“You okay?” I asked softly. My dad was still talking, but it drew the attention of the new man, who I was assuming was Callum. His gaze met mine before moving to Kingston’s, and a tense moment passed as the two of them stared at one another. It wasn’t a bad tension, per se, but it was very much something.
Suddenly, it didn’t matter, because he just offered a head nod and looked forward again. King seemed to breathe out, his grip tightening on me as I examined his face. My chest squeezed as a small thread of insecurity ran through me.
There was that feeling again. The one where I felt like they were hiding something from me. I eyed Callum.
Maybe more than one thing.
* * *
The feeling didn’t go away, even as we made it into the early afternoon and I drove home. I had said a quick goodbye to India, and Kingston, who had been talking quietly to Callum, had said he would come by to pick me up for tonight. I found myself lonely, though, as I drove home, realizing that all of them had chosen to stay… for whatever reason.
And no, I wasn’t insecure enough to think this was anything with India. This was something else. It was weird, and it made me really uncomfortable not knowing what. I swallowed, shaking my head and turning on my phone as it began to ding in the console next to me. I tried to not assume the worst, but when the messages continued to stream in, I realized that I may not want to open my phone to begin with.
I always felt better with my phone off, but it was ten times worse when I finally turned it on. My throat caught as I pulled into the driveway and then the garage, knowing that my parents would be quick to follow. I looked at the clock in the car, calculating that I had around two hours until the entire ensemble of ‘helpers’ arrived to aid in my mom and I getting ready for the gala tonight.
The smart thing would be to take a nap.
My fingers were shaky as I grabbed my phone and walked inside, not looking at the screen and considering just powering it back down. I was being a baby. It was probably fine. It was probably nothing. Sliding off my shoes, I sat on the edge of my bed and opened my phone.
A small noise broke from my throat.
It was several messages, but the thing that stuck out most to me? A photo of Kingston talking to Callum, with India standing right there listening to what they were saying. A surge of insecurity hit my chest, as I found that even more upsetting than the insults. Although, those were bad. Really bad.
Tossing my phone across my bed, I ran my fingers through my hair and let out a sharp breath.Fuck this.Anxiety poured through my system as I tried to shake it, but instead I found myself laying on my side and pulling headphones out of my drawer, hoping that would help.
Maybe Kingston knew Callum from something over the summer.
My eyes closed as dread settled in my stomach. No. No, I didn’t think it was that.
Unfortunately.