Glass Jaw

Chapter 3

"Miss Ryan? We are almost there."

Gabriel's voice roused me from my sleep. My cheek stuck to the cool glass of the Escalade's window as I shook myself awake. I wasn't sure when the whizzing trees on the side of the highway had hypnotized me into a nap but I instantly regretted it. Sleeping in the middle of the day always left me groggy and overtired.

For the briefest moment, my hazy brain drifted back to a similar drive I had taken before—sitting in the backseat of a vehicle, being taken to a new life.

Except for this time, I wasn't a child and I wasn't going to my aunt and uncle—I was leaving them.

The reality of my choice still hadn't really sunk in. From the second I had lied and told my uncle that I only got into Mountainview University, I had gone numb. My body seemed to know that I had to go into self-preservation mode for a few months. It was unnatural to lie to my family, and it was especially different to intentionally upset them.

I had sat silently as Uncle Robert ranted about the insolence of the admissions office. Aunt Felicity's fury over our family's reputation hadn't even roused me. Elizabeth seemed to be looking for a reaction when she'd talked endlessly about Yale in front of me, but I never gave her one.

I just sat there. Waiting for the moment where I could actually act on my choice. When I could pack up my room and drive away. Not necessarily away from my family, just away from the pressure to be perfect for them. I wasn't particularly happy with how things had gone recently, but they were still my family. They were still the people who took me in when I had no one. I was going toward a new opportunity but I hoped that maybe in the future when I wasn't an obligation anymore, my relationship with them could improve.

"Gabe?" I asked the driver in the front seat. It was annoying that I hadn't been allowed to drive my own vehicle, but my Uncle had insisted Gabriel drove me so he could help me move in too. I think he'd just felt guilty that he and Aunt Felicity were helping Elizabeth move into Yale, and I was alone. My Jeep would be here within the week probably, so I guess it wasn't the worst. I'd just had dreams of setting out into the world on my own, not being driven like a child.

"Yes, Miss Ryan?"

"Are we there yet?" I asked through a cheeky grin when our eyes connected in the rearview mirror.

"Nearly," he responded with a much dryer tone and a small quirk of his lips. My aunt and uncle's staff were expected to be incredibly reserved. Usually, none of them entertained my questions or attempts for conversation. Not that I blamed them since their livelihoods were on the line. Gabe however, had been around the longest and always showed me the most warmth.

I perked up in my seat when a large sign came into view. A dark slate of carved wood was the backdrop to painted trees nestled against twin mountains with a river along the bottom. In emerald green, the words, "Welcome to Madison Falls" splashed across the navy peaks. The scene perfectly mirrored the lush nature that had surrounded us for the last hour.

"It's nice," Gabe said quietly as the town came into view. The soft relief in his voice mirrored what I felt. A part of me had wondered if the town would be slightly less picturesque than I had seen in the pictures. It would be just my luck to be impulsive and get catfished by a brochure.

So far though, it looked straight out of my dreams. The deep green of the rolling foothills reminded me of The Shire, except instead of hobbit holes there were older buildings lining the streets. The jaunty shop signs with names like, "Ye Ol Barber" looked quaint and welcoming.

Within minutes, we turned up a winding road that led to the university grounds. We were one of several vehicles following the signs to the campus. My heart beat heavily in my chest and with each thump against my ribs, it cleared more of the numbness away. I was so close.