Despite growing up together, Catherine Simmons and Mattis Reed were never close.
Cat was inseparable from Mattis' younger sister, Chloé, while he was busy running around on the football field.
But when Cat's new dream drags her across the country du...
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"That can't be healthy."
I step over Cadin, where he's lying face down on our kitchen floor, wearing what looks like sweat-soaked workout clothes.
"Fuck off," he mutters, the words muffled. I narrowly avoid stepping on his fingers. "I'm mourning."
I reach the fridge, grabbing a water bottle. I might not feel as bad as Cat, but today is no walk in the park for me. I chuck some, glancing between Cadin on the floor, and Ethan, sitting at the kitchen island, looking worriedly at his brother.
"Mourning what?" I ask, leaning back against the counter, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.
"He broke up with Ava last night," Ethan says without looking at me. There's a plate of untouched scrambled eggs in front of him, suggesting that he tried, unsuccessfully, to get his twin to eat.
"Aw, shit. Blondie?"
I thought they were solid.
Both García brothers turn to look at me, Cadin's cheek smudged against the tiled floor, an identical crease between their brows.
"She's your girlfriend's roommate, and you don't know her name?" There are traces of distaste in Cadin's voice that I choose to overhear.
Really, I cannot be expected to learn the names of every Columbia student, can I?
"Why'd you break up?" I ask instead, eying the abandoned breakfast. We have practice later, and I'll be hard-pressed without some food in my stomach first.
"She has a girlfriend."
I glance at Ethan and then back to Cadin. "You knew that, right?"
Pretty sure everybody knows that.
"Asshole," Cadin mutters, rolling onto his back, splaying his arms out like he's about to make a snow angel. "Apparently, there's a difference between knowing and seeing."
It reminds me of something Cat said a while back before we left for Christmas break. She'd been worried Cadin was getting too attached without knowing exactly what he was getting into. We'd brushed her off. Guess I owe her an apology.
"So why are you on our kitchen floor?" I ask, gulping down more water.
"Went for a run with Jace. Lost the will to live. Decided to lie down."
God, usually, Cadin is overly enthusiastic and positive, like a golden retriever with ADHD. Heartbreak is making him very melodramatic.
This isn't really my forte, and I look to Ethan for guidance, but he's surprisingly quiet. Cadin feeling sorry for himself isn't exactly unexpected, though this is a new extreme. I wonder how worried Ethan is.
"Okay, um, how are you doing?"
"How do you think, dipshit?" Cadin asks, dragging himself up to a sitting position and collapsing against the cupboards. He doesn't look great.
