CHAPTER 37 Scholarship
May 18, 2011
Lily and I were going through wedding stuff at her place when a text from Alice came in.
Alice:Special delivery. Are you home?
Me:I’m at Lily and Joel’s. What are you up to?
Alice:You’ll have to see it for yourself. See you up there.
Alice knocked a few minutes later, and I rushed to get the door.
“Alice!” She was carrying a beautiful, jumbo-sized flower bouquet in a vibrant palette of various shades of pink. It came wrapped in kraft paper and a ribbon to match the blooms. There were easily over fifty stems in the bouquet.
“For you, milady.” She handed over the bouquet, and the heaviness of it almost made my knees buckle.
“Do you want to come in?” I offered, making sure I held a tight grasp on the flowers.
“Thanks, but I still have a few errands to run,” she said. “But William insisted on me delivering this one personally.” She winked at me. “Look for two envelopes.”
“Oh.” I tried searching for them, but the bouquet was too big to handle.
“Bye, Billie!” Alice walked away toward the elevator. “Congrats!”
Congrats?
I pushed the door shut with my foot and returned to the living room.
Lily’s jaw dropped when she saw me. “I’ll have to call you back,” she told someone she was on the phone with. “William sent them?”
“Who else?” I laughed. “They’re beautiful, aren’t they?” I set them on the coffee table and quickly spotted an envelope. It said Parsons on the outside. “Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God!” I was freaking out.
She jumped to her feet. “What is it?”
“This must be about the scholarship.” I tore the envelope open and pulled out the letter, reading it as fast as I could. I stopped reading when I got to the part that said: 95% scholarship granted. I pressed the letter against my chest and yelled, “I got it!” I jumped up and down with joy. “I got it! I got it! I got it!”
Lily held my hands and jumped up and down with me, screaming, “Ah! You got it!”
Paying for 5% of the tuition cost for the semester was well within my means.
“I’ll be graduating in December, Lily!”
She threw her arms around me and swayed me from side to side. “I’m so fucking proud of you.” She started crying.
“Lily!” She was going to make me cry, too.
“I’m sorry.” She broke off the embrace with a laugh and wiped the tears away from her face. “Ugh. I’m just exhausted and emotional with the wedding, that’s all.” She plucked the second envelope from the bouquet and handed it over to me. “From William.”
Guille,
I knew you would get the scholarship. We’ll celebrate on Friday when I get back. Congratulations, ?lskling!
Jag ?lskar dig.
W.S.
William must’ve asked about my scholarship status when he met with my academic director.
The doorbell rang. “I’ll get it,” I said, brushing away the happy tears from my cheeks, but more kept pouring down.
When I opened the door, my body tensed. “Nathan. Hi.” He wasn’t alone. A beautiful girl was standing next to him. She had long, light brown hair that cascaded down her shoulders in loose waves. Her bright, amber eyes felt oddly familiar. They were holding hands, and her posture was perfect and graceful. They looked … good together. Great, actually. So much so that it made me feel a tinge of jealousy, but I discarded it because Nathan was and would forever remain a thing of the past, even if he would always somehow be connected to my present.
Looking at Nathan was hard because it reminded me of how much I had hurt him. But I was also glad to see he was moving on with someone else, and I hoped she was making him happy. He deserved it.
“Murph.” His eyes narrowed on me with concern. “Is everything okay? Have you been crying?” He dropped the girl’s hand and took a step closer.
“Oh, no, it’s um … happy tears.” I brushed the leftover humidity off my face and waved the scholarship notification letter in front of me. “It’s good news from Parsons. I was granted a scholarship.” I shook my head and held out my hand to the stunning brunette. “I’m Billie.”
“Sorry,” Nathan said, placing his hand on the girl’s lower back to bring her closer. “Forgot my manners for a second there. Billie, this is Vivienne. She’s um—” Nathan hesitated.
“His girlfriend.” Vivienne completed the sentence and shook my hand with a smile but looked sideways at Nathan.
That was awkward.
“Please come in.” I slid the door open for them. “I assume you’re here to see Joel?”
They stepped inside, and Nathan grabbed Vivienne’s hand again. I hated how aware I was of their every interaction.
Joel came out of his room fully dressed, the smell of his cologne impregnating the room. His hair was still blond, and it didn’t stop shocking me how much he looked like William with it. Lily was still in the living room, taking a call and jotting down stuff on a notepad.
I excused myself and let Joel take over. Lily grimaced when she saw me approaching her with wide eyes.
“Sorry!” she mouthed, lifting a finger to give her a minute. “Okay, thanks, Ruby. I’ll see you tomorrow at ten. Yes. Thanks again.”
Lily dropped her phone on the sofa next to her. “I completely forgot we were going out for lunch with Nathan and his new girlfriend!” she whispered. “I’m sorry. I’m going insane with the wedding. I wouldn’t have asked you to meet here otherwise.”
