Page 6 of Anomalies

And just like that, her lip is curled back in a snarl, her finger raised and pointed right between his eyes. “Call me that again and I’ll skin you alive.”

I laugh, and Jude swings his head in my direction, as if he just now realized I’m sitting here. It’s always like that when he’s around Ivy.

I smile at him. “Hi, Jude.”

“Hi, Cin.” Jude’s answering grin is brief but bright, then he’s right back to Ivy. “Guess what,” he tells her, folding his arms across his chest.

Ivy doesn’t hesitate. “You’ve finally decided to date someone your own age?”

“How old are you again?”

I nearly choke on my drink, and Ivy seethes beside me. He thinks it’s fun to rile her up. Ivy’s got a beast under her skin, and Jude likes to poke it.

“Too old for you.”

Jude shrugs, that big goofy smile back on his face. “Maybe you’ll change your mind next year.”

“I won’t be anywhere near you next year,” Ivy bites back.

Suddenly, the alcohol sits in my stomach funny, and any remnant of a smile is wiped clean off my face. Ivy leaves for school at the end of the summer. Flitrose. The most prestigious university in West Draycott.

And Ivy got a full fucking ride.

She’s the smartest person I’ve ever met in my life. Her memory is eidetic; she can skim a book once, then recite it back to you. Ivy has the type of mind that could change the world. I’m happy for her, really, I am… but I have no idea what I’m going to do when she’s gone. I can’t afford to live in West Draycott. I can’t even afford to visit. Not with Catherine and Merrill charging me rent now. If it wasn’t the cheapest I could find, I’d leave.

Jude’s gaze cuts to me, and I flash a bright smile that he frowns at. He must have caught the twist of emotions on my face a split second before I locked them up. He worries about me just as much as I worry about him, but I hate when he looks at me like that. Like I’m lost.

Jude turns to Ivy, “Actually, you will be.”

She snaps straight up in her chair. “What did you do?”

“I got into Orison.”

All of me goes numb. All at once.

Orison is a military academy in the south of West Draycott, and I knew he was thinking about applying, but I was hoping he’d wait a few years like Ivy did. I thought I had more time.

My mouth somehow musters up the words, “Congratulations, Jude⁠—"

“You made yourself my new neighbor?” Ivy snaps. “Do you think that’s cute or something?”

“No, Ivanna,” Jude drawls, and Ivy jumps to her feet.

She finishes off her drink and slams her cup down in the sand. “I’m getting us some boards.” Jude watches her leave, turning to face me when I clear my throat.

“I’m proud of you. For Orison,” I tell him, and the next breath I take is deep. “When do you leave?”

“End of the summer.”

“Hm,” I mumble, fidgeting with the silver charm around my neck, a nervous tick that Jude knows all too well. It’s a habit I’ve had for as long as I can remember.

“You should come with me,” he says. “Get a place near campus.”

“With what money?”

“I could pitch in⁠—"

“Nope.”