Something simmered beneath my skin.
Trust her?
She had lied. She had looked me in the face, told me she was working, and then vanished.
This was exactly what she had done two years ago.
Brooks: So you lied about working. Why?
Another pause.
Too long.
Michelle: I can’t tell you.
The words felt like a slap.
Not I will tell you later.
Not It’s complicated.
Just I can’t tell you.
My chest burned, anger and something else twisting deep in my gut. She was shutting me out.
Brooks: Are you home? I’m coming over
Michelle: No! I’m not. Don’t come.
The panic in her words made something in me snap.
Brooks: Then where are you?
Nothing.
No answer.
I stared at the screen, my pulse pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears. This wasn’t nothing. This wasn’t just flighty Michelle needing space.
This was something else.
“I’ll drop you off, Lo, then I’m going to see her. Something is off. I can feel it.”
Logan frowned, shifting in his seat like he wanted to argue, but he didn’t. Not yet. He studied me, and I could see the words forming before he even spoke. “Dude, I don’t think that’s the best way.” His voice was cautious, almost hesitant. “I’m not telling you what to do, but I say wait it out.”
“Get in the car.”
He sighed but didn’t fight me, sliding into the passenger seat as I backed out of the parking lot. My pulse was too fast, my grip too tight on the wheel, and every nerve in my body was coiled with frustration.
A million thoughts ran through my head, each one worse than the last. Maybe she was studying? No, she would’ve told me. Maybe she was tired? No, she would’ve said that too. Taking a spa day? Laughable. Avoiding me? Avoiding us?
Or worse.
What if she was calling it off?
The thought punched me straight in the gut, so hard I had to blink to keep my vision from blurring. She had told me we were more than a fling, that she wanted to try. But what if I had been stupid enough to believe her?
And then, an even worse thought crept in, slithering through the cracks in my resolve.