“No, you’re fine.” I waved a carefree hand in front of me. “She looks familiar, but I can’t figure out why. Is she … famous?” Through meeting the Sj?berg family and dating William, I had become more up-to-date with pop culture and celebrities, so I wasn’t as clueless as I used to be. But it wouldn’t have surprised me if she were famous and I didn’t know.
“No, she’s not.” Lily frowned with curiosity. “Maybe she looks like someone you know?”
“I don’t know. I feel like I’ve seen her before.” I peeked over my shoulder and saw the three of them talking. I was sure I’d seen her before. “So, when did they start dating?”
“A few weeks ago, I think?” Lily said, standing up. “I didn’t tell you because I’d only met her once. Briefly, so I don’t have much information to give you. And you know, I wasn’t sure if you wanted to know.”
“No, no, it’s fine.” I nibbled my bottom lip nervously. “I think I should get going.” I grinned, and it made Lily laugh.
“Ruby wants to meet tomorrow to go through the final seating arrangement map,” she said. “Can you come?”
“Of course! Whatever you need.”
“We’re meeting at 10:00 a.m. at her office.”
“Perfect.” I smiled and grabbed my flower bouquet.
Lily went to say hi to Nathan and Vivienne, and I couldn’t help but remember the times when we used to go out or hang out, the four of us. It gave me a nostalgic feeling. We used to have a lot of fun together.
“It was nice meeting you, Vivienne,” I said as I walked toward the front door and offered a goodbye hand wave from afar. I didn’t want to approach them when I was struggling to carry the flowers.
“Oh, wow! Those flowers are beautiful!” Vivienne exclaimed. She regarded me with curiosity, and I wasn’t sure if she felt the same way I did about her. Maybe I seemed familiar to her, too. “It was nice meeting you too, Billie.”
“I guess I’ll see you guys at the wedding.”
Nathan stared at me and nodded once.
“Sure thing,” Vivienne replied with a smile, looping her arm around Nathan’s. I wasn’t sure if she knew I was Nathan’s ex, but if she didn’t, she would for sure now after this impromptu encounter.
After closing the door behind me and heading toward the elevator, I tapped my foot on the floor, waiting for it to arrive.
Lily’s front door opened and closed again with a soft click behind me. “Murph.”
I closed my eyes and sighed. Please go back to your girlfriend, Nathan.
“Hey!” I turned around, trying to seem casual about him coming after me. “What’s up?”
He scrutinized the flowers for a few seconds before turning his inquisitive green gaze at me. “Why did you apply for a scholarship? I thought James—your father,” he quickly corrected, “took care of your tuition.”
“Nathan.” I tilted my head and looked away. The flowers were weighing heavily in my arms. My elevator had arrived, and I didn’t think it was a good idea to talk to Nathan about this when I didn’t know how close they were or if he’d report back to my dad.
“What happened?” His eyes were filled with genuine concern.
“What do you think?” The elevator doors closed behind me, and I cursed inside my head.
“I don’t know what to think.” He took a step forward. “That’s why I’m asking.”
“Nathan, I think you should go back.”
“I just want to know if you’re okay.” His tone was low and gentle.
“I am,” I assured him. “I swear. But you know James well enough by now.”
Nathan stared at me in silence. It was clear he wasn’t backing down until I gave him something. Seeing and talking to Nathan was tough because he wasn’t the asshole ex-boyfriend. He’d been nothing but kind to me. I had been the asshole. I was the one who hurt him. That’s why it was so hard to look at him still caring about me after everything that happened, especially when his new girlfriend was waiting for him inside Lily and Joel’s apartment.
“He cut me off, okay?” I finally conceded, clicking the elevator button again to give him a clear signal that it was time for me to leave.
“I see.” Nathan pressed his lips into a tight line. “I didn’t know.”
“Why would you?” The elevator arrived, and I stepped inside. He didn’t follow me but kept the doors from closing with his arm.
“Well, I talk to James every day,” he said. Of course, he does. “You know, since we’re business partners.” His brow furrowed, looking confused, as if I would know these things.
“I didn’t know it was official.” I couldn’t believe my dad went through with this partnership. That Nathan did, either. It made me remember how it used to bother me so much when we were together. Either way, I hoped things didn’t end badly in the long run, knowing how vicious my dad could be when it came to, well, everything. “I haven’t talked to him since last Christmas.”
“I see.” Nathan cleared his throat. “That explains your absence at the opening cocktail.”
“I didn’t get an invitation.” I shrugged. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks.”
The elevator’s long alarm went off, and the doors struggled against Nathan’s arm, wanting to shut close.
“Right. Well, I’m terribly sorry your dad is being an arse,” he said. It made me chuckle, and he smiled. “I guess I should head back. I’ll see you at the wedding.”
I nodded. “See you at the wedding.”