Where the fuck is my phone?
Trying to cast my mind back, I can’t think of where I had it last, so I do the only thing I can think of.
I put on my hoodie and head next door.
It doesn’t take more than a minute to head through the gate in the back yard to bang on the Saints’ front door. Not thirty seconds later, it’s ripped open and I find a half-naked Lincoln looking back at me. His jeans aren’t even zipped up.
Who the fuck opens the door like that?
“Do you have my phone?” I ask before he can say a word, because my fragile state can not handle him being this new, cold version of Lincoln I’ve known since coming back. Right now, I’d give just about anything to have my old friends back.
Which reminds me to call Indi as soon as I’ve spoken to the police.
God, I’m such a bad friend sometimes.
Lincoln just stares at me, and jams his hands in his pockets.
“Well?” I take a deep breath, trying not to get frustrated.
He nods and walks away from me, the muscles in his back flexing as he goes. I shift from foot to foot while I wait for him to return, trying not to look as awkward as I feel. The seconds seem to drag out and it feels like it’s been at least an hour when he returns, though I know it was likely just a few minutes. At least he’s done up his jeans now, even if he is still topless.
He hands me my phone and when I tap the screen, nothing happens. Of course it’s dead, why wouldn’t it be?
“Thanks,” I say, smiling stiffly before turning and heading back the way I came.
“Octavia.” I turn as he barks my name, and realize he’s only a few steps behind me, barefoot on the paved ground. “Are you okay?”
A glimpse of the boy I used to know shines through for a moment, but I’m not foolish enough to think that the ghost I see is who Lincoln still is. Maybe, deep, deep down, my friend still exists, but I don’t have the energy or the time to go hunting for him. Not right now.
I shrug at him and play with the cuffs of my hoodