AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Turning away from me, she scooped up her shoes and jewelry and walked away, her phone pressed to her ear.
I gritted my teeth, glaring at Siren’s back. It was time for us to stop flirting with temptation. I wasn’t going to ruin her, and I wasn’t going to let her ruin me. It was over.
Fourteen
Piper
“Areyou sure you don’t want me to come with you?” Mamma asked. “I can skip the concert. Remy and Papa can have a boys’ day.”
“I’m sure,” I said as I pulled a sweater over my head. I was wearing actual clothes that weren’t sweatpants and going out in public for the first time in nearly a week. “You don’t need to cancel your plans. I’m perfectly capable of going to a doctor’s appointment on my own.”
“That doesn’t mean you have to.”
If I was being honest, I did want Mamma to come with me, but I refused to make her cancel on my younger brother. They’d been planning this outing for a year, and there was no good reason I needed to mess up their plans. I was twenty-three years old. I could handle whatever my OB-GYN was going to tell me without my parents holding my hand.
“I’m sure it won’t be anything serious. I’m probably just overreacting.” At least that was what I was hoping.
I pulled on a pair of boots, gave Mamma one last hug, and rushed out the door and into the waiting car before I could break down and ask her to come.
When I was a teenager—okay, up until a couple of months ago—whenever I had to go through something difficult, I’d imagine Sam coming back and being there through every difficult moment of my life, the way he’d been there that night on the roof of Youngblood.
He was my ultimate fantasy, my Prince Charming who wasn’t quite charming. Instead, he made me feel like all my problems were trivial and fixable. He didn’t coddle or pity me. He challenged me to take control of my own life and emotions.
When I’d first seen Sam on the terrace at the charity ball, it had felt like a dream. For a second, I’d honestly thought he was a figment of my imagination, conjured up because I wanted a friend that night.
Sam had ruined that fantasy, taken away the dream where he was my prince and replaced it with a reality where he was the villain who dragged my heart around.
I hadn’t heard a word from him since Saturday. Then again, I’d barely left my house since I got home from the party last weekend.
I’d told Freddie I didn’t feel well and hadn’t wanted to make him leave the party. He seemed to buy it. Shawn had texted me to call bullshit, but when he showed up at my house—because Thomas was a traitor who gave him my address—Mamma confirmed my story. Even though the reason I felt like shit was because I’d gone for a nighttime swim and then had to sit in sopping-wet clothes on the drive home.
I really did owe Shawn an explanation. I pulled out my phone and sent him a quick text.
Me:I know you’re probably in class right now, but I was wondering if you want to do something later tonight?
His answer came in a matter of seconds.
Shawn:Of course. Are you feeling better?
Me:Not really, but I’m pretty sure my funk isn’t contagious.
Shawn:Youngblood?
Me:No. How about ice cream?
Shawn:Ice cream sounds great. Are you going to tell me what happened last Saturday?
Me:Maybe if you promise not to share with Thomas. I understand if you don’t want to keep secrets from him. I don’t have to share.Even though a part of me desperately wanted to. I couldn’t talk to Nacio because he’d already made his dislike of me being anywhere near Sam very clear, and I didn’t trust Mamma’s advice after she went from being team Freddie to team Sam right about the time Sam told me we were never going to happen.
Shawn:I can keep a secret. Unless your life is in danger, then all bets are off.
Me:You’re the best friend in the world.
Shawn:So great that you ignored me for six days?
Me:I’m sorry.
Shawn:I forgive you, but I do expect you to spill tonight.
