Another corner rushed up in a gray blur. I leaned in, but something wasn’t right.
The rear tire.
The throttle had opened too fast. Too fucking fast.
Heart thudding against my ribs, I rolled off the gas and shifted my weight.
The rear had to hook back up, or I’d…
No. Fuck no. I wasn’t Dad.
The bike snapped upright, as if punishing me for losing focus. For not thinking.
I let go. Everything blurred—the sky, the tarmac.
My body went airborne. Then my shoulder slammed into asphalt. My back followed.
Lungs collapsing, I clawed for a breath.
I tumbled; the world spun.
Pain speared my chest.
My vision tunneled. Tear-filled blue eyes—Kaia’s.
Tell me it’s a joke, Ash.
Black crept into my field of view. I didn’t try to fight it.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Kaia
“We don’t have another room,” Sarah said with her trademark saccharine smile. “At Willowbrook, we encourage communication and amicable resolution of conflicts.”
Every sentence from that woman’s mouth sounded ripped from the school’s promotional brochure.
I crossed my arms. “We don’t need a different room. Just a different roommate. Can we swap with someone?”
Sarah sighed. “Kaia. I’m telling the truth. Besides, current living arrangements were made for a reason.”
“Then I’m calling my dad.” Alba marched toward her desk. “I still have my three calls. You can’t deny me that.”
Sarah slipped off her glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose.
Welcome to the club, Sarah. I was tired of everyone’s crap too.
“Okay,” she said. “Hold on. We have a double that’s currently occupied. I’ll ask if the girls are willing to join Teagan so you two can move there.”
“Please do,” I said. “As soon as possible.”
My father wouldn’t bother asking for a different room, but I’d be damned if I didn’t stand up for myself. Teagan’s betrayal was beyond shitty. I’d rather sleep on a bench in the backyard than share with her.
Alba grabbed my hand, and we left Sarah’s office.
Outside, she led me to a bench by the fountain—the opposite direction from the spot where Asher had broken my heart last night.
A stubborn part of me refused to believe he’d really left, but the breakup hadn’t sunk in yet. Once it did, it would hurt infinitely more, like when Mom died.
