On the eighth ring he answers. “Hello?” His voice is slow and sleepy.
“Babe!” I almost scream. “Babe! It’s me. I’ve got thirty minutes right now, but you’ve got to come to me.”
“Hello?” he asks again.
“It’s me, Callie. Were you sleeping? I’m sorry to wake you up, but I’ve been on lockdown for days.”
He clears his throat. “Sorry. I stayed out last night and totally missed school today. Last night was wild.”
“You had a wild Thursday night?” I ask. “You knowwhat? Never mind. Can you come get me? You gotta hurry, though. I only have a little bit of time.”
“Yeah, sure thing,” he says. “And whose number is this?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“I’ve been trying to call you for days. I even swung by the house, and your stepdad made me leave. Did you really trash that gym? Why didn’t you tell me? Patrick’s telling people you must have been high as hell.”
“Just get here, okay? I’ll explain everything.”
It never takes more than ten minutes to get anywhere in Clover City, which is why I’m all kinds of ticked off when Bryce’s ten-minute drive takes twenty. By the time his tires squeal to a stop in the parking lot, I’ve already wasted most of my break sitting on the curb.
As I get in the car, I slam the door shut behind me.
“Hey, babe. Gentle on the door? This girl is fresh off the lot.” He leans over and kisses his way up my neck. “You wanna grab some tacos or something?”
“I only have ten minutes,” I snap, jerking my body away.
“What kind of break is that?”
“Well, I had thirty minutes. But you took your fucking time.”
“Well, this isn’t the reunion I’d imagined.” He pulls around to the back of the parking lot. “But we can do a lot in ten minutes.”
“Not gonna happen,” I tell him. “You were out last night? Did someone have a party? Whose party?” I feel so cut off from the world without even the ability to stalkeveryone on social media. “Is Patrick really telling people I was on drugs? What are people saying?”
“Yeah. Kirsten. You know, Volleyball Kirsten. Her and Sam had a thing because Kirsten’s parents were out of town.”
“You mean Volleyball Kirsten with her ass cheeks hanging out of her shorts? Yes, I know Volleyball Kirsten.” I cross my arms over my chest.
“What’s your deal?” he asks. “Are you pissed at me for going out? I’ve heard nothing from you for days, okay? Radio silence. All your mom would say was that you were paying your debt to society. I heard Sheriff Bell tried to get you to snitch, though, and you were a steel trap. That’s my baby.”
“Well, keeping my mouth shut has gotten me absolutely nowhere.” I shake my head, because in this moment of weakness right now, I’m pretty sure I’d drag the whole team down with me if I could. “Bryce, I’ve lost everything. The team, my social life, my job. It’d be nice if I didn’t have to worry about you and Volleyball Kirsten, okay?”
He drags his fingers up the length of my thigh. “Baby, you don’t have to worry about me. I can fend off the ladies when you’re not around to mark your territory.”
Somehow that doesn’t make me feel better. “What about Sam?” I ask. “Has she asked about me?”
He studies the leather of his steering wheel before shaking his head.
I glance down at the time on his dashboard. “I only have four minutes left.”
“Why the hell are you working here, by the way?”
I bite down on my lip. “I could explain, or we could make out for four minutes.”
He laughs. “Option two, please.”
Millie
