Free Hard Habit to Break (A Chicago Love Story #1) by K.T. Webb

this.”
     
    “Talking isn’t going to change anything. If you’re looking for a girl who doesn’t mind being your student and your lover, then I am not it.”
     
    I angrily head back to my apartment and close the door. CeCe is sitting on the couch, she pauses her show as soon as she sees me. I sit down next to her and tell her all about my day.
     
    “Girl, you attract some real winners.”
     
    “Tell me about it.”
     
    “Here’s what we need to do, we need to make cookies and drink wine.”
     
    I gratefully laugh at her random suggestion, “Okay, I’ll make the cookies, you grab the wine.”
    CeCe has helped me cope with so many ridiculous things that I can’t help but feel as though she should have been a counselor. The problem is, she’s too blunt. I can picture her telling people to get over it and stop being stupid.
     
    We spend the next few weeks going through our regular routine. I do everything I can to avoid seeing Dean Price and spending any time alone with Isaac. By the time Thanksgiving break arrives, CeCe and I are ready to get out of the city.
     
    Despite my parents living only about 50 miles away in Gurnee, it takes us almost four hours to get out of the city and into the suburbs. Everyone is travelling for the holiday weekend. We make it to my house and my parents greet us at the door.
     
    “Olivia! CeCe! Welcome home!” My mom pulls us both into a tight hug.
     
    My sixteen-year-old sister barrels past my mom and attacks me. Ava hates being the only child left at home. My parents spaced us out perfectly. They didn’t want any of us in diapers at the same time and wanted to spend time getting to know each of us before adding another child to the house. It may seem weird, but it worked out well growing up.
     
    Our older brother Miles is twenty-eight and has been interning at my dad’s law firm. He’s waiting in the living room when we finally make it in the house. He hugs me and kisses the top of my head the way he used to when I was little. He gives CeCe a quick squeeze. Despite the fact that Miles seems to have a new girlfriend every other week, I suspect he’s harboring a crush for CeCe. I wink at him and he scowls back at me.
     
    Thanksgiving weekend is the perfect bridge to get us through the rest of the semester. My parents are eager to know what CeCe and I have planned for post-college life. Neither of us has decided if we’re done or if we want to go on to graduate school. CeCe has been thinking about diving into the legal world. I have no interest in following in either parents’ footsteps. I want to do something with books, either publishing or writing. Maybe both.
     
    I try to hold on to the warm and safe feeling that comes from being with my family as we head back to school. CeCe tries to keep my spirits up by reminding me that we’re almost done with this semester. While I’m relieved to only have one semester remaining before finishing my degree, I also know that being done with this semester means I won’t see Isaac as often.
     
    I know that sounds dumb because I need to stop falling into the delusion that there could be a future for us. No matter how many times I tell myself it’s over, I can’t quite throw away the key to the lock I put on the part of my heart that Isaac holds. I keep falling further and further down the rabbit hole with no hope of escape. Sometimes I’m okay with it and other times I want to slap myself silly.
     
    The snow begins to fly shortly after we get back from Thanksgiving break. Making it through the rest of the semester is easier to bear than I thought it would be. I’m too busy with coursework to think about anything other than the next assignment due date. I’m spared the discomfort of another one-on-one conversation with Isaac. He seems to be avoiding me. I guess I should be happy about that.
     
    I love Chicago at Christmastime. No matter how much snow we get, it doesn’t keep people from shopping. I love going to