Chapter 131

That night, Joshua returned to the dorm looking miserable, though he didn't say what was bothering him.

Meanwhile, Isaac was on the phone, arguing with Miranda over the concert tickets. She was furious that he couldn't afford them, but Isaac was just a college student-how was he supposed to drop that kind of money on tickets?

After lights out, the guys started chatting about the biggest topic on campus-the upcoming celebrity concert.

Joshua and Isaac, however, were too busy cursing out Soul, blaming him for the insane ticket prices.

"If I ever run into him," Isaac declared, "I swear I'd knock him out. This guy ruined everything!"

Jack glanced at Isaac, instinctively touching his own head. Would he be able to survive Isaac's "knockout punch" when the truth came out?

Luca had been staying off-campus lately, renting a place to focus on his music and upcoming gigs, so he barely returned to the dorm anymore.

As for Miranda, she had stopped nagging Joshua for tickets. But that was even worse because it meant she had somehow gotten them herself. And knowing Miranda, Joshua couldn't help but suspect the cost had been more than just money.

At some point, Isaac turned to Samuel to remind him to keep an eye on Jenna. He heard she had been hanging out with her ex again.

Samuel barely reacted. He just gave a vague, uninterested nod.

...

The next morning, Jack had no classes, so he got up and spent the time working on his game.

A great game needed a compelling story, and he was deep into drafting the world- building and lore for his next big project.

When Isaac, Joshua, and Ronnie left the dorm, Samuel suddenly walked over to Jack, hesitating as if he wanted to say something but wasn't sure how.

After a long pause, he finally blurted out, "Hey... do you have any extra cash? Can you lend me some?"

Jack had assumed Samuel had blown all his money chasing after Jenna. Discover more novels at Find✶Novel.net

So, he asked, "What do you need it for?"

If it was just another case of a guy wasting money on a girl who didn't care about him, Jack wasn't going to enable that. At most, he'd make sure Samuel didn't

starve.

But to Jack's surprise, Samuel's eyes reddened slightly before he forced a weak smile.

"It's nothing... My parents want to visit for a couple of days. I just want to show them a good time."

Since it wasn't about being a desperate simp, Jack had no issue with it.

"How much do you need?"

Samuel awkwardly held up two fingers. "Two thousand dollars? If that's too much, even a thousand... or five hundred would help."

Jack pulled out his phone and said, "Send me your Venmo account."

Samuel nodded and reached for his phone. But a folded piece of paper slipped out as he pulled it from his pocket.

Jack caught a glimpse of it and instantly recognized it. His gaze sharpened when he realized it was a hospital bill.

"You... sold your blood?" His tone was sharp. "Sam, what the hell is going on?"

That was the final straw. Samuel broke down. Tears welled up in his eyes as his voice cracked.

"Jack, I... my dad's in the hospital. He just got transferred to Alnewgo for treatment, but it's..." He swallowed hard, his whole body shaking. "He's in the final stage of pancreatic cancer."

Jack froze.

Pancreatic cancer was one of the deadliest forms of cancer.

No wonder Samuel had been so out of it lately. It all made sense now.

Without a second thought, Jack pulled up his account balance. After covering his own expenses, he had about eight thousand dollars left.

Without hesitation, he sent all of it to Samuel.

"Take it," Jack said. "If you need more, just ask me."

Sam's eyes widened in shock when he saw the amount.

"Jack, this is too much money. There's no hope for my dad... I just wanted to

make his last days good. We won't even be able to spend this much."

More than that, Samuel was terrified he wouldn't be able to pay Jack back.

Jack frowned. "This isn't for you. It's for your dad."

He crossed his arms. "And what the hell are you gonna do in Alnewgo with just two thousand dollars?"