I exhale slowly as the memory squeezes me so tight I can barely breathe. "I told her I can't. She basically told me she was going to find someone else, grabbed her shirt, and left. I haven't seen or talked to her since."
Whistling, I can already picture him cringing at the retelling of events. "That's rough."
"You're telling me. But I can't be with her. You said it yourself—Easton would kill me."
He snorts. "Since when have you been afraid of Easton Donovan?"
"Since he damn near got himself and Tessa killed when he decided to do drugs."
The tone of my voice is practically dead, but so was that whole time of our lives. Hell, when Knox found out his future sister-in-law overdosed on Easton's stash, he damn near went after him. Tessa Callahan may scare the shit out of us, but during that time, I'd never seen her more vulnerable.
&nbs
p; "Okay, granted," he replies. "But you said yourself he seems to be getting close to that Kennedy girl. Maybe he's not as fragile as you think."
"And if he is?"
"Delaney will plant pretty flowers on your grave."
Soon after the words leave his mouth, he hisses and mumbles an ouch. I can just barely hear Laney in the background tell him that it serves him right. I love that girl.
"In all seriousness, though," he continues. "Just talk to her. She probably thinks you're not interested, and that's definitely not the case."
Fuck. "All right. I've got to go."
"Text me and let me know what happens."
I chuckle and roll my eyes as I grab my keys. "You've turned into such a chick. Should we video and do face masks, too?"
He snickers. "Fuck off."
I JUMP OUT OF my car and rush to the door, thankful when a student comes walking out and holds it open for me. Taking the stairs two at a time, I can't seem to make it up there fast enough. I don't know what this will mean for us, or if an us is even possible, but I'm anxious to talk to her. She needs to know that whatever this is, it's not one-sided.
My fist pounds on the door a little harder than I intended. A few seconds later, it opens, but it's not the girl I wanted to see on the other side. Kennedy notices the look on my face, and her shoulders sag.
"Seriously, asshole? Now?"
My brows furrow. "What?"
She exhales heavily and rolls her eyes. "You're too late."
"Too late for what? Where's Amelia?"
Leaning against the doorway, she shakes her head. "After you rejected her, again, she promised herself that was it. She was done with trying to get you to see something she claims must not be there."
I rub the back of my neck to try and ease some of the tension. "Kennedy, what are you talking about? Where the hell is Amelia?"
The next words to leave her mouth make my chest hurt.
"She met someone else."
THE ENERGY AT THIS party is high, but I can't be bothered. All the people here are complete garbage. Junkies. Drug dealers. There are even a couple of hookers. If it were up to me, I'd be at home or at the gym to work out some frustrations, but there's only so far I can push Blade before he snaps. I need to pick my battles.
I do my best to stay in the background. The last thing I want is to be on any of these people's radar. It's bad enough I'm involved with Blade and still haven't figured out how to get out of it without jeopardizing Easton's safety.
As I'm scoping out the place, a familiar face walks in and my shoulders sag—dread washing over me. I watch as Jace keeps his head down and goes over to Rinaldo, one of the sketchiest guys around. He's known for having all the hardcore drugs. Kind of like Blade, but more intense. To be honest, I think Rinaldo is actually Blade's boss, but no one is supposed to know about it, so it's not something that I can confirm.
He takes out a wad of cash, and Rinaldo hands him a baggie that looks like it has a lot more than just one kind of drug in it. Pills. Cocaine. The only thing I don't see in there is heroin. When he's done, he slips right back out the way he came. Clearly, he has no intentions of hanging around, probably to avoid being seen by anyone he knows.