that’s great. That’s in Columbus, right?”

Elisa nodded. “Yeah. The only issue is, um…it’s a hundred bucks a head.”

She bit her lip, immediately seeing the problem. “When is the money due?”

“In two weeks.”

“Damn. I’m sure Mom would be able to put away twenty dollars every week until there was enough, but a hundred all at once is kind of a huge hit.”

“I know,” she said. “I know she’d want me to go, but I wouldn’t feel right asking. Especially since I think I overheard her arguing with the bank again last night.” She tugged guiltily at her hair. “I was kind of hoping you could lend me the money.”

Julieta looked apprehensive. “You know I would in a heartbeat, but…”

“I’d take it as a loan, not a gift,” she hastily added. “I’ll pay you back as soon as I can.”

Probably by borrowing money from Papa. Her financial situation was an endless cycle of borrowing from other people.

“E, I know you can’t afford that.”

She sighed. “Yeah. If you can’t afford it, I get it. It’s not a required trip.”

“But you obviously really want it.”

“I do,” she admitted.

It wasn’t even just about wanting to see Pemberley—though that was a big part of it. A lot of it was just not wanting to be the only student that didn’t go. Growing up, Elisa and her sisters had missed out on field trips or been the only ones not able to get a souvenir or lunch out when they could go, and it had always sucked.

Even when no one was judging, even when no one noticed, it was impossible to not be embarrassed. Logically, she knew that she could always claim she had work or a family obligation during spring break, and no one would be likely to question it. But that didn’t take away from the embarrassment of not being able to afford things her classmates could.

Julieta thought it over. “Tell you what. I haven’t bought your birthday present yet. What if this is your present? I mean, a couple months early, but…”

“I’ll take it,” Elisa said. “But—but only if you’re sure. I know you’re kind of strapped for cash right now.”

“I’ll be fine,” she said. “It’s not like I have rent to pay. Besides, I’ve gotten a couple more clients recently. A few months ago, I probably wouldn’t have been able to help you.”

Elisa got up from her bed, walking over to hug her older sister.

“Thank you so much,” she said, grinning.

“Happy birthday. Very early,” Julieta replied. She gave Elisa a tight squeeze before pulling away. “Hopefully, this trip will be worth it.”