~ Chapter 8 ~
Eva always felt lighter after talking to her family.
It didn't matter how tangled her thoughts were or how heavy her chest felt, one call with them had a way of grounding her, reminding her of who she was before college stress, before exams, before accidentally falling for boys with ocean-blue eyes.
So, when she propped her phone against her pillow and hit FaceTime, she felt a small wave of relief even before the call connected.
Her mother's face appeared first, slightly too close to the camera.
"Why is it always my forehead?" her mom complained immediately.
Eva laughed and adjusted the phone. "Hi Ma."
Her dad leaned into frame beside her mom, holding a mug. "There she is. Our superstar." Her dad had the same eyes and hair as her, it was a sense of comfort for her. He retired as a cardiologist two years ago, and the retirement showed.
"Superstar who looks exhausted," her oldest brother added, already in scrubs, dark circles under his eyes. "Do you sleep, or do you just pretend to sleep?"
Her older brother, Christopher, was walking in their dad's shoes, being a cardiologist in the making. He had brown hair like Eva, but greenish hazel eyes.
Eva mumbled. "I sleep... sometimes."
Her older sister popped into view, hair pulled into a messy bun, textbook tucked under her arm. "She definitely forgets to eat too. I can feel it in my soul. Bubbles, you need to eat and sleep. Computer Science can wait."
Bella was a replica of their mom, blonde hair and green eyes, with a decent height of 5'5. She was studying to be a nurse, and it was gruesome, like Chris's.
Eva gasped dramatically. "Wow. Betrayal, Bells."
Her mom folded her arms. "Are you eating properly?" Audrey Winters was beautiful as usual, her blonde hair braided and pink of her cheeks, shows she is happy.
Eva hesitated.
Her dad sighed. "That pause tells me everything."
"I eat!" Eva protested. "I just... don't always feel hungry."
Her brother frowned. "You don't feel hungry because you live off coffee and vibes."
Eva laughed. "You literally live off hospital cafeteria food."
"That is not the same thing," he said seriously. "Mine has protein. You probably had a granola bar and called it a meal."
Eva opened her mouth.
Closed it.
Her sister pointed accusingly. "See? Caught."
Her mom softened. "Baby, you take such good care of everyone else. You need to take care of yourself too."
Eva felt her throat tighten slightly. "I know."
Her dad smiled. "How are classes?"
"Hard," Eva admitted. "But okay. Stats is... stats."
Her brother grimaced. "Ah yes. The universal enemy."
Her sister nodded solemnly. "Nursing stats almost took me out."
Eva giggled.
They talked about her brother's new rotation, about her sister's upcoming exams, about random family gossip, about how her mom's neighbor adopted another dog.
Normal things.
Comforting things.
Before hanging up, her dad looked at her seriously. "We're proud of you, you know that?"
Eva nodded, blinking fast. "I love you guys."
"We love you more," her mom said immediately.
After the call ended, Eva lay back on her bed for a moment, phone resting on her chest, feeling warm and full in a quiet way.
Then reality returned.
Study group.
Her stomach flipped.
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The classroom Vinod had booked was small and slightly stuffy, with one long table in the center and a whiteboard covered in half-erased suffering from whoever had been there before them.
Eva arrived early.
Of course she did.
She hovered in the doorway for a second, scanning the room like she was making sure she had permission to exist, before slipping inside and choosing a seat near the middle of the table.
She set her notebook down neatly, lined her pens up without realizing she was doing it, and immediately wondered why she cared so much about looking organized when no one else probably noticed.
Anand was the first to walk in.
He didn't just walk in.
He burst in.
Backpack slung over one shoulder, hoodie half-zipped, energy already at a solid eight out of ten.
"Squirrel," he announced dramatically, dropping into the chair beside her and letting his backpack thud onto the floor. "I'm proud of you for voluntarily entering a statistics environment. That alone deserves some kind of medal."
Eva snorted softly. "You're literally the one who invited me. Also, I deserve donuts after this."
"Exactly," Anand said. "Which means I successfully peer-pressured you into personal growth. You're welcome."
Eva rolled her eyes but couldn't hide her smile. "I hate you."
"You love me," Anand replied easily, bumping her shoulder with his. "And if this goes horribly, we leave together and pretend none of this ever happened."
"That's not how college works."
"That's how survival works."
Lila slipped in quietly, clutching her notebook to her chest like a shield. She hesitated near the doorway, eyes darting around the room.
