Page 65 of Wanna Bet?

Jace laughed bitterly. "That's the problem."

He leaned back against the couch and stared at the ceiling.

God, he missed her. He missed her laugh. He missed her terrible jokes. He missed the way she'd randomly appear at the record store and distract him from shelving albums. He missed hearing her voice.

The realization made his stomach twist. Because after everything she'd done, he still wanted to hear her voice.

Ellis exchanged a look with Issaky. Then sighed. "I talked to her."

Jace froze. "What?"

"Before all this." The words landed harder than expected. "I knew about the bet."

Jace stared at Ellis as humiliation burned through him. "Great."

"Jace—"

"No." He stood and began pacing. The apartment suddenly felt too small. Too warm. "Everyone knew except me?"

"Not everyone." Ellis pointed at Issaky. "He didn't know."

Issaky immediately raised both hands. "I absolutely did not know."

Jace exhaled sharply. Still, the sting remained.

Ellis rubbed the back of his neck. "I told her it was messed up."

Jace looked over. "What?"

"I told her she was being an idiot."

For a moment, Jace simply stared.

Ellis shrugged. "What? You thought I approved?"

"No."

"Good." The corner of Ellis's mouth twitched. "Because it was a terrible idea."

Despite himself, Jace almost smiled. Almost.

Then Ellis's expression softened. "She looked miserable."

Jace immediately looked away, because that was the problem. Every time he thought about Myah, he remembered her face in the car after the lake.

Not guilty. Not smug. Terrified. Like she'd been waiting for the moment everything fell apart. Like she'd already known he would leave.

"Just don't." Jace sighed.

Ellis frowned. "Don't what?"

"Make me feel bad for her." The words came out sharper than intended.

Ellis nodded once. "Okay." Then after a pause, started again. "You can be hurt and still care about her."

Jace hated how accurate that was. The following days passed in much the same way. Movies. Takeout. Long conversations. Longer silences.

His phone continued buzzing every day without fail. A message from Myah. Sometimes it was an apology, sometimes it was a question. Sometimes it was nothing more than a simple hope that he was okay.