missing | gilinsky

61

Jack Gilinsky

"No way," I declare, shaking my head. 

Nadia rolls her eyes at me. "Jack, yes. I'm not letting you go to University of Pittsburgh and not have your sisters know about it. They literally live five minutes away from the campus!" 

"Who says I'll even get in?" I remind her, silently begging that this conversation will end soon. 

"There's a 56% acceptance rate, there's a good chance you'll get in." 

"But what if I don't?"

"Then you'll go somewhere else and your sisters will forget all about the plan for you to stay with them." 

I groan, loudly, slamming my head back against the leather booth. We're at some local diner place that Nadia claimed to love. We were supposed to be on a romantic date, but somehow we ended up talking about my college plans, and somehow Nadia was able to incorporate my family into the situation. 

"Shhh!" She scolds, glaring at me as I groan again. "You're being a baby." 

"This is stupid," I tell her, folding my arms across my chest. 

"You're stupid," she bickers, mimicking my body language. 

"Which is why I won't get into PITT." 

"Shut your mouth and finish your stupid burger, we're calling up your sisters whether you like it or not." 

Letting out a deep sigh, I stare down at my burger that I was happily munching on before Nadia decided to bring up the bright idea of asking my sisters if I could live with them while attending college in Pittsburgh. Why did I even tell her that they lived there?

It's not like I planned to want to go to a school near them, but the school seemed like a really good fit for me, and if I wanted to turn my life around I wanted to do it the right way. Everything needed to be perfect. Too bad Nadia's idea of perfect is completely opposite of mine. 

"Don't be upset with me." Nadia frowns. "I just want the best for you." 

I look away from my burger and fake pout at her. "The best for me would be staying with you." 

That wipes the frown right off her face, her laugh ringing throughout the diner. I smile in response. I love that laugh. 

"Yeah, Jack," she giggles. "Because it'd be totally convenient and cheap for you to fly two hours to and from college every day. And besides, it's not like I'd be here anyway. I'm going to college too." 

"Why don't we talk about that instead of talking about my sisters and me?" I suggest, taking a bite out of my burger. I almost moan in delight because it's that freakin' good, I can see why Nadia loves this place.

She shrugs, bringing her bottom lip into her mouth. There's no way I'm letting her keep quiet now. Placing my burger back down on my plate, I make sure to swallow before opening my mouth to speak again.

"You were looking at Binghamton for a while yesterday, would you wanna go there?" 

I wrinkle my forehead when she doesn't answer. She watches the ice in her water melt as if it's the most fascinating thing in the world. I pull up my hand from under the table and take hers in mine, prompting her to look up at me. 

"My -" she starts, her shoulders dropping instantly. Something's wrong. I soften my gaze on her, concerned. "My dad went there." 

I'm taken back by this new found information, my heart thumping in my chest. Nadia and I rarely talk about her dad, it's just something she keeps to herself unless it's Johnson she's talking to.