What if Daniel didn't just vandalize the pool hall, didn't just break Julian's hand—what if he did something worse?
What if Claudia isn't missing?
What if she's dead?
"Liza." Julian's voice cuts through the fog. “You need to stop this. You're not eating. You're not sleeping. This isn't healthy."
"I need to find something. Anything."
"The police are handling it."
I laugh, bitter and sharp. "The police don't give a shit about some troubled girl with a drug-dealer boyfriend."
He takes my phone gently from my hands. I want to snatch it back, but I'm too exhausted to fight.
And that's when it hits me. Really hits me.
Claudia. Sweet, beautiful Claudia. The girl upstairs with the Reese Witherspoon smile and those big hopeful eyes. The one who used to ask me about bartending, said she wanted to learn mixology someday.
Daniel was sleeping with her. While he was with me.
The betrayal slices clean through my ribs, sharp and sudden. I shouldn't care—I don't love him anymore, haven't loved him in months—but the humiliation burns hot in my throat.
How long? How many times did he kiss me after being with her? How many nights did he lecture me about my clothes, my friends, my life choices while he was screwing a fifteen-year-old girl in secret?
Right under my nose.
"Liza?" Julian's face swims into focus, concern etched across his features. "What's wrong?"
"He was cheating on me," I whisper. "With Claudia. The whole time."
His jaw tightens. "That son of a—"
"I was so clueless." The words taste like ash.
"You're spiraling." Julian cups my face, forcing me to look at him. "This obsession with Claudia, with Daniel—it's eating you alive."
"I'm fine."
"You're not fine. You picked at dinner. You didn't even finish your coffee this morning. When's the last time you slept through the night?"
I pull away from his touch. "I can't just forget about her."
"I'm not asking you to forget. I'm asking you to take care of yourself." His voice cracks. "Baby, you're scaring me."
"I'm scaring you?" The laugh that escapes sounds unhinged even to my own ears. "Daniel's out there. He hurt you. He might have hurt Claudia. And you're worried about my sleep schedule?"
"I'm worried about you." He stands, paces to the window. The moonlight catches the sharp lines of his shoulders. "You're not yourself anymore. You jump at every sound. You check the locks three times before bed. You barely smile."
"Because there's nothing to smile about."
"That's not true." He turns back to me, eyes glistening. "We have each other. We're safe. The police are investigating. But you—" He gestures at the bed, at the phone lying facedown between us. "You're drowning in this."
My throat tightens. "Someone has to care."
"You do care. Too much." He sits beside me again, gentler this time. "Liza, listen to me. You can't save everyone. You can't fix everything. And you sure as hell can't do it if you're running on empty."
Tears blur my vision. "What if she's dead?"
