This is What Goodbye Looks Like Read Free Page A

I force myself to smile a little, so she knows I’m just being snarky and not mean.
    The girl lets out a chirping laugh and extends her hand. It’s covered in a soft pink mitten with teal edging, and I get the feeling it costs more than my entire outfit. “I’m Brianna,” she says. “But everyone just calls me Brie.”
    I take her hand and shake it, trying not to show my surprise at how firm her grasp is. “Nice to meet you. I’d introduce myself, but it sounds like you already know who I am.”
    “Yup,” she says with a nod. “Ms. Thorne told us all about you. She’s our dorm supervisor, and you’re going to love her. Unless you land in her physics class, in which case you’ll hate her and your life. Anyway, she told us you’re from San Diego, so I asked for you as my roommate, because my old one got mono a couple months back, and she’s still home sick, and it’d just really suck to go an entire semester without a roomie, you know? But then you showed up, and I thought we’d be the perfect match, since I’m from San Diego, too.”
    Nathan sets down my luggage and gently nudges Brie in the side with his elbow. “Oh my gawd, Brie!” he says in an exaggeratedly high voice. “Like, no one would ever guess that you’re totally, like, a Cali girl.”
    She laughs and hits at him with the loose end of her scarf, which is also pink and a designer brand. “Mock the accent all you want, Nathan. I’m not the one driving a taxi and making pizzas for a living.”
    “ Temporarily driving a taxi and making pizzas,” he corrects, holding up a finger. “I’m going to culinary school soon, remember?”
    “And remember we decided that wasn’t actually happening?” Brie says. “Because I’m going to die of mozzarella withdrawal if you leave. Nobody else makes pizza like you.”
    They just smile at each other for a long moment. Then Brie seems to notice all the sudden how close she is to Nathan, and she takes a large step back, her cheeks reddening as she blushes down at her fuzzy beige boots. She looks over at me, probably hoping I’ll move the conversation along, but she suddenly tilts her head in a curious expression.
    “Did you go to Ackerman before you came here?” she asks.
    “No,” I say, recognizing the name of one of the high schools on the coastal side of San Diego. “I live further inland, so I went to Unity Creek.”
    Brie shrugs. “Huh. You look familiar, so I thought we might have been in the same freshman class. I was at Ackerman a year before I came to Harting.”
    Her curiosity seems innocent enough, but it still makes my stomach drop. After the accident, Camille’s picture got shared around a lot by the media and on the internet, so there’s a good chance Brie’s seen it if she’s from San Diego. Camille is a blue-eyed blond, so most people don’t immediately assume we’re sisters, since I have dark hair and grey eyes. But both of us have our mom’s refined features and sharp chin, and if you stuck Camille’s picture right next to mine, it’d be pretty obvious we’re related.
    “Sorry,” I mumble, realizing I need to give an answer. “I never went to Ackerman, and I don’t even know anyone who goes there.”
    Brie hesitates a moment longer, but then she just shrugs again. “Yeah, I guess I should have expected that. San Diego’s a big place.”
    I let out a small, relieved breath and then quickly try to change the subject. I gesture between Brie and Nathan. “But you two have obviously met before. How do you guys know each other?” I ask, trying to keep my tone casual as I step out of the taxi.
    Pain immediately lances up my left leg, and my right leg tingles with numbness as the damaged nerves try to recover from an hour of sitting. I attempt to cover my sudden wobbliness by reaching into the taxi for my cane. But it must be pretty obvious how unsteady I am, because Nathan swoops past me and snags my cane out of the backseat, offering it to me with a gentlemanly