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I almost don’t respond, but the angry side of me wins.
Athelia:You don’t own me.
My phone rings—Cal.
Of course they’d have him call me. They’re all jackasses, but he’s the nicest.
“That’s not gonna work on me,” I mutter, declining the call and shoving my phone in my hoodie’s pocket.
Nothingis gonna work on me anymore. I’ll use them to help deal with Professor Kammes. If they kill him, fine. I don’t care as long as I don’t go down with them when they inevitably get caught.
But after that, I’m done with them. Fuck their apologies. They may have meant them, but they’ll never be enough. Nothing ever will be.
As I get out of the car, I take a deep breath of the cool air. The scent of earth and lake fills my lungs, easing the ache of breathing too deeply.
I smile.This is exactly what I need.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Cal
“She’s gone.”
My heart skips a beat at Wes’s words. I look to Kellan, who’s watching me with a concerned look. My grip on my phone tightens. “What?”
“She’s gone,” Wes repeats in my ear. “I left to get her some food, and when I came back, her dorm was empty. Is she with you guys?”
“I haven’t heard from her. Kellan, has Athelia texted you?”
He shakes his head. Since we got back from getting the painting, we’ve both been hanging around the house. We had some homework to do, and we both needed to catch up on sleep, too.
“Kellan hasn’t heard from her either,” I say into my phone.
Wes swears. “Where do you think she went?”
“Come on, man. She obviously wants to be left alone.”
“She’shurt,Cal. Physically and emotionally.”
I sigh, unsurprised but still annoyed. Of course Wes can’t let her go.
“Maybe she went home,” Kellan offers. “The past day has been hell for her, and she has a pretty good relationship with her parents. It’s what I’d do, probably.”
I shake my head. “That’s a four-hour drive. She wouldn’t do that just to have to come back for classes tomorrow.”
“We need to find her,” Wes grits out.
“She doesn’t want us to,” I counter.
“I don’t care! She can’t run off like this.”
“She’s a big girl,” I tell him. “She can take care of herself.”
Still, worry creeps into my mind. There’s no definite way to make sure her rib isn’t cracked without getting her to a hospital. She refused to do that, and I wanted to respect her, so I didn’t press. But if itiscracked, it could lead to a lot of problems.
She could die.
“Athelia is smart,” I say, mostly to reassure myself. “She’ll be careful.”
