Truth Be Told

ten

T E N

COLIN IS A LOT OF THINGS; caring is not one of them.

Henry and Dexter used to describe him as prickly, and he's pretty sure everyone else thinks that way, too. When something goes awry, he's the type to sit back, offer his silent support, and let the friendly ones take charge—the only thing they can count on is for him to bring the beer. Then he'll drink quietly in the background while everyone else offers comfort and advice.

He's pretty sure beer won't do jack shit to help Sadie this time.

There is literally no one who is more unequipped to deal with her than Colin and it would be a big understatement to say that he is at a complete loss.

Okay—maybe not a complete loss. After giving it much thought, he'd come to the realization that there are a number of things that can be done for now: First would be to find out if his assumptions are correct; and—if she really is sick—find out if she's even aware of it. After that, he has to find a way to convince her that she has to get some help.

Real help. Not the shitty kind that he can offer.

The sooner someone else takes her off of his hands, the better.

He doesn't know much about the subject so he's mostly been relying on the Internet to make sense of things. Most of his observations about Sadie perfectly line up with the stuff he found online. This convinces him that it might be better to assume the worst.

Not that he wants that. Of course not. It's just that he doesn't want to end up doing some stupid shit that might make things, well, even worse.

He wouldn't go as far as to say that he hates her less than he did before. Nope. It's just that given the situation, sitting idly is hardly an actual option... right?

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Every semester, Colin always, always makes sure that he doesn't end up in the same classes as Sadie. He'd even cancelled a class and re-enlisted under a different professor just to avoid her in their first year.

"Have you always been this extra?" Henry once asked him over a three-way video call with Dexter. "Wait, no, don't answer. I remember now. Yes, you have always been this extra."

"I'm not," he had protested, but Dexter had responded with an apologetic shrug.

"You kind of are."

He scowled at them and hung up.

Maybe he was extra. Fuck it. All he knows is that if he'd given the universe even just the slightest chance to put him in a group with Sadie Reynolds, the universe would capitalize on every little bit of it. The possibility, however slim, was enough for him to go through whatever lengths to make sure it didn't happen.

Limiting their interactions as much as possible was a deliberate move on Colin's part, so there was really no opportunity for Colin to see the drastic change she'd gone through. He couldn't completely avoid her, not when they were in the same university, much less the same department. They would sometimes meet in the library or brush past each other in the corridor, but these moments would not have been enough for him to tell that she was going through something.

From afar, she had always looked like the confident and outspoken Sadie he knew from home.

This close, it was easy to spot the difference. So easy that Colin might as well have been blind all this time.

Their Monday mornings usually begin with Colin and Drew leaving early for a 10 am lecture, leaving Sadie still in bed. Colin always assumed her classes started later than his, which, to his relief, was correct.