Page 10 of Twins for Three Bad Boys

I let it ring.

My chest aches with the effort of not answering. With the fight against muscle memory.

Because Max has trained me. With guilt. With tone. With the way silence becomes punishment until I apologize just to make it stop.

The call goes to voicemail.

A new text appears.

Don’t embarrass yourself, June.

Like I’m a child, and this is a tantrum.

I stare at the words until the screen blurs with fresh tears.

And then everything changes.

I go into my contacts and find Max’s name.

My finger hovers.

There’s a flash of fear, sharp and pathetic.

What if I need him?

What if this is a mistake?

What if I’m really alone?

Then I see his face again. The way he looked at me when he said that maybe my firing didn’t come out of nowhere.

I press Block.

The silence after is immediate. It feels like stepping off a ledge.

My heart hammers. My palms sweat.

I sit there, breathing fast, waiting for consequences.

Nothing happens.

I drag in a shaky breath.

Then I start the car.

The engine turns over with a familiar rumble. A machine doesn’t care if rumors have ruined you. A car doesn’t care if your boyfriend has cheated. It just goes where you point it.

I stare out through the windshield at the apartment building before I put the car in reverse and pull out of the parking spot.

I don’t know where I’m going.

I only know I can’t stay.

CHAPTER ONE

June

TWO MONTHS LATER…