*Shelby*“I think snow is useless after Christmas,” Lin said as she linked her arm with mine.“I don’t think you get to decide when the snow has to stop,” I laughed as we trudged through the soft downpour leaving our first lecture of the semester.“Well, I think I should. You know what else I think?” Lin asked.“Oh no, do I dare ask?” I said in a teasing way,“I think we head over to that little coffee shop to weather out the storm. We only have an hour and a half before the next lecture starts, and I don’t want to walk all the way back to our apartment,” Lin said.“I agree with you on that one,” I said, and we immediately changed directions making our way to one of my favorite places on campus.We walked in the front door, and the warm air inside felt like it enveloped us. The smell of coffee and pastries filled the small shop, and the warm-toned wood walls created a cozy feel in the space. Large, worn-out armchairs dotted the dining space mixed amon

*Michael*I didn’t leave Colorado until the day Shelby was released from the hospital. Even though she didn't want me there, I couldn't bear to leave in case she changed her mind, so I stayed. Bruce refused to leave my side, even with the state of the penthouse back in New York City. Each day he would check in at the hospital to monitor Shelby's recovery. Most days, she wouldn't even let him in the room, but he always gave me peace of mind that she was on the road to recovery.The day she was discharged, I sent Bruce to pick her up and drive her to the airport, but Shelby refused to take my private jet back to Cambridge. At that point, I knew I needed to let her go. As much as I wanted to reach out to her just to make sure she was okay, I refrained. Part of me wanted to send someone from my security team to campus to keep an eye on her. Just to make sure that Blaine was keeping his distance.However, I knew if Shelby ever found out, she would be furious with

*Shelby*At the last second, I pulled away.“Thanks again for a nice night, Jerrick,” I said before heading up the stairs alone.My heart wrenched with guilt.I pulled the front door shut behind me as quietly as I possibly could. The apartment was dark, and all the lights were off. I was slightly relieved that Lin wasn’t waiting up for me. I didn’t turn on any of the lights, not wanting to wake Lin and have to explain that I’d just had an amazing date with Jerrick but left him as soon as he tried to kiss me. It really had been an amazing date; we had a great connection, and for the most part, the conversation was easy. Jerrick was the perfect gentleman and extremely attractive. He laughed at all the right things. If I’d been in a different place, I would have been over the moon that an attractive man in law school was taking notice of me. I stood there in our dark kitchen and imagined that version of Shelby rushing into Lin’s room and reliving every deta

*Shelby*“Shelby, are you sure you want to go to class?” Lin asked, jogging to keep up with me as I walked down the sidewalk.“I don’t want to miss anything else. I can’t afford to,” I said a little breathlessly.“You got some major news today, Shelby. No one would blame you for taking a mental health day. I’ll cover for you again, and you can look over my notes after class,” she said.“It’s not the same as actually being there,” I said as I opened the door to the lecture hall. I was disappointed to see that most of the seats were already full, and we would have to take our place in the back. It rattled my nerves even more to see Lauren sitting in one of the front seats. She smiled and waved at me, just like we were still great friends. She acted like she didn’t rub my breakup in my face the last time we spoke.It made me wonder how much of our friendship was real or if it’d all been fake with her. Just like that, she could flip a switch and act like noth

*Shelby*“Shelby, what happened?” a familiar voice asked me. I looked up to see Jerrick staring down at me with a worried expression on his face.“Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to run into you. I just had to get out of the classroom,” I said, pulling myself away from him, even though a part of me wanted to stay enveloped in his warm arms.“Shelby, you don’t have to lie to me. I can tell something’s wrong. Just tell me what’s going on. Maybe I can help,” Jerrick offered.“I just got the results back from the internship applications. I didn’t get the one I wanted,” I explained simply.“Oh man, Shelby, that really sucks. I’m sorry, to tell the truth, I found out this morning about my results. I didn’t get the one I wanted either, so it looks like I’ll be working for my dad’s company. I know it won’t be so bad, but part of me wanted to break away a little and show him that I was capable,” Jerrick explained. I remembered how Lin told me about Jerrick w