Page 57 of Barinov

“Lex,” she says, fingernails clicking on the glass as she types back. “He told me to pack my shit.”

She sets her phone back down.

“So what, Briggs was just fine with keeping it a secret from everyone?”

“Not even a little bit,” she answers. “He hated it. It nearly broke them up more than once.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Especially with everything we have to do as the Trifecta. The dancing. The flirting. The chairs.”

I nod.

“I mean, look at Lex,” she explains. “Love him to death, but the guy flies off the handle all the time and still gets to be front and center on the Trifecta boyfriend row. Caleb? He’s never been put in a chair. Never even had a seat in the stands. He either had to watch her dance from the shadows like some sort of creepy stalker or watch it on a Row party live stream.”

“Damn,” I say quietly.

“Yeah and he still stayed. Supported and loved her without ever being seen. It’s been rough on him.”

“But he stuck around. That’s good,” I admit.

“He almost didn’t,” she says, shaking her head. “After the Catacombs party and everything with DeShawn that night?”

“Oh shit, yeah. I forgot about that.”

She nods. “They were in a fight before about the whole secret thing. She got drunk, really drunk. Knox and I thought for sure they’d break up.”

“And he still didn’t leave?”

“He loves her, Cade,” she says, rubbing her eyes. “So much that he’s renting an apartment in the city just so he can be closer to her.”

I lean back against the pillows, exhaustion finally dragging me down with it. Haley shifts closer, tugging the blanket higher as she curls onto her side.

“I hate that she felt like she couldn’t tell me.”

She lifts her head, settles it against my chest, and wraps an arm lazily over me. “She loves you,” she murmurs, yawning as her eyelids begin to droop.

“Just…”

Another yawn.

“Just talk to her.”

“What do I even say?”

Silence.

“Hales?”

I glance down. Her red braid spills across my chest, eyes shut tight.

A few minutes pass before the door flies open. Lex and Knox step in, both silhouetted by the hallway light.

“Seriously, Cade,” Lex mutters, stopping short when he sees us. “You were supposed to keep her awake.”

“I tried.”

“Well, bestie,” Knox says, smacking Lex’s chest with the back of his hand. “Guess you’re bunking with me tonight.”