Cracking open my bedroom door, I listened for any signs of life. When all that greeted me was silence, I tiptoed into the kitchen and grabbed a glass from the cupboard. Crying non-stop was shockingly dehydrating. I hadn’t ever drunk as much water as I had in the past few days.
To add to my stress, Shiv had gotten a hold of Kristen’s number for me earlier today. I was trying to formulate the right thing to say before I called. Was there really a right thing to say in this situation?
As I turned to fill my glass from the dispenser in the fridge, a text popped up on my home screen. Luke again. This was why I’d hesitated to change my number in the first place—it was a pain, and I knew he’d track me down sooner or later. Turns out I was right.
I stared at the display. Irritation sparked within me, along with another flicker of heartache. The knife was already buried so deep—the twisting of the blade was uncalled for.
With my phone unlocked, I navigated into my texts to delete the message. My intention was to erase it without opening it, but the message preview sucked me in, and I took the bait.
Luke: Trouble in paradise?
Bailey: Stop texting me, stalker.
Luke: Don’t be angry with me because Carter dumped you.
Bailey: How do you even know that?
Luke: I know everything.
Bailey: From what I hear, you have problems of your own to worry about.
Luke: What are you talking about?
Bailey: Guess I know everything too.
Luke: Everything? Did you know about his sex tape?
Luke: Told you he wasn’t who you thought he was.
[attachment]
My heart roared in my ears as I stared at his message.
Sex tape? What?
The photo thumbnail told me all I needed to know. It was of a guy with dark hair, kissing a girl while holding a joint in one hand. His face was mostly obscured by smoke.
But I knew that side profile—that jawline and that nose. I knew that hair. And those hands.
An ear-splitting crash reverberated around me then. When I looked around for the source, I spotted the remains of my empty cup covering the dark gray tile floor. My bare feet were surrounded by a glittering sea of pale blue glass. It didn’t just break. It shattered.
“Oh my god.” Siobhan ran into the kitchen, frantically scanning the room. “I heard you scream. What happened?”
Had I screamed?
Her focus fell to the floor in front of me and she winced. “Are you okay?”
“I—” I shook my head. “The—no.”
Shockwaves resonated through my brain. Nothing made sense. Why didn’t he tell me?
Still clutching my phone, I lifted one foot and started for the hall.
“No, don’t move.” She held up a hand as she skirted the edges of the mess, surveying how far the shards had traveled. “There’s glass everywhere. Let me clean this up first.”
My stomach balled into a fist. “There’s a video, Shiv.”
“What video?” She glanced up, confused.
“Chase.” I tried to verbalize what happened and failed. “There’s a video.”
Dallas rushed through the doorway. “Shit.” He froze, blue eyes wide. “Where’s the broom?”
“There’s a brush and dustpan in the hall closet. Can you grab the vacuum too?” Shiv turned back to me. “Just stay put. Let me sweep it up so Dal can vacuum.”
A moment later, Dallas returned with the necessary supplies. He handed the brush and dustpan to Shiv once she’d gathered up the larger pieces. Shiv kneeled and swept shards of glass into the dustpan.
The room threatened to turn sideways while I stood glued to the spot, drawing in shallow breaths. Everything turned a little fuzzy, my vision tunneling gray at the outer edges.
My phone rang in my hand. The minute I saw it wasn’t Chase’s number, I hit Decline. It rang again, and I sent it straight to voice mail. It immediately blew up with a slew of texts and non-stop incoming calls. Derek, Zara, Noelle, their names on the readout blurred. I hit Decline over and over, not even checking the display any longer. Finally, I responded to my brother and best friends so they knew I was okay but told them that I couldn’t talk. Then I switched my phone into Do Not Disturb.
As Siobhan swept up the larger pieces, I caught Dallas’s eye. “Did you know about the video?”
His face fell. “Uh…”
“Dallas,” I pleaded, desperation rising to the surface. “Please tell me what’s going on.”
“If there’s anything like that floating around, it’s old. From well before Carter met you. That’s all I can say.”
I nodded slowly. What Dallas was saying made sense—in the photo, Chase’s hair was longer than I’d ever seen it. But that wasn’t my main concern. Why hadn’t Chase told me? Did he know it was about to leak?
Then it hit me. He did know. And that was why he’d ended our relationship.
The dull ache in my heart turned into a searing, stabbing pain.
Did he think I wouldn’t love him anymore?
How alone must he have felt to do something like that?
“What video?” Shiv asked, turning to him as she stood.
Dallas shook his head, giving her a terse look.
“Bailey.” She gasped, her attention fixed on my feet. “You’re bleeding.”
“Huh?” I followed her gaze. Sure enough, a pool of crimson had formed beneath my left heel. “Oh.”
“Do you need help bandaging it up?”
“No, I can get it. Once I get out of here.”
Dallas switched on the vacuum, and it hummed to life. Once he’d created a clear pathway, I hopped over to the paper towels on one foot and grabbed a sheet for my cut and another for the floor. A bottle of all-purpose cleaner I’d retrieved from the cabinet in one hand, I kneeled and sprayed down the tile. At least the blood hadn’t gotten into the grout. The literal only silver lining to my week.
With a piece of paper towel awkwardly wrapped around my heel, I opened the cupboard under the sink and stashed the bottle of cleaner, then threw the used paper towels in the garbage.
Keeping my weight on my uninjured foot, I straightened and faced Dallas and Siobhan. All I could think of was getting to Chase.
“Is Chase home?”
“Should be,” Dallas said. “Hasn’t gone anywhere besides practice and school.” He scratched the back of his neck. “Hasn’t really gone to those, either. Hasn’t been in a great state of mind since…everything.”
“Can someone take me to see him, please?”
Shiv gestured to us with an open palm. “You two go. I’ll finish cleaning up.”
A hush fell. From opposite sides of the room, Shiv and Dallas exchanged a silent look. She widened her eyes at him, as if to urge him into action.
Dallas hesitated for a beat, dark brow furrowed, and scrubbed a hand down his face. “Right. Uh, I can. I just need to—”
A knock at the door interrupted us. Shiv frowned, walking over and looking through the peephole. She turned back to face us.
“It’s Chase.”
OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 57
OceanofPDF.com
THE REASON
Bailey
My brain was scrambling to catch up. “Chase?” I asked.
I thought I’d have time on the drive over to compose my thoughts, formulate the right things to say, and plan how to say them.
Right now, I was reeling. Like I was standing in the aftermath of a high-speed collision, surveying the damage left behind. Smoke in the air, broken glass on the ground, and horns still blaring. Learning about the video, Chase seemingly having known about it but not telling me, Luke sending it to my friends and family—and god knows who else—was giving me mental whiplash.