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I meet her gaze in the mirror, drawing a big fucking blank for a minute. Then it occurs to me that I grabbed the phone Lukegave me, tossing it in my purse on a whim, and my heart goes all weird again.
I press my palm to my chest and take a deep breath, then move past her. “Yeah, uh, it’s just… A work phone. Because all the notifications were driving me crazy, you know?”
“Because you’re a big famous author,” she teases. She drifts after me. “How’s that going, by the way? I noticed you didn’t pack your typewriter.”
I grimace. “It’s big and clunky and annoying and I hate it.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.” I dig through my bag until my fingers brush the edge of the phone. I pull it out and scan the text, then drop if back in my bag. Because fuck this. Fuck all of it.
He left me alone for the most part. After that beating, I mean. Like we were taking a break… maybe he knew I had gone home for the holidays. Maybe he’s keeping tabs on me at all times, like Knox.
I never told Knox why he was texting me about pulling strings with him. I never admitted any of it, because the pain of being beaten up was a little too much to bear. And while the doorman who let Luke’s guy into the building and up to my condo is gone, the memory of it is too real.
Being back here has been interesting to say the least. At home, I convinced myself that I was safe. The hotels made me feel safe, too, until Knox burst in and ruined that.
If I close my eyes, I can taste the blood on my lips. The feel of my tooth coming loose, my stomach aching, the pain so bad I couldn’t help but throw up right where I’d lain.
It’s humiliating to relive.
“I’ve got to go,” I tell my best friend. I slip on my coat and flip my hair out, and Beth frowns as I make a beeline for the door. “I’ll see you later, right? We’re going out. I’ll meet you at Blood and Cherry.”
“Of course,” she murmurs. “But, Aurora?—”
“I’ll explain later. Thanks for letting me hang out here this afternoon!”
Another lie. I have no intention of explaining anything to her. Or anyone.
I make it to the arena in record time. There’s a text on my real phone from Willow, Miles’ fiancée, with a pass to get up to their suite in two days. We’ve got a complication with this game, first—then we’ll worry about facing Miles’ team on Tuesday.
Right now, I need to convince Knox to win this game. Bytwo. But it can’t be any two, it has to be his two.
This is not exactly what I thought I’d be doing on a Saturday afternoon, storming into the players’ area of the arena. And yet, all my years following my dad around has me feeling not as uncomfortable as I would’ve thought. It’d actually be kind of nostalgic if I wasn’t so anxious.
Guys are playing a game with a soccer ball in a huge open space, kicking it around without letting it touch the floor. I don’t spot Knox among them, and I almost move on.
Until my gaze catches on Joel.
He spots me immediately, and the ball sails past him.
There’s a chorus of groans, but he ignores them all and approaches me.
I hoist my purse up higher on my shoulder, gripping it tight, until he stops in front of me.
“Aurora,” he greets me. “What are you doing here? Are you okay?” He reaches out, then drops his hand before he can touch me.
“I’m fine.” I clear my throat. “I, uh… Listen, Joel.”
It actually hurts to look at him. And Knox’s accusation that I never really loved Joel, that I didn’t fight for him, float up in my mind. I don’t want it to be true, but it’s shocking how fast I got over it. Overhim.
“What is it?”
“I need to apologize.” I look down. “I’m so sorry for how things happened and that I lied to you. I didn’t mean for it to escalate, and Knox?—”
“It’s okay.” He shifts. “I don’t think I’m built for marriage. It’s just one of those things that I thought would work for me, but the idea of tying myself to a person forever is kind of claustrophobic.”
“Oh.” Well, that’s good… I guess. “At least you figured that out now.”
