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“And when can someone come in? We’re going to need a deep clean.” Jordan turns when she hears me. “Sounds good, thank you.”
She hangs up the phone and looks at me. “They’ll be in next week. Apparently, about four months ago, you told them to fuck off and never come back.”
Four months?
I shuffle my feet and chew on my lip again as I look around my living room and kitchen. They aren’t as bad as my room, but that’s because I spend most of my time in there. These rooms aren’t good, though.
“Come on, let’s get out of here. I’m starving.” Jordan reaches for my fidgeting fingers and links hers with mine, picks up a grocery bag sitting by the front door, and pulls me from the space.
“I’m sorry,” I mumble as we wait for the elevator.
“Nothing to be sorry about. We’ll get it handled.” She rubs my back with a comforting hand and a nod. “Depression can cause time blindness. I doubt you remember telling the cleaning company not to come back and definitely didn’t realize it was four months ago.”
Since Jordan drove my car, which isn’t abnormal for us, we end up at a place that serves breakfast that only Jordan loves, and I drink a basic bitch Frappuccino while picking at my eggs.
“Seriously, you need to eat. I know you don’t feel hungry, but you need to nourish your body.” She looks between my plate and my face. “Part of the reason you’re tired is because you aren’t taking care of yourself.”
She cuts her hash browns in half and pushes some onto my plate. Why are fried potatoes so tasty? Jordan hands me some hot sauce, and I put some on the hash browns and eggs, then eat about half of both. My stomach feels like it’s going to explode.
“I’m done.” I push the plate away, and Jordan gives me a smile.
“Good. Thank you for eating.”
CHAPTERTWO
Elliot
Jordan navigates my car to a high school parking lot and parks in an empty space. I lift an eyebrow at her in confusion, but she just smiles at me and jumps out. With a resigned sigh, I follow her and leave the safety of my car. She grabs the grocery bag from the back and hooks her arm through mine, leading me toward the throng of people moving toward the football field.
Outside the entrance is a bunch of signs announcing a food drive. My girl Jordan is a giving soul, so it doesn’t surprise me that she is donating to a canned food drive, but why am I here?
“Is this the fun thing you wanted to do for my birthday?” I ask.
She gives me a shit-eating grin and wags her eyebrows at me. “Yup.”
“You’re making me nervous.” I glance around, looking for some clue as to what she wants me here for. What is so exciting about a food drive?
My eyes zero in on some news vans. Okay, that’s not too weird. More publicity means more people will come out and donate, which means more people will be helped. I scan the crowd and don’t see anyone that I recognize, but are there more Thunderbolt jerseys than normal? Like, a lot more? The team is based in San Diego, but we have a big fan base here, so seeing the team’s T-shirts or hats is common, but this is almost everyone. What the hell?
As we get closer to the field, I overhear someone say something about getting a signature from the quarterback Ryan Thomas.
Oh no.
My heart starts pounding, and my skin chills even though we’re standing in the sun. I wipe my palms on my jeans to get rid of the clammy feeling.
I can’t see Asher. I fucking can’t.
There’s a pressure on my chest, and my hands start to shake as Jordan pulls me forward. Buzzing in my ears blocks out whatever is being said around me, overwhelming my head until I want to scream.
“I can’t—” Every muscle in my body is screaming with tension and the urge to run. I can’t breathe.
“Elliot.” Jordan’s voice cuts through the panic just enough for me to hear it but not enough to respond.
My arms are wrapped around my torso as I rock and shake my head.Make it stop. Just let me breathe. Please.
I can’t seehim.I can’t do it. Face the man who ripped my heart out and left it on the floor to rot. I was forced to pick up the tattered shreds he left and stitch myself back together. I can’t do it again. I’m not strong enough.
Home. Get home. Home safe. Safe. Need safe.
