Chapter 219
Kieran's POV
Five months. That's how long it'd been since I won the hundred thousand dollars. Five months since everything changed—and nothing changed at all.
Summer and I spent almost the whole summer together. We'd find excuses—studying, mostly—but really we just wanted to be in the same room. Her laugh when I'd get frustrated with some physics problem. The way she'd fall asleep on my shoulder and pretend she wasn't tired. Three months of something that felt almost normal.
I stood in the third-floor hallway of the Administration Building, staring at the poster like it might bite me. My face stared back, blown up to twice its actual size.
"Kieran Cross, Massachusetts State Champion, IPhO Qualifier."
The photo showed me holding some trophy I barely remembered receiving. Below that, in smaller print, contact information for St. Jude's admissions office.
My stomach turned over.
New school year, new admissions push. That was the logic. The administration had dug up every student achievement from last spring and mounted them along the third-floor corridor as part of their annual Honor Wall—a curated gallery designed to impress prospective families during fall campus tours. My poster was the centerpiece. Biggest frame, best lighting, right next to the elevator.
"Looking good, Cross."
I didn't turn around. Logan's voice was easy enough to ignore when I wanted to.
"They really went all out," he continued, coming up beside me. "Your mom's gonna frame this, right?"
I made a noncommittal sound. Mom wouldn't frame anything. She'd be too busy worrying about whether Drake had seen it.
The poster wasn't just here. It was on the school website, featured prominently in the new admissions page they'd launched for the fall enrollment season. Probably plastered across every surface the admissions department could reach. St. Jude's loved its success stories, especially the ones that made them look good for taking a chance on scholarship kids.
I felt exposed. Like someone had stripped me naked and put me on display.
"You okay?" Logan asked.
"Fine."
"You don't look fine."
I finally looked at him. "I said I'm fine."
He held up his hands. "Alright, alright. Just checking."
He wandered off, and I was left alone with my giant face and the sick feeling in my gut.
Drake would see this. If he hadn't already, he would soon. The school's contact information was right there, practically an invitation. I could already imagine the phone calls—slurred words, demands for money, threats thinly veiled as fatherly concern.
Summer would tell me to breathe. She'd probably grab my hand and say something like "You're Kieran Cross, remember? The guy who does impossible math for fun." And I'd pretend to be annoyed but it would help anyway.
She's not here.
"Kieran?"
Coach Anderson's voice cut through my spiraling thoughts. I turned to find him standing a few feet away, arms crossed, expression carefully neutral.
"Coach."
"Impressive, isn't it?" He nodded toward the poster. "Admissions is thrilled."
I didn't say anything.
His eyes narrowed slightly. "You don't look thrilled."
"I'm fine."
"That's the second time you've said that in the last two minutes." He stepped closer, lowering his voice. "What's going on?"
I wanted to tell him. About Drake. About the calls that had started coming through on Mom's phone. About how every time I saw my name in print, I felt like I was painting a target on my back.
If Summer were here, she'd know what to say. She always did. But I couldn't keep running to her every time things got hard. She's building her own life now.
"Just... family stuff," I managed.
Coach's expression softened. "Anything I can help with?"
"No."
"Kieran—"
"I said no." The words came out harder than I meant them to. I took a breath. "I can handle it."
He studied me for a long moment. Then he sighed. "Alright. But if you need anything—and I mean anything—you know where to find me."
I nodded.
"And Kieran?" He waited until I met his eyes. "Focus on what you can control. Physics is your battlefield now. Get through this season, and your future will be wide open."
The future. Right.
I watched him walk away, then looked back at the poster. My own face stared back at me, confident and accomplished.
A stranger.
My phone buzzed. Summer.
Saw the school IG post. My boyfriend's famous now. Try not to let it go to your head ;)
I almost smiled.
Almost.