My stomach sinksthe moment I feel my phone vibrate against my thigh. I must tense because Kane glances over at me from where we have our homework spread out between us. I may be a few years behind him and he’s in school for vet tech, but we still study together, and he helps me where he can, which is nice.
“What’s up?” he asks, quirking a dark brow.
I shrug as nonchalantly as I can. “Nothing.”
“Bullshit. You look like you just swallowed a lemon.”
“I do not,” I argue, meeting his intense gaze, but I know it’s fruitless.
Kanejust stares back at me, waiting for my answer.
“Just got a text,” I mumble beneath my breath, dipping my head down.
“What was that?”
“I said,” I enunciate, “that I just got a text.”
Kane’s eyes narrow. He leans back and crosses his arms across his chest. The muscles bulge, and I would probably drool from how good he looks if I didn’t feel like crap right now.
“What does a text have to do with you looking like that?” he asks, eyes concentrated on mine, darting back and forth. I keep looking away so he can’t see into my soul and tell the lies that are planted there or any of that stuff. “Unless…”
“Unless what?” I blurt a little too quickly.
“Unless someone’s bothering you.” He sounds cold. I shiver.
I swallow. Feel the roll of my thickened throat as saliva makes its way through my esophagus. What do I even say to that?
Oh, yeah. The creepy clown from Mayhem Motel might possibly be stalking me, but I can’t be sure because I’ve never seen him. But he has been texting me.
That would go over so well.
They’d call my parents, and I’d get locked up in an insane asylum.
Nope.
No, thanks.
I’ve gotta deal with this on my own.
Somehow… someway…
“Madison?” Kane says my name, prompting me out of my reverie. I shake my head, pulling myself back into the now. I dig my fingers into my eyes, rubbing the itchiness away.
“No,” I tell him, instantly regretting the bitter lie as it leaves my tongue. “Everything’s fine. Just tired.”
“Okay…” he drawls slowly, not looking convinced.
“I haven’t been sleeping well. My, uh.” I feel my face get hot with embarrassment. He knows enough about them, I know I have no reason to be ashamed, but I still feel it, anyway. “My parents,” I say, because that’s all the explanation I need to do.
“Ah, I gotcha,” Kane says lightly. He lifts his hand and pats my shoulder. His touch is warm and comforting, but I don’t feel anything other than that, and it’s kind of disappointing.
I want the buzz back in my skin. The tingling down my spine. The rush of blood pounding in my ears and the warmth of heat flooding my groin.
I want my head to pound so hard I can’t think, and I want to breathe in everything that’s wrong with me until I choke on it.
“Oh, God,” I breathe out, choking on the air around me as I come back to the now. Kane is patting my back, and once I catch my breath, he starts rubbing in smoothing circles.
It feels good but not the kind of good I want.
