Betrayed by My Childhood Love novel · Chapter 5 of 32

Chapter 5: Owls

"I didn't send him," I said.

Gran's face changed.

"He drove down in his mama's Lexus. Said you needed them in Dallas for your applications. He knew exactly which shelf." She stood up. "I gave him the box off the garage shelf. I gave it to him myself."

"Gran."

"Six years of your work, and I handed it to that boy with a glass of tea."

She went down the steps and into the garage in her socks.

I followed her.

The shelf over the workbench had a clean rectangle in the dust where the box used to be.

I'd last opened it when I was fifteen.

I called Lyndon at 2:40 in the morning.

It went straight to voicemail.

I texted him.

Where are my notebooks?

The message turned green. Then it wouldn't send at all.

He'd blocked me.

All summer I worked on the docks with her, fixing diesel engines for cash.

In August I drove to Houston with my duffel and Gran's socket set.

My roommate studied architecture and kept a cactus named after her ex.

The first Friday of term, the rocketry team held tryouts.

Forty people showed up at the low brick building behind the engineering quad.

The side door was still propped open with the fire extinguisher.

Waylon stood on a workbench with a clipboard.

He read names off a list and pointed people to stations without looking up.

"Structures, by the composites. Avionics, by the laptops. Recovery, outside with the parachutes."

"Beaumont."

I stepped forward.

He looked at me for the first time.

That almost-smile happened at the corner of his mouth.

"Shop cleanup," he said, and pointed at a broom.

A couple of guys snickered.

"I'm propulsion," I said.

"You're a freshman. Freshmen sweep." He looked back down at his clipboard. "Unless you think you're too good for a broom."

← Chapter 4 · All chapters · Chapter 6 →

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