“Yeah, pretty long. What about you?”
“It was okay. Had to have another meeting with Regis. He was slightly more pleasant than usual, but I think that’s because he knows we leave tomorrow.” She switches to the other ear, playing with that earring now. “What do you have planned for tonight?”
Glad she asked.
“Well, I was thinking—”
Knock. Knock.
I glance behind me. “Did you order room service?”
“No, that’s Derek,” she says. “We have a date tonight.”
And just like that, every ounce of excitement, emotion, and confidence drains from my veins and pools at the bottom of my feet.
As if my heart has been ripped from my chest, being scratched, and scarred by my ribs in the process. All my hopes. All my thoughts. All my fucking courage, it’s all wiped away. Evaporated. Demolished.
She’s... she’s going on a date?
This can’t be fucking happening.
This has to be a joke, right?
She can’t possibly be going on a date with him, not after... well, not after everything.
But to my horror, Kelsey reaches past me and opens the door, revealing Derek on the other side.
Fuck...
“Hey, Derek, just need to grab my shoes. Give me a second.”
“Not a problem.” Derek turns toward me as Kelsey opens the entryway closet. “Hey, you must be JP. Nice to meet you. Your brother has talked a lot about you.”
He holds out his hand, and because I don’t want to look like a dick, I take it in mine and give it a shake. “Nice to meet you,” I say, but I barely recognize my voice. It’s gravelly, dark.
Fuck, I’m so upset.
So goddamn upset that I can feel my throat start to tighten.
“Okay, I’m ready,” Kelsey says.
She’s slipping away.
My plans.
My night.
My big ask.
It’s all crumbling right in front of me.
I can’t feel my feet. My lungs don’t seem to have any air in them. And it feels as if a sharp knife is bludgeoning my chest continuously, ratcheting up this overwhelming sense of pain.
“I’ll be home later,” Kelsey says, her hand dragging over my arm.
Her touch... it does something inside of me.
It reminds me of what Breaker said.
