Him. At Arcadia.
Like me?
Fuck.
Suddenly it feels like I’m free falling. My spirals, my shame, the silence. It was personal. He understood because he’d lived it.
God. All this time I thought he was seeing me, but now I think he was seeing us. That’s why it felt so real. And now he’s in a bad place because I thought it was a brilliant idea to drag him to SeaBreeze that night.
The worst part? I’m not there to give him the safety and support he gave me. To be the one who stays, even when it gets hard. Even when it hurts and things turn ugly.
“Damn it. I need to find him. Not now, yesterday.”
Tiffy’s fingers tighten around my wrist. “I know it wasn’t my place to tell you, but I don’t trust Erin. I think we need to get Yosh out of there.”
I let out a bitter laugh. “Finally. Someone who agrees with me. That woman is two-faced.”
My words are barely cold when Joan and Calvin rush outside. Joan’s barefoot, her body wrapped in a beach towel, dripping water across the tiles. Calvin’s shirt is half-buttoned.
Is the house on fire?Whatever it is, it’s got them rushing out fast.
There’s a moment of awkward eye contact between Cal and Tiffy before he looks back at me.
“We’ve got a problem. Jay’s at the front gate. He brought Sergei.”
“Shit.”
That can only mean one thing.
“He’s here to pick me up. I’ve been ignoring his calls for days.”
I turn to Joan. “What do we do?”
If anyone knows how to dodge her father and his bodyguard, it’s her.
She grabs my phone, ducks back inside to fetch her bag, then presses a wad of cash into my palm.
“Take this and go. I’ll keep your phone so Dad can’t track you.”
I look at Tiffy. Where now?
Calvin snaps into action. “Joan, stall your dad. Tell him you don’t know how to open the gate and you need to wake me up.”
Joan nods and disappears back inside.
Cal heads for the far side of the pool, peering over the fence.
“Oscar! It’s time for OFF!”
Tiffy and I follow. Calvin’s neighbour waves from behind his barbecue, then grabs his keys and jogs over, unlocking a hidden gate between Calvin and his garden.
“What the hell is OFF?” I ask.
“Operation Flying Flamingo,” Cal says proudly. “So his girls can sneak through when the missus is on her way.”
I scoff. Ofcourse Cal has a protocol for this.
Tiffy folds her arms. “Ah, you mean this is a saloon door, swinging both ways?”
