“And Jace?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m on your side. I can be pissed and still be on your side.”
My throat closed.
“Yeah,” I managed. “I know.”
“Good. Go inside.”
He hung up first, which was mercy because I didn’t think I could.
I stayed in the car another minute. Then I got out before my body could decide the driver’s seat was where I lived now.
Upstairs, the apartment was exactly how I’d left it. One shoe near the couch. Laundry basket in the hallway. Bowl from earlier still in the sink because apparently I had never met a dish. I locked the door, checked it twice, then forgot if I’d checked it and checked again.
I ate turkey slices standing in front of the fridge because Declan’s anti-cereal campaign had apparently entered my bloodstream. Then I brushed my teeth, plugged my phone into the charger beside the bed, realized it was supposed to be across the room, muttered, “Not tonight,” and got under the blankets.
The room was dark except for the thin bar of light under the bedroom door.
I was tired in a way that didn’t feel like sleep. My brain kept replaying everything in jump cuts.
Roman saying disappearing.
Vanessa saying I deserve more.
Declan saying careful is not the same as alone.
My phone buzzed.
I grabbed it too fast.
Declan.
Not a text.
A call.
I stared at his name, my heart suddenly loud.
He never called.
I answered before I could think long enough to ruin it.
“Hey.”
A small pause. Then his voice, low and close through the speaker. “Hey.”
It did something to me immediately. Not just heat. Relief, which was more dangerous.
“You okay?” he asked.
“I talked to Roman.”
“I thought you might.”
I rolled onto my back. “He knows I’m lying about something.”
