Page 126 of Sorrow & Strangers

Summer

This number has been disconnected.

Do Not Fuck

You’re hilarious.

I smirk, but then my eyes catch on one of the previous messages from last night, and my stomach sinks. Once I start, I can’t help but continue delving deeper into them. Each one is worse than the last. If I thought I wanted to die this morning, it’s nothing compared to how I’m feeling now, and this is just the messages to Max. I have no doubt that the messages to the stranger are even more unhinged.

“Drunk text review?” Rafe asks, and I groan.

“I need Alice.”

“Want me to get her? I might be able to peel her off the floor.”

“No, that’s okay, I’ll go to her. Maybe we can die together.”

I roll out of bed, and the room spins a little. Rafe catches me and helps me through to Alice’s room, where she is, in fact, splayed face down on the floor. It reminds me of last year when I found her with a dagger in her back. This time, she’s not dead, just broken by her own bad decisions.

“I thought that potion would be a hangover cure.” Alice’s face is smushed against the floor, slurring her words a little.

“I think it just speeds up the process,” I say, falling to my knees and stretching out beside her. “I sent a lot of drunk texts.”

Alice slowly turns her head to face me. She looks rough, her hair a messy halo around her face, and her eyes puffy and bloodshot. “How bad?”

“I’ve not faced them all, but from what I’ve seen, I’d say a solid nine out of ten.”

Alice holds out her hand, and I place my phone into it. She shifts to lean up on her elbows and starts scrolling through the text messages.

“Wait, who’s ‘Unknown’?” she asks. I’m wary about giving her more information about the stranger, but to be completely honest, I couldn’t give less of a fuck at the moment.

“The stranger.”

She nods and turns her attention back to my phone, tapping a couple of times as she navigates through my messages. “Whoa, these stranger ones . . .”

I groan. “I’ve not looked at them yet.”

“So the ones from Max, he can definitely tell you’re trashed.”

“Okay . . .” I say, not liking the direction this is going in.

“But the stranger . . .”

“What?” I ask, my anxiety flaring.

“Well, he was in your bed . . .” she says. Wait, how did he get around the oath? “Also, you asked him to destroy your pussy.”

“I did not!” I gasp, grab my phone, and scroll through the messages myself.

Fuck.

“I mean, you also talked about grapes a lot. So . . .” Alice snorts. “Pinch of salt, you know.”

“Death, take me,” I groan, tossing my phone away.

“You told your stalker to tear you in half. Gods, you’re so fucking iconic. I want to be you when I grow up.”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.”