Then again, we hadn’t made plans any other night either. Never stopped Dominic appearing around half ten, if not before, and sleeping here.
He’s probably still out with Max,I reminded myself.They had plans this evening, remember?
I knew this, but it wasn’t helping. There was a nagging sensation in my gut that just wouldn’t fuck off. A feeling that something was…wrong.
I exhaled sharply, trying to focus, but it was no good. The words were jumping around on the page. Slamming the book shut, I pinched the bridge of my nose. Everything was fine. Dominic was probably still at Josh’s with Max, gaming away. Or maybe the exam fear had finally hit him and he’d decided to go home to revise.
Then why hasn’t he messaged?
I clicked my phone open, going to our thread. We didn’t message often—we spent too much time together for it to be necessary. My gaze rested on the last text in the thread, the one I’d sent an hour ago.
RYAN
You coming over tonight?
That wasn’t too needy, right? I mean, we’d been together for two months now. I could ask him what his plans were.
“Get a grip, Ryan,” I muttered in disgust, tossing my phone aside. “Your life doesn’t revolve around Dominic.”
I knew it shouldn’t, but what if I wanted it to?
Fuck it. I should try and get some sleep. Dominic would either turn up or he wouldn’t. Me sitting here stewing wasn’t going to change things.
I stood and stretched, my muscles protesting being sat still for so long. It had been needed though. Up until ten o’clock, I’d got some solid revision in. I was quietly confident about the upcoming tests. Dominic’s mantra helped.
“You don’t quit, Shadow. That’s not what we do. We’re fighters, and we keep fighting.”
Heavy footsteps sounded on the stairs. My head whipped around as my pulse quickened.Since when does Dominic come up the stairs? It’s Max.
The excitement faded as fast as it had arrived. I stared at my door, biting on my lip. Would it be weird if I asked Max if Dom was okay?
Yes, it would be fucking weird. And it’d make him suspicious.
More so than he already was. The snide comments about us spending time together had tailed off, but I felt Max watching us sometimes. There was something in his narrowed gaze that was…off. Like he knew more than he was letting on.
And that he didn’t like it one bit.
There was a light tapping at my door. “Ryan? You there?”
I frowned. Max never usually bothered knocking.
Fuck. Maybe something has happened with Dominic.
Gut twisting, I yanked the door open. “What’s up?”
Max’s gaze went behind me, sweeping over my room. His lips thinned. “So he’s not with you.”
My heart leapt into my throat and I had to remind myself to play it cool. “Who?”
Max shouldered past me with an eye-roll. “Don’t play dumb, Ryan. It doesn’t suit your golden boy personality. Where’s Dominic?”
I gritted my teeth. Guessed we were back on that again. “I thought he was with you.”
“Nope,” he said curtly, fingering one of my textbooks. Like Dominic, Max didn’t seem to give a shit about the upcoming exams. “We were meant to game at Josh’s, but he never showed.”
The unease in my stomach spread. “And he didn’t call or message you?”
Max didn’t look at me as he shook his head. His shoulders were tight, a muscle jumping in his jaw. “Figured he was with you and got distracted.”
