Page 39 of Naz & Roz

THIRTEEN

The blank screen of Roz’s phone was taunting her. She was sure of it. The longer she stared at it and willed it to light up with a call or message, the more it seemed determined to do absolutely nothing for her.

Three days.

Three long days.

That’s how long it had been since Roz received even a simple text message from Naz. Every call she made to him went to voicemail, and every text went unanswered. She was trying really hard not to be pissed off, but it was fucking hard.

You know, considering the last time they’d spoken was when he lowered her to the ground after having his hands shoved down her freaking panties. That wasn’t really the best time to skip out on somebody, and if that’s what he was doing, then Naz was a jerk.

To say the least.

Glaring at the phone again, Roz tossed it to the table, huffed, and crossed her arms over her chest. Wasn’t it bad enough that just the fact he hadn’t answered her texts and calls put her on edge in a whole new way? Before, she couldn’t concentrate on her music because Naz was around. Now, she couldn’t fucking concentrate on anything because she was wondering why he wasn’t around.

This was not what Roz wanted.

At all.

Nobody ever said love was like a goddamn disease. Like an infection ravaging someone’s entire soul and heart until there was nothing left to keep for yourself. But that’s exactly what it was like, and Roz wasn’t sure if she was made out for this.

Slowly, like an urge she couldn’t control, her gaze slid back in the direction of the discarded phone. Before she could stop herself, Roz reached out and snatched it up from the table once more just so she could check again.

Even though she knew it was still blank.

Nothing was there.

She knew, and she still had to check.

Yep.

Just like a disease.

He made her lovesick, and now she was dying.

Unlocking the screen, Roz brought up the texts, and sent one more to Naz just because she could. It wasn’t all anger that she was feeling. There was a hell of a lot of worry mixed in, too. It wasn’t like him to go off the grid like this.

Sure, he’d said he would be busy with work for a while, but what exactly did that mean? He’d told her that before, and usually, he called her back by the end of the night, or better yet, showed up at her house with that grin she liked far too much.

Not this time, though.

It just felt … off.

Roz typed out a quick text, and sent the message off. What the hell, Naz? Where are you?

She wasn’t the type of girl that blew up a guy’s phone. Frankly, she never found a guy she gave a shit about enough to do that, anyway. Naz apparently wasn’t the same, and while she was sure she would regret all these texts and messages later … well, right now she was just worried and pissed and wondering.

“You okay over there?”

Roz’s head snapped up, and she found her mother leaning against the kitchen island while she nursed a cup of coffee. “Yeah, fine, Ma.”

Katya nodded. “Mmhmm. How long do you think I was standing here?”

God, please don’t say more than a couple of seconds.

“I don’t know,” Roz hedged.

“Five minutes,” her mom murmured.