I looked wrecked. Hair tangled, eyes shadowed with exhaustion, lips slightly swollen from how hard I'd bitten them last night. And when I turned slightly, pulling down the collar of my oversized t-shirt, I could see the bruise blooming across my upper back. Purple and angry, exactly where Kane had shoved me into the wall.
Where Julian had touched me afterward.
I dropped my hand and looked away, unable to stand my own reflection.
The worst part wasn't even what I'd done. It was that I wanted to do it again. That even now, exhausted and ashamed and disgusted with myself, some traitorous part of me was wondering when I'd see Julian again.
My phone buzzed on my bed, and I reached down to grab it. Cherry was calling.
“Hey, are you busy right now?” she asked.
“Not at all,” I murmured, sinking back down on the blanket as another wave of exhaustion washed over me.
“Are you okay? You sound kinda sick.”
“I’m just really tired. I overslept, and I feel like a total zombie.”
“Sounds like you need one of those triple shot cappuccinos from The Grind,” she said, voice tinged with sympathy. “I know they work, because I justhad one, and I feel like I could run a marathon.”
“Good idea,” I said before smothering another yawn. “Actually, I might still have an iced coffee in my fridge.”
“Oh, one of those high protein ones you showed me?”
“Yeah,” I said, trudging over to my minifridge. I stooped to open it. “I’m pretty sure I finished the last one yesterday, but there might still be one hiding in the—”
I stopped abruptly as I opened the fridge door to see it stacked to the max with rows of my favorite bottled iced coffee, the Candy Snap grapes I loved, strawberry Greek yogurt cups, pre-made chicken Caesar wraps, and the dark chocolate almond bars I was obsessed with. There was even a new bag of Mochi Moons in the little freezer compartment.
All my favorites.
“What the fuck?” I muttered.
“Vee?” Cherry's voice faintly carried from my phone. “Is everything okay?”
I lifted the phone back to my ear and filled her in on the situation.
“What the fuck?” she said, echoing my earlier words.
“Iswearit was almost empty yesterday,” I said. “Like, if I’m remembering right, there was a bottle of water, a half-eaten box of grapes, and a bag of mochi. That’sit. I even remember thinking: Wow, I need to get to a grocery store soon.”
“Well, I guess you must’ve gone at some point yesterday afternoon and totally forgotten,” she said. “Or maybe you sleepwalked all the way to the nearest convenience store last night? That would explain why you’re so tired now.”
I blinked, rubbing my temple with my free hand. “Maybe. But how weird would that be? My memory isn’t usuallythatbad. And I don’t think I’ve ever sleepwalked before.”
“Well, you’re under a ton of stress, so maybe that triggered some sort of episode,” Cherry replied. “I guess you should count yourself lucky that all you did was go shopping. I read about some girl who sleepwalked right off a cliff a while back.”
“Wow, thanks for that. Now I’m worried someone might have to tie me down to the bed every night to keep me safe,” I replied, reaching for one of the iced coffees.
For a few fleeting seconds, I wondered if Julian had somehow broken in while I was asleep and restocked my fridge after seeing how empty it was last night. I dismissed that thought pretty quickly, though. Why on earth would he do that? And how would he even know all my favorite drinks and snacks unless he spoke to me every day or lived with me?
No, I must’ve bought the stuff yesterday and totally blanked on it, like Cherry said.
She laughed softly. “I’m sure you’ll be fine,” she said. “But anyway… speaking of your bed, I’ve got some questions for you.”
“Okay,” I said, brows rising with curiosity as I twisted the lid off my bottle. “Shoot.”
“Firstly, how did your dinner with Kane Sutherland go?” she asked, voice dripping with barely-contained curiosity. “And secondly, if it went well, is he lying in your bed right now? Isthatwhy you’re so exhausted?”
I snorted. “Hell no. Last night couldn’t have gone any worse,” I said. “He lied about knowing Calista. He was just trying to get in my pants.”
