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The next two days are much the same. Bexley, Channing, Sasha, and Brandon divide their time to chaperone me to and from class. Bexley barely lets me out of his sight. We don’t talk about what happened the other night, and it doesn’t happen again. But every night, I lay in his bed, unable to step foot in my bedroom.
I’m also off the Xanax, which means I’m not sleeping again. I don’t tell Bexley or anyone else that. They would only freak-out. Instead, I ply myself with strong coffee and energy drinks when no one is paying attention. But by Wednesday afternoon, the cracks are beginning to show.
I’m sitting in class again, my eyes heavy and my body weary. At least being off the Xanax has prevented any more freak-outs in the middle of the night. Now I lay awake, staring at the shadows as they dance across Bexley’s ceiling while he sleeps beside me. His touch, despite everything left unsaid between us, still calms me.
“I’ll see you back at the house, okay?” Bexley says as we reach my next class.
“Yeah.”
“Channing will meet you right here.”
“I know the drill, Bex.” A resigned sigh slips from my lips.
“Hey.” He cups my cheek, brushing his thumb over my skin. “I know this is hard…”
“It’s fine. I’m fine. Go. Play nice with Q.” I almost choke over the word. He’s meeting with Phillip to get an update on things, whatever that means. It’s been almost three weeks since Cade disappeared. There’s been no official sign of him, since no one believes me.
I’m not sureIbelieve me anymore.
The memories are hazy, the moments in time fading further and further out of reach. Maybe it was all my mind playing tricks, torturing me some more.
“Okay.” He leans in, grazing his lips across my cheek. “I’ll see you later.” I watch Bexley walk away, unsure whether I feel relieved or disappointed. Things are different between us since Sunday night, as if we crossed a line into unexplored territory. Part of me knows we needed it—that I needed it. But now it’s like neither of us knows how to act around the other.
I follow the stream of people into class and take a seat over on the left near the back. The professor doesn’t waste any time launching into today’s lesson. I take notes, trying to keep up with all the terminology and theories he throws at us. But halfway through the class, I get the strangest feeling of being watched. My fingers grip my pen tightly as I discreetly glance around the room, my eyes landing on a figure in the back. He’s right at the end of the row on the other side of the room, concealed by the other students so much that I can only make out his black hoodie and hands resting casually on the desk.
It’s not Cade.
It can’t be.
Not here, in one of my classes.
And yet…
I glance back, my heart pounding in my chest, but he’s gone. My brows furrow and my leg bounces up and down as I frantically consider what to do.
He was there.
He was right freaking there.
Without thinking, I stuff all my belongings into my bag and clamber over the person sitting next to me to get out of the row. They mutter under their breath at me, but I don’t stop to apologize as I slip out of the classroom into the hall.
It’s empty. No sign of Cade. Or anyone else for that matter. I inhale a shaky breath, running a hand through my hair. I’m losing it. It’s official. I’m—
A chill goes through me and I turn my head just in time to see someone disappear around the hall. Someone dressed all in black.
Before I can talk myself out of it, I take off after him. But when I skid around the corner, there’s nothing.
A guttural scream rips from my lungs as I slam my hand against the wall, pain ricocheting down my arm. Tears prick the corners of my eyes as I take off running toward the nearest restroom. I burst through the door, heaving a ragged breath. I’m unraveling, the fragile edges of reality blurring until I can no longer figure out what’s real and what’s not.
I don’t even realize I’m sobbing until Ashton appears, his big, imposing body filling the doorway.
“What the hell?” I seethe.
“What happened?” He takes a step toward me and I jerk back.
“Why are you in here?”
“I saw you lose it out there and followed you.”
