Everything around me disappeared while a loud buzzing filled my ears. I typed out my answer with shaking fingers.
Me: Who is this?
Hope, fear, and anticipation curdled in my stomach. Maybe it’s my mom…
An eternity passed in the ten seconds it took for the reply to pop up, but when it did, I almost dropped my phone in shock.
Unknown: It’s Max
Max. My ex-boyfriend. How did he get my number? Why was he contacting me now after seven years of radio silence?
There was only one reason, and the prospect made bile rise in my throat.
Max: We need to talk.
I shoved my phone in my bag. Cold sweat slicked my palms, and I wiped them against my thighs in an attempt to gather myself.
“Hey.”
My head jerked up at the sound of Josh’s voice.
He leaned forward, his brow puckered with what would’ve passed for concern had it been anyone else.
“Who was that? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.” His eyes flitted to my bag, where my phone burned a hole through the leather.
I wasn’t answering Max. I didn’t know what to say, and I didn’t want to know what he had to say. Maybe if I ignored him, he’d disappear for another seven years.
Forget diamonds; denial was a girl’s best friend.
“No one. Just spam,” I lied.
Josh didn’t bring up the issue again, but the weight of his stare pressed down on me for the rest of the meal.
I lifted a forkful of salmon to my mouth and chewed. It tasted like cardboard.
I bet Max still had the tape. He’d been sitting on it for years. What if he decided it was finally time for him to cash in on the blackmail material? What if I couldn’t meet his demands?
If he released the tape, it would ruin my career before it began. Everything I’d worked so hard for, down the drain in an instant.
My stomach ached, and it wasn’t just from my cramps.
I’m going to be sick.
I shoved my chair back and ran to the bathroom, ignoring my friends’ startled glances. I made it into a stall just in time for my lunch to reappear. Even after I threw up everything I ate, I dry heaved until my throat was raw.
I thought I’d escaped my past, but at the end of the day, our demons always caught up with us.