I laughed then winced as a fresh spike of pain shot through my temple. Though I felt much more alive now that I’d had sex, showered, drank about a gallon of water, and taken three ibuprofen, I still didn’t feel what one might call “great.” My last hope truly was absorbing the rest of the poison in my system with greasy breakfast food. And if that didn’t work, I would probably just walk into oncoming traffic and end it all.
“Are you okay?” Grey reached across the table to take my hand I’d rested there.
I nodded. “I did it to myself.”
He frowned. “Still, I don’t like that you’re not feeling well.”
I couldn’t help but smile. He was being so protective, socaringthat, even though I felt like crap physically, everything seemed right. The weeks apart hadn’t caused us to drift. If anything, we were closer now than we had been before. I’d been so consumed by his absence up to this point that I almost couldn’t believe how distant that time apart seemed now. It was startling how much had changed since the previous night. I was in love with him, and he was in love with me. It was enough to leave me winded. I couldn’t get over how perfect life felt.
Grey’s phone went off with a shrill text notification that made my head throb all over again. He let go of my hand to grab his phone and glanced at the screen, but we both knew who it was before he’d even reached for it.
“It’s Martin.”
It was all I could do not to roll my eyes. It seemed our perfect moment was over.
“What does he want?” I didn’t even bother trying to keep the unhappiness out of my voice.
“It’s an emergency band meeting,” he said.
“Oh God. When?”
“Now.”
Of fucking course.I gave my menu one last longing glance, imagining the food that it looked like I wouldn’t get a chance to eat. Hopefully, I had something at home that could cure my hangover while Grey went on to do band things. And maybe, if I was lucky, I would get to see him again before the end of the semester.
“I’ll see you later, then,” I said numbly, trying my best to not think about how much time I’d wasted last night being drunk and annoying and sick. I was sure I could’ve gotten at least a couple more hours with Grey if I hadn’t overdone it. I sighed. Everything about this situation made my headache worse. A nap was beginning to sound like a good idea.
“Actually,” Grey said slowly. “He wants you there too.”
I blinked in surprise. “What?”
He held up his phone for me to see, and my eye scanned the text in the group chat.
Just received some unfortunate information. Emergency band meeting at the studio NOW. Grey, bring Ethan.
“I didn’t even realize Martin knew my name,” I said, not knowing what it meant but knowing for damn sure that the last thing I wanted to do was go meet with the man.
“I hate to ask this, but will you come with me?” Grey asked, surprisingly subdued.
I let out another sigh. There was no way I could say no to anything he asked of me. But at the same time, I was way too hungover for this shit.
Chapter 35
Bend and Break
We stayed long enough to order a breakfast burrito and a coffee to go—which I was thoroughly grateful for. Grey was silent as we stomped across campus, and I wolfed down the burrito in desperation for strength and anything that would further anchor me in the land of the living. Something told me that no matter what the conversation with Martin ended up being, I wouldn’t be in the mood for food afterward.
We were the last to arrive at the studio. When we entered the room, we found everyone sitting around a conference table. Martin paced like a caged animal and looked like he’d been at it for some time. Dae shrugged at our questioning looks. Fortunately, we didn’t have to wait long to find out what was going on.
“Sit down,” Martin said through gritted teeth. Maybe it was the comparison to a caged animal I’d already made, but his words sounded very growl-like.
Grey and I obeyed without hesitation.
“Now that Grey’s here, will you tell us what’s going on?” Dae asked, earning a glare from Martin.
Martin grabbed a tablet from the table and gave it a few angry taps. He then held it out to Lance, who was the closestto him. As Dae read, his expression went from confused to annoyed, then he passed the tablet to Grey. I looked over his shoulder to see that Instagram was pulled up to a picture of me and him. It must’ve been taken today because it was of us at the restaurant we’d just been at with Grey holding my hand. I shot Grey a confused look.
“You told me you two were friends,” Martin seethed.
