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Chapter 58: New starts
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Keeping Score Chapter 59: Meet Zelda
QUINNWe made it down to the second floor and counted off the numbers until we reached the room I'd been assigned. Unlike Gia's door, mine was ajar, although I didn't hear any noise from inside. I hoped like crazy that I wasn't going to walk in on a happy family, all helping their college freshman to organize her new room. I wasn't sure I could take too much family vibe today.But when I peered inside, there was only one person there, a girl. One side of the room was clearly claimed; one bed was made, one dresser moved and one desk already stacked with books, while on the other side, nothing had been touched.The girl sitting on the edge of the made-up bed was beautiful. Not just your typical, run-of-the-mill college pretty, but catch-your-breath-and-turn-to-stare gorgeous. She was probably about as tall as I was, I thought, although it was hard to be sure before she stood up. One long tanned leg was folded beneath her, while the other was bent, her foot resting on the mattress as s
Keeping Score Chapter 60: An interesting year
QUINNNate was sprawled on a bench outside the front door of our dorm. As we approached him, I tried to see my friend as a stranger might: a typical college guy, long legs stretched out on the pavement, his brown hair a little too long over his eyes. He wasn't muscled or broad the way some of the boys passing us were, and unlike most of them, Nate wore jeans. He was self-conscious about the way his legs looked in shorts and never went out in public with them on. He flipped up his sunglasses when I was within a few feet of him, and the practiced, almost-cool move took me by surprise. Sometimes I forgot that Nate wasn't still the awkward kid I'd known all my life. A knot of girls passing us stared in his direction, and one of them giggled, her eyes going wide. Yeah, Nate was definitely going to have his share of admirers at college. He didn't give them any attention at all, though. His gaze was on me, his eyes searching, checking to make sure I was okay, the same way he'd been doing
Keeping Score Chapter 61: I got plans
LEOFRESHMAN YEARSEPTEMBEROne of the first things I'd discovered about college was that locker rooms were pretty much the same. Oh, the lockers were a little nicer at Carolina, sure-but the smell and the noises were both exactly the same. So was the vibe, the mood and attitudes. "Hey, Taylor. Looked great out there tonight." Thom Wilkens, the QB and team captain, paused behind me and punched me in the arm. "Keep up the good work, and you might see more play time during the games.""Thanks." I grinned. "I know I've got a lot to live up to."Thom shrugged. "Yeah, I hear that. Being the quarterback who comes in after Drake Stamos, the guy who led us to a national championship? Not fun. I'm constantly feeling like those shoes are way too fucking big. We're a young team, and we're all figuring this shit out. So you need anything, you come to me, yeah?""Got it." I nodded as Thom made his way toward his own locker, stopping here and there to drop encouragement to other players. Dud
Keeping Score Chapter 62: Welcome to Carolina U
LEOSomehow, even with all the delays in the locker room, I made it back to the dorm before Quinn and Gia arrived. She'd texted me that they had checked into the motel and were getting changed before coming over. Just knowing she was close drove me out of my mind. I wanted to jump into my car and drive over there, plans be damned. If it weren't for Gia being at the motel with her, I might've done just that. But if I was in motel room with Quinn, I didn't want a third person there with us. My phone buzzed, and I jumped to check it.On our way.
Keeping Score Chapter 63: A fateful meeting
QUINN"Oh, my God, Quinn!" Gia grasped my arm and yelled into my ear as she leaned into the booth where I was sitting. "I can't remember ever having this much fun. Isn't it wild?"I forced a smile and nodded. "Yeah. Wild." I glanced up at Leo, who was in the middle of an intense conversation with one of the football players-I couldn't remember this one's name. As if he felt my eyes on him, Leo tightened his arm around me and brushed his lips over the top of my head. "You okay, Mia?" "Better than okay." I snuggled closer. "Do you need another drink?" He lifted the glass of melting ice in front of me and jiggled it. "I saw the waitress around here somewhere.""I'm good for now. If I drink anymore, I'll have to go brave the rest rooms, and I saw that line earlier. No, thanks."Leo's chest shook a little as he laughed. "You're not wrong. But if you-oh, hey, Durham. I was beginning to think you got lost."The guy who'd just approached our booth was as tall as Leo and built like a
Keeping Score Chapter 64: This. Every day. Forever.
QUINN"Can we do this every day for the rest of our lives?" Leo's voice was tired but sated. I lay sprawled over him, not a stitch of clothes on either of us. His hand drew lazy circles on my back, and his breath was still coming in rapid puffs that stirred my hair. "You're sure Matt's not coming back?" I asked the question for the third time. I trusted my boyfriend, but Matt had always been unpredictable. I wouldn't put it past him to come bursting in, just to embarrass me. "I'm sure, babe. I told you. He texted that he was taking Gia back to the motel, and then he was going to crash somewhere else tonight, with one of the guys. And Gia said the same thing, right, that he drove her back? You made sure she was okay with him?""Yeah." I sighed. "She said she was." I pressed my lips into Leo's chest. "And in answer to your other question, I'm on board. This. Every day. Forever.""Excellent." He rolled over so that we lay on our sides, facing each other. "Does it make me a wuss t
Keeping Score Chapter 65: Lipstick lessons
NATEFRESHMAN YEARMAY"Hey, Wellman. Give me a hand here, will you?"Tuck's voice held more than a little frustration as I came into our room, drying off my hair with a towel. He was sitting on his bed, his arms braced on either side of his body so that the muscles popped out. His jaw was clenched, and he was staring at the floor, where a thick hardback book lay."Sure. What's up?"A tic jumped in his cheek. "I was being stupid. Lazy. Went to grab the book on my desk without thinking about it, and it was too far out of my reach. Dropped it." He nodded to the wheelchair at the foot of the bed. "I should've gotten the chair, I guess, but . . ." He trailed off, and I heard what he didn't want to say. Whenever Tuck could ignore the chair that gave him mobility, he did. I knew how maddening it could be, not to be able to do the simple things other people took for granted. Living with Eli Tucker for the last year had taught me to appreciate what I was capable of doing instead of bro
Keeping Score Chapter 66: Priorities and wishes
NATEFRESHMAN YEARJUNESince I'd become aware of the possibility of having a shortened lifespan, I'd begun setting short-term goals. At first, they were simple: I'd wanted to live long enough to be taller than my mom. To survive until I'd learned to speak Spanish and figured out calculus. To finish high school. And now, with one year of college behind me, I felt like I could take on anything. My health was stable; it hadn't gotten any better, but it wasn't any worse, either. My parents were thrilled that the year had passed so uneventfully, and they'd even begun doing something unprecedented in our little family: they'd taken short weekend trips by themselves. A few times my mom had even made it through the weekend without calling me to check in. I'd adjusted to sharing a room, too. Tuck and I had ended up to be pretty compatible, and a few months before the end of our freshman year, he'd glanced up from his laptop one night while we were both studying. "Dude, you good to roo
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