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"How could you do this?" Torry heard his mother's words, but he couldn't speak. He could barely listen to her over the phone. "You didn't say you were moving to Nebraska."

"Oh." His voice cracked. There was a lump of emotion in his throat that held a deep sadness. Maybe, he didn't know why he was here either, but it worked out at the University. They needed someone for 101 beginning art.

The holidays were just a blur now. He'd planned on going back to the island and have a warm vacation with his parents, but it didn't work out that way.

How could he explain it? Bree asked him to marry her and he'd said no. They were too young to get married. Even his parents would think that and so would her relatives. So she broke up with him. The next thing he knew she'd overdosed.

Now she was in a vegetated state at a nearby nursing home. He couldn't say if her relatives were pleased he was here, but it felt like the right thing to do. At the moment, he stood in an empty apartment.

Someone knocked on the door. He told his mom he had to go even if she was still full of questions.

It was Will with takeout.

Torry didn't know what to say.

Yes, Will was close to his cousin Bree, but did he even know she was capable of such a disaster?

"You'll be getting wifi tomorrow, right?" Will asked if he needed to come over (which was just down the hall) to do some things on his laptop for work.

"I guess so." He wasn't sure what he was actually doing, other than waiting for Bree to wake up.

He remembered the concerned look of her uncle as if all this was Torry's doing. He was beginning to think it too when all along he thought he was doing the right thing.

"Let's eat first." Will got out the burgers from the diner. There were fries too and muffins for in the morning. "Lux made them."

Torry did his best to smile. At least Will and his girlfriend wanted to help him. A part of Torry felt he was on his way to the guillotine. He'd never been in such a crisis before. He'd never felt so old until now.