Eva noticed immediately.
She stood up without thinking. "Hi! I'm Eva. You can sit with us."
Lila blinked, clearly relieved. "Oh. Um. I'm Lila."
Anand gave her a small wave. "Welcome to the suffering circle."
Lila laughed softly.
Eva smiled. "Sit next to me."
Lila slid into the seat beside Eva, her shoulders relaxing a little.
Jonah walked in next, balancing an alarming number of books in his arms and wearing the exhausted expression of someone who had made peace with academic pain.
"I'm Jonah," he said simply, dropping into a chair across from them.
"Eva," Eva replied. "This is Anand."
Jonah nodded.
More people filtered in.
Two mechanical engineering guys Eva vaguely recognized from campus.
Vinod.
Ryan, who looked like he had already decided he hated this.
And then—
Reed.
Eva felt it before she saw him.
That same tightening in her chest.
The same stupid awareness.
He walked in quietly, scanning the room in a way that felt instinctive rather than intentional. His eyes moved from face to face.
And then they landed on her.
Their gazes locked.
Just for a second.
Maybe two.
His lips tilted upward, barely, like he hadn't meant to smile but did anyway.
Eva's brain promptly shut off.
She dropped her pen.
It clattered loudly against the table.
Of course it did.
Eva stared at it like it had personally betrayed her.
Anand leaned toward her, voice low and far too amused. "Oh, I need to know the story behind this."
Eva's face felt like it was on fire. "Please stop talking."
Anand grinned wider. "Oh, I absolutely will not."
"You're being evil."
"I'm being observant."
Eva tried very hard to disappear into her hoodie.
Anand nudged her knee gently under the table. "Relax. You're fine."
Eva muttered, "I'm not."
Anand smirked. "You're adorable when you're panicking."
"I hate you."
"You love me."
Unfortunately.
They eventually settled into actually attempting to study.
Jonah claimed the whiteboard almost immediately, dropping his stack of books onto the front desk and uncapping a marker like he'd been preparing for this moment his entire life.
He started writing out formulas while muttering under his breath, occasionally pausing to squint at the board like it had personally wronged him.
Ryan leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. "I'm just going to say this now so everyone manages their expectations. I have no idea what any of this means. But I showed up. Which feels important."
Vinod glanced over his laptop. "Showing up does not equal passing."
Ryan placed a hand on his chest. "Wow. The negativity. I don't appreciate it."
Reed looked at Ryan. "You said the exact same thing last week."
"And I meant it then too."
"You failed the quiz," Reed said calmly.
Ryan sighed. "That was emotional damage."
Vinod didn't even look up. "That was academic damage."
Reed nodded. "Thank you."
Ryan pointed at both of them. "I hate this table."
Eva bit her lip, trying not to smile.
As Jonah kept writing, Eva found herself sneaking small glances around the table, quietly placing faces with names. When her eyes landed on Ryan again, something clicked.
"Um," Eva said softly, glancing at him. "You're Cassie's boyfriend, right?"
Ryan's face immediately brightened. "Yeah. You're Eva?"
Eva blushed with the sudden attention and nodded. "Yeah."
Cassie's description of him suddenly made sense. He had an easy warmth about him, the kind that felt friendly without trying too hard.
"She talks about you," Ryan said.
Eva's eyes widened slightly. "She does?"
"Only good things," Ryan added quickly. "Mostly about your cooking."
Eva's cheeks warmed instantly. "Oh. I love to cook," she said softly, then let out a small, nervous laugh. She immediately wished she hadn't spoken at all. God, she wanted the ground to open up and swallow her whole.
She focused very hard on the edge of her notebook, suddenly finding it fascinating.
But she could feel it.
Reed's gaze.
Not heavy.
Not uncomfortable.
Just... there.
Steady.
Quiet.
Like he was paying attention in a way that made her hyper-aware of herself, of how she was sitting, of how her hands were folded in her lap, of how her heart was doing something embarrassingly fast.
He wasn't judging her.
He wasn't smirking.
He was just watching.
And somehow, that felt worse.
And better.
All at once.
Ryan grinned. "We're gonna be friends. I can feel it."
Vinod muttered, "He says that to everyone."
Ryan gasped. "Lies."
They laughed softly, and some of Eva's nerves eased.
Jonah stepped back from the board. "Okay, so if we're following this example, we're supposed to calculate standard deviation using population."
Lila squinted. "But shouldn't we be using sample standard deviation?"
Jonah frowned. "Yeah, that's what I thought too."
The room went quiet.
Eva felt that familiar tightening in her chest.
She knew this.
Her fingers curled around her pen.
Anand leaned toward her. "You know this, squirrel."
Eva shook her head faintly. "I don't want to sound stupid."
Reed, who had been quiet, spoke up gently. "You won't."
Eva glanced at him.
Something about the way he said it made her breathe a little easier.
"So... um," Eva said softly. "If the problem states we're analyzing the entire dataset, like all the values, then we use population standard deviation. But if we were only estimating based on a subset, then we'd use sample standard deviation because it accounts for bias."
Silence.
Processing silence.
Jonah turned back to the board. "Oh."
Vinod nodded slowly. "That checks out."
Lila smiled. "That actually makes sense."
Ryan stared at Eva. "Why are you secretly brilliant?"
Eva shook her head quickly. "I'm not."
Anand snorted. "You absolutely are."
Reed watched her duck her head, watched the way she tucked her hair behind her ear.
Jonah erased part of the board. "Okay, so if we use population here, then next step would be—"
They kept going.
And without realizing it, Eva became the quiet center of the table.
Not because she talked the most.
But because when people got stuck, they looked at her.
When Lila stared at her notes, Eva slid her notebook closer so she could see her worked example.
When Ryan groaned dramatically and slumped forward, Eva pushed a granola bar toward him.
Ryan looked down at it. "Did you just feed me?"
Eva nodded. "You looked hungry."
Ryan placed a hand over his heart. "Cassie was right. You're an angel."
Vinod muttered, "Don't encourage him."
Reed glanced at Eva.
Something warm settled in his chest.When Jonah misapplied a formula, Eva gently cleared her throat. "I think... I think you might want to switch those two steps."
Jonah blinked. "Oh. Yeah. You're right."
Eva winced. "Sorry."
"For what?" Jonah asked. "You just saved me from failing."
She gave a tiny smile.
Reed noticed everything.
He'd expected Eva to be quiet.
He hadn't expected her to be like this.
She wasn't loud.
She wasn't flashy.
She didn't try to impress anyone.
She just... helped.
Patiently.
Genuinely.
People listened when she spoke.
Not because she demanded it.
But because what she said made sense.
Reed felt something warm settle in his chest.
Not just attraction.
Something steadier.
He liked who she was.
And that felt bigger.
By the time they wrapped up, the tension in the room had noticeably eased. People looked tired, but less defeated than when they'd arrived, which honestly felt like a small miracle.
Jonah capped his marker and set it down. "You explain things really well."
Eva blinked, clearly not expecting that. "Oh. Um. Thanks."
Lila smiled at her. "Can I sit next to you again next time?"
Eva nodded immediately. "Yeah. Of course."
Ryan stretched in his seat. "Cool, so Eva's officially our tutor now."
Eva's eyes widened. "No, I'm not—"
Vinod cut in calmly. "You basically are."
Reed's lips twitched.
Eva groaned softly and hid half her face behind her notebook.
As people started packing up, chairs scraping lightly against the floor, Reed lingered near the edge of the table, shifting his weight slightly like he wasn't quite sure where to stand or what to do with his hands.
"Uh... thanks," he said quietly. "For earlier. The standard deviation thing."
Eva looked up at him. Really looked up, he was too tall for her without stretching her neck.
"You're welcome."
Their eyes met.
Neither of them looked away right away.
It wasn't intense.
It wasn't dramatic.
It was just... quiet.
Comfortable.
Anand cleared his throat loudly, far too dramatically for the situation.
"So," he said, clapping his hands once. "Same time next week? Before we all forget everything and suffer alone again."
Ryan nodded. "I vote yes. I cannot emotionally handle failing another quiz."
Vinod shrugged. "Works for me."
Jonah nodded. "Yeah."
Lila smiled. "Same."
Reed glanced back at Eva.
"Yeah," he said. "Same time."
Eva nodded.
Her heart did that stupid fluttery thing again.
Later that night, curled under her blankets with her hair still slightly damp from a rushed shower, Eva stared at the ceiling for a long time.
She didn't know what this thing with Reed was.
She didn't know if it was a crush or curiosity or something in between.
But she knew one thing.
He saw her.
Not just the shy girl.
Not just the quiet one.
He saw her when she spoke.
When she helped.
When she existed.
And for the first time in a long time...
She felt seen.