The Third Best Thing (Fulton U, #3)

by Maya Hughes

my mom will grab onto that chance with both hands and never let go.” “Must have been hard growing up like that.” Here I was complaining about my sister and Berk’s situation was way more complicated. I shrugged. “It wasn’t that bad.” The hours I’d stayed locked alone in my bathroom crying on the floor were trivial in comparison to what other people had been through. “Don’t do that.” “Do what?” “Minimize what you went through because of what I told you about me.” My cheeks burned. “I’m not—” He tilted his head and lifted an eyebrow. I pinched my lips together. “Are you inside my head or something?” “No, but I see the way you always want to take care of the people around you, even if it’s at your expense.” “I don—” He cut me off again at the pass. “Don’t ever let anyone else make you feel like you’re not awesome.” He swung his jacket and settled it around me. The weight of the damp fabric settled around my shoulders. I tugged the front of it closed. Even for me it was roomy and dwarfed me. It wasn’t like I didn’t know Berk was a huge guy. He handled other football players out on the field with no problem, but standing beside him in his jacket, staring up into his eyes lit only by the streaking lightning across the sky, I felt small.