“Don’t walk away from me, young man!”
The sound of my name was swallowed by the wind, and I started to jog, knowing he wouldn’t be able to catch up with me.
A second later, my phone buzzed in my pocket with a call from him.
Of course.
It started ringing again the second after I sent it to voicemail. Then again. And again.
I clenched my jaw, hit ignore, and kept going until the lights from the restaurant were a smear behind me. I didn’t even know where the hell I was headed. I just knew I needed distance, asphalt, and air that didn’t smell like him.
When the screen lit up for the fifth time, I thumbed to Jace’s contact and hit it.
He picked up on the second ring. “What’s up Matty-kins?”
“I’m walking,” I said.
“Walking where?”
“Along the road. Somewhere between downtown and losing my mind.”
That got his attention. “Everything okay?”
“No.” My laugh came out hollow. “Not even close.”
There was a pause, then his voice shifted, serious now. “You want me to come get you?”
“Yeah,” I said quietly. “And bring alcohol.”
“Bad night?”
“Worse,” I muttered, staring at the long stretch of highway ahead. “I need to get drunk before I start breaking things.”
Jace exhaled softly through the line. “Alright. Stay where you are, bubs. I’m on my way.”
The call clicked off.
A second later, my phone buzzed again—Dad. The name lit up the screen like a warning I didn’t need.
I let it ring until it stopped, shoving the phone deep into my pocket as the night stretched out in front of me.
Shit. What the fuck had just happened?
CHAPTER 13
OPHELIA
“Oh my gosh. I can’t stop watching!”
The phone was inches from my nose, the video looping for what had to be the tenth time.
“Too bad you can’t see your face.” One of the girls giggled, leaning over her friend’s shoulder. “If he’d known who you were, it would’ve been even better.”
Another laughed, tossing her hair. “Yeah, can you imagine? Matty Adler making out with youon purpose? That would’ve been the coolest thing ever.”
Their words hit harder than they meant them to. Because he didn’t know who I was…not in the way that mattered.
The others crowded closer, squealing as they watched Matty’s hands grip my mascot-clad head and kiss me like the world had stopped spinning.
