Page 3 of Breakaway Hearts

It’s fine. Angela is asking about you.

Jason

You’re talking me up, I hope?

Me

Not that you need it.

Jason

I should be there soon. Or never. Somewhere between that.

Me

Hurry.

Chapter Two

Owen

Care to demonstrate?

“Anything else you need?” I ask Tabytha, eyeing the tiny dorm she’s sharing with another girl whose stuff is in three boxes on one side of the room. The other half already looks like my sister’s been living here for months, thanks to our parents and siblings getting her settled over the past few days. I roped two of my housemates into assembling what was left of her furniture with me.

“Do you think I should get a hot plate? Or at least a kettle?”

“Would you ever use them? Don’t you prefer cafés, or the dining hall, places where you might meet people?”

“Are you worried about that?”

“No, I just know that you want to expand your social circle, and dining halls are better than—” I trail off to glare at a dude who literally pauses in the doorway with a flirty smile before he notices the three hockey players in the room with her.

“Parties?” Tab finishes for me, raising an eyebrow as the guy flees. “Seriously Owen, you know I’m not hiding in my room and avoiding society, right?”

“I’m pretty sure you partied more than I did in high school,” I remind her, because while I had a girlfriend who liked going on dates, Tab had a best friend whose dad owned a nightclub and older brother hosted house parties with illicit substances. Not that our parents would ever let her go to any of those, or to anything with alcohol and no chaperone, but Tab has never needed alcohol to loosen up and have fun. She also has a heart of gold and is more likely to spend a party in the bathroom comforting someone than doing anything scandalous, but she expects that goodness in others. Which is why I made it a point to introduce her to everyone here not as my little sister, but as theirs, so they understand just how off-limits she is.

“I’m going to hang out here until…Claudia Jankovitz gets back,” she says, reading her room assignment. “But once she does, I’m convincing her to go out.”

“To where?”

“Wherever you and the other hockey players aren’t.” She gives me a sweet smile. “No offense,” she adds for Mike and Dave.

“None taken,” Dave assures her.

“If you need anything, whether it’s to know where something is, or you’re in trouble, or you’re bored, call me,” I tell her.

“Since you’re no longer the parent’s dream you were in high school, what do I do if you don’t pick up?”

I don’t know if she’s truly worried or…yep, she’s teasing me.

“You can figure it out yourself.” Mike winks at her.

They’re right, I haven’t babied my sister in years, if ever, and Wynchester is a lot safer than L.A., but I still glare at him.

“You can always call me,” he assures her. Michael Lewis has been my best friend since the day I met him on my twelfth birthday, and when my mom found out he lost his mom and was living with his grandparents, she all but adopted him.

“All the hockey guys know you’re my sister, so even at a party, if one of them is there, you’re safe. But obviously, Mike, Colt, and Dave can be surrogate mes,” I say of my housemates.