I swore under my breath and swiped open the phone. I was, apparently,in trouble.
Derek
Pick up the phone, Patrick.
Derek
You forgot to charge your phone, didn’t you? I swear, you need babysitting.
Derek
Call me.
‘I guess I better –’
But a video call was already incoming. Only, once I’daccepted the call and settled on the bed, the face that appeared on screen was not the one I expected.
‘Shit,’ I said, hurriedly sitting up.
‘Yes, I thought you’d say that.’ Anna glared down the barrel of the camera. ‘Hello, Patrick.’
‘Anna! Anna, move over –’
Oh God, there were two of them. Laura appeared in frame next to Anna, her face far more concerned than angry.
This didn’t bode well.
‘What the hell?’ I couldn’t help but say, concern flickering in my chest. ‘You – where’s Derek?’
‘Derek is currently being held hostage,’ Anna said. ‘We need to talk to –’
‘I’m here, Patrick.’ Derek’s voice came from what had to be the other side of his office. ‘Not actually being held hostage.’
That was little comfort. What on earth was he doing, letting Jessy’s sister and best friend call me from his phone?
Panic flared through my body. ‘Jessy – is she OK?’
‘She is not,’ Anna said smartly.
Laura looked shocked. ‘Anna! Don’t scare him –’
‘She’s not OK?’ That was the only statement I could focus on. It wasn’t panic rising within me now, it was something else. Something darker. ‘What’s wrong with her – do I need to get on a flight back?’
‘Hey, you can’t abandon me,’ Wes started saying. ‘We’ve got to –’
I waved a hand to get him to shut up. ‘Laura, what’s wrong with Jessy?’
‘Nothing,’ her sister said firmly, though the worry around her eyes suggested something else. She pushed her glasses up her nose with a thumb. ‘Nothing, it’s just –’
‘It’s just that she likes you,’ Anna said with a feral grin. ‘As in,likelikes you.’
‘OK – yes … I’d kind of got that already,’ I stammered, unsure of how much Jessy had told her twin and best friend about our last conversations.
The kisses we’d shared.
How vulnerable I’d been.
‘She likes you,’ Laura said quietly. ‘But she has terrible taste in men.’
