"Thanks." My voice sounds petulant even to my own ears.
I dial Serena’s number as I stride down the corridor, my fingers drumming a frantic beat against my thigh. Each ring torments me, stretching seconds into hours until finally?—
"She needs some space for a little while,” Serena says immediately after answering. Though her voice is firm, there’s that same gentleness I heard that day I went to her dorm.
She pities me.
"Don't show up here,” she says. “Not yet, at least. Please, Tristan.”
The phrase "not yet" makes hope flutter in my heart. "Will she eventually be ready to see me?"
“I think so,” Serena says, "but she needs time."
I let out a long breath. "I can give her time. Tell her…" I shut my eyes. "Tell her I was an idiot for what I said this morning, and that I'll wait. I'll wait forever. She's the only one for me."
Serena is quiet for a long while, and my heart is a rapid thump against my chest. "I will," she finally says.
When the line goes quiet, a fiery determination rushes through my veins.
I’m going to fix this.
But first, I have to figure out what the fuck is going on. Why she turned on me that night, which now feels like an eternity ago. I can't talk to Serena, and no one else is close enough to Amy to know her secrets, except maybe?—
Fuck, how could I have forgotten? The man I’ve been jealous of for years.
And I know where to find him.
Hours later, I'm sitting in class. The clock's hands crawl like a glacier. Desperation has me bouncing my knee under the desk. Cody sits three rows ahead, oblivious to the storm brewing within me.
My attention is caught by the professor's tone of voice. He's wrapping up. Fuck yes, we'll be out of here ten minutes early, which means I'm ten minutes closer to unraveling the mystery of Amy. As soon as Cody starts putting away his laptop, I make my way to his desk.
"Hey." My voice echoes through the classroom.
He turns, eyebrows raised. "Um…hey?"
"Can we talk? It's about Amy."
A shadow of annoyance passes over Cody's face. "I haven't talked to her in weeks."
I frown. It's odd that they haven't talked, as inseparable as they generally are, but it doesn't mean he doesn't have the information I need. “I just need a few minutes of your time.”
He looks like he wants to roll his eyes. "Fine."
As he walks out of the classroom, I follow close behind, not wanting to waste a second. "Amy's mad at me about something. I don't understand it. Things were going well with us, and then she suddenly turned on me. She won't tell me why she's upset."
He groans. "Things were never going well between you."
My skin ripples with alarm. "What do you mean?"
Cody flips around, pulling his backpack to his stomach as he leans against the concrete wall. "I shouldn't tell you, but I honestly don't give a fuck anymore. It was all so stupid and immature. If she hates me…" His jaw clenches. "Well, I'll deal with it."
My head is swimming. "What are you talking about?"
"Amy only stayed in the game to take you down. She thought you were planning to embarrass her."
The world around me starts to buzz. "Take me down?" I blink hard. "Take me down how?"
His expression grows hard. “She wanted to show you that she didn't think much of you."
