As soon as the transfer was completed, I called the registrar’s office at FIT and paid off my balance. They told me it would take a few days to process, but I’m in the clear.

I’m still waiting for the wrecking ball to slam into me. Everything about this feels wrong. Then I remind myself that I really had no choice. Somehow that doesn’t make me feel any better, but I almost believe it.

“What’s this?”

I flip around and my eyes find the creased letter in his hand and my jaw falls open against my own will.

Shit. I was supposed to toss that.

My mouth is moving but no words are coming out. I can’t think of a lie fast enough.

“Why didn’t you tell me you needed money?” Nate asks, and I sense his irritation right away.

“I...” Don’t know how to explain. Not in a short, sweet way that won’t prompt follow-up questions.

“You only have a couple weeks left to get this paid off.” He sighs. “B, we talked about this. You know you don’t have to figure everything out by yourself, right?”

I pull out a black dress that’s snatched at the waist from my closet and start to slip it on. “Nate, chill. It’s been taken care of.”

He frowns and moves closer to me. “Another loan? Babe, those will ruin your credit. You know it’s nothing for me to ask my—”

“I didn’t take out a loan. I paid it off.”

His brows lift. “What, you been stripping on the side or something?”

My lips press together. I sigh, taking the letter from his hand. “Taylor gave it to me,” I say, but my eyes don’t meet his.

He pauses. “Van Doren?”

I nod and turn away to look for my shoes. “It’s a long story.”

He steps in front of me, the look in his eyes an unanswered question I still don’t have the answer to. “The beginning sounds like a good place to start.”