The Summer I Left novel · Chapter 17 of 24

Chapter 17: Withdrawn

The scholarship committee met in the library of the community college, in a room with a long table and five chairs.

Brynn sat in the middle one.

She wore a navy dress and pearl earrings. Her hair was brushed to a shine. She looked like a girl who had never raised her voice.

Nate and I stood outside the glass door for a full minute before we went in.

"I can wait here," Nate said. "I can wait here if it is too loud."

"You don't have to come in."

"I want to." He pressed the phone against his sternum. "I have the second one. She does not know about the second one."

Behind us, Eddie leaned on the wall with a bag of pretzels.

"I'm the getaway driver," he said. "Nobody's allowed to say anything bad about the getaway driver."

We pushed the door open.

A woman at the end of the table was in the middle of a sentence.

"...and the video essay shows the sustained commitment we're looking for. Ms. Alcott, this is moving work."

The screen on the wall was frozen on a still of me.

I was soaked, in the hallway of my parents' house, with my arms down at my sides.

Beneath it, in white letters, was the title: *LIVING WITH THE DANGEROUS BROTHER.*

Brynn turned her head and saw us.

Her whole face went still.

"Excuse me," the chair of the committee said. He was a man in his sixties with white hair and an open folder. "This is a closed session. Are you family?"

"I'm Drew Bradfield," I said. "That's me on your screen."

Brynn stood up.

"Mr. Chairman, I can explain. He's been harassing Nate and me since the summer. We have a restraining order in progress."

"We do not," Nate said.

Every head turned.

Nate stood next to me with his shoulders high and his phone out, and he did not look at anyone, but he said it clearly.

← Chapter 16 · All chapters · Chapter 18 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend