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I stumble back and collide with the wall before sliding down until my ass hits the floor.
Opening the cover, I read the quote the student council president thought would inspire greatness in all of us before flipping the page and working my way through the images.
16
ALANA
My eyes fly open and I blink against the darkness, trying to figure out what dragged me from sleep.
Mav is sleeping peacefully beside me, but he’s not snoring.
I study him for a few seconds, hating that even in his sleep he has deep frown lines etched into his brow.
“Shit,” I whisper, my attention turning toward the closed door.
Slipping my hand beneath my pillow, I pull out the cell that Reid gave me.
I wake it up and breathe a sigh of relief when I find no notifications.
Truthfully, I’ve no idea what the hell I’m looking for, but I figure that no news is good news.
Four a.m.
Mav carried me up to bed a little after midnight. The whiskey followed by wine with dinner and then vodka hit me hard after the past few days of nothing but anxiety over our current situation.
I remember him stripping me to my tank and panties and placing me into bed, but I don’t have any memory of him joining me or falling asleep.
Confident that it’s safe, I push the sheets from my body and swing my legs over the edge.
I slip out of the room as quietly as I can and close the door behind me, my eyes scanning the empty hallway.
Everything is silent, and I start to wonder if I was dreaming and woke myself up.
The only door that’s open—or partially open—is JD’s and my gut instinct tells me to check it out.
His room is in darkness, but there is a light coming from his closet.
Walking over, I push the door open, and my breath catches at the sight I find before me.
JD is sitting against a wall with a book—a school yearbook—resting on his knees and a single tear running down his cheek.
The book in his hands trembles as he stares at the photo in the top left corner.
I might not know who he’s looking at, but I have a very good idea.
I move closer, but he’s so lost in his own head, he doesn’t notice my presence.
“Hey,” I say, dropping down to sit beside him.
I look at the photo that’s captured his attention and find a girl with pretty eyes and freckles staring back. There is no joy in her expression, only irritation that she’s being forced to have her photo taken.
“I made her attend,” JD explains. “She wanted to skip.”
“You did the right thing,” I assure him, placing my hand on his thigh for support.
“This is the last photo I have of her. Only a few days later…”
Twisting around so I’m facing him, I lean forward and press a kiss to his cheek, wishing it would be enough to wipe away his pain.
