Chapter 11 " Oh , by the way , " Ethan seemed to suddenly remember something and pulled out some papers from his bag , " our research group has a seminar next week . The professor wants to bring in some outstanding freshmen . Want to give it a try ? " [ ] Riley hesitated . ]] She was used to keeping to herself . Joining a group meant interacting with more people , and her past interpersonal relationships had been nothing short of disastrous . [ ] " Don't worry , " Ethan seemed to sense her concerns , his voice gentle , " everyone in the group is really friendly , and … your insights would be really valuable to our research . " ] His eyes were sincere , without any hint of pressure or pity . [ ] Riley was quiet for a moment before finally nodding : " Okay . " [ ] Ethan smiled - that smile like a ray of winter sunshine , melting some frozen corner of her heart . [ ] Over at Georgia Southern , in the guys ' dorm , Jaxon lay in bed staring at the ceiling . ] ] His phone screen was lit , showing his chat history with Riley . [ ] The last message was still from over a month ago . Riley : [ Weather says it's gonna rain today , don't forget an umbrella . ] ] He'd been out shopping with Sophia at the time and had only replied with " k " -didn't even bother typing another letter . And now that text just hung there by itself , with nothing after it , which was weirdly getting on his nerves . [ ] He restlessly rolled over and started scrolling up through their old messages : ] ] [ Chicken tenders in dining hall - amazing ! Taking you next time . Plus they got that smoothie bar now ! ] ] ] [ Still sleeping so won't wake you . Headache , going to health center . Made soup , it's on the stove ] [ ] [ Library cat's back ! Keeps following me around lol . Makes studying less boring ] [ ] [ Coming home tonight ? Got you snacks ] ] ] Reading message after message , Jaxon felt like a massive weight was crushing his chest , making it hard to breathe . [ ] He realized he might have lost something really important . [ ] And that something might never come back . ] Riley used to share every little detail of her life with him so earnestly , but what about him ? ] He'd either give half - assed one - word replies or just leave her on read . [ ] Mi Pashark ! Chapter 11 And now , she probably felt so disappointed that she'd completely walked away . [ ] His phone suddenly buzzed - Sophia had sent several messages , all in that demanding tone : [ ] [ Jaxon , I just saw this super cute dress . Come pick me up right now so we can go buy it . ] ] ] Normally , Jaxon would immediately reply " sure " and drop everything to patiently take her shopping . But today , looking at that message , he felt inexplicably annoyed . [ ] Sophia had been getting more and more demanding lately , throwing tantrums over the smallest things . ] Yesterday it was pouring and traffic was crazy - he was maybe five minutes late and she completely lost it , threw her fork down and stormed out . Had to buy her a bunch of designer bags just to get her to stop being mad . ] He suddenly thought of Riley … she'd never acted like that . [ ] No matter how late he came home , she'd quietly warm up food for him without complaining . No matter how many times he ditched her for Sophia , she'd just wait patiently , never making a scene . [ ] " Fuck … " Jaxon sat up abruptly and ran his hands through his hair . ] What the hell was he thinking about ? ] Riley was just a substitute - he'd always liked Sophia , hadn't he ? [ ] But why … did this panicked feeling keep getting stronger ? He clicked into Riley's Instagram , only to discover she'd blocked him ages ago . [ ]