Page 85 of Cole

“Bailey? You there?”

Silence followed and then a sigh. “Until next time, in that case.”

“Wait,” I said. I could feel the shock reverberating over the line.

I wet my lips, pulse racing. “I’m here.”

twenty-eight

ISABELLE

“I had no idea they did party buses in Hade Harbor,” I said, trying not to grumble as I filed onto the bus pulled up outside the dorms.

“They don’t. Marcus got someone to repurpose an old school bus,” Eve told me. I climbed up the steps and moved along the aisle to find a seat. The bus was crowded. Since she’d arrived in Hade Harbor a year ago, Arianna had already grown popular enough to fill a school bus with people ready to celebrate her birthday. It was amazing.

She also had an impressive, creative job, and a man desperate to marry her.

She was killing it in life, and I was doing whatever the exact opposite of that was.

The bus filled up and music came on.

“Where are we going for this party, anyway?” I asked Selena, who was sitting in the row ahead of mine.

“I asked Ari where she wanted to go and she was pretty low-key about it, so I don’t think far!” Selena shouted over the music.

Good. Not far meant I could continue my new nightly tradition of being in bed before midnight, reading, drinking tea, and channeling my inner grandma. It was the best part of my day, and I didn’t want to lose it.

The bus pulled out of the lot and trundled along. We picked up the birthday girl on the way to wherever we were going. She sank down next to me on the bus and squeezed my hand.

“All good?”

“Yes, of course! Don’t worry about me, worry about yourself… it’s your birthday.” I found a real smile for her.

She laughed and tossed her hair back. “I’ve already had enough birthday surprises to last me the rest of my life.”

I nodded. “That’s what happens when the most fun-loving, party-organizing Ice God is obsessed with you.”

Arianna nodded and then gave me a sideways look. “Are you doing ok? It’s been a bit tense the last little while.”

“Tense?” I scrunched my nose, thinking. “I’ve barely seen you,” I pointed out.

She shook her head. “I wasn’t talking about you.”

Cole.

Just the thought of Cole brought back the last time I’d seen him, sitting by the side of my bed, his hand carding through my hair, more gently than his long, broad fingers should be able to manage. And then… nothing.

Clearly, the man was done with me. I couldn’t really say I blamed him, after I’d finally come clean about my story. He’d even seen my lame investigative board at my dorm, featuring him. He’d called me his stalker. I might have been out of it at the time, but I remembered that.

The bus came to a stop, and everyone stood up. Talking and laughter filled the air, the music loud. Everyone was in a good mood. Except me. I really had to do something about my attitude. I had to get over this.

“We’re here! Let’s get this birthday girl a drink!” Eve called, leading the way off the bus. I tromped down the aisle.

“You ok?” Lily asked, appearing at my side.

“Yeah, fine. A drink sounds good,” I admitted.

“I thought you might be thinking that… when you saw where we were headed,” Lily murmured. I stepped down the bus stairs, barely registering what she’d said until my feet hit the gravel of the lot, and I looked up at the bright, shining lights of the one bar I never wanted to set foot in again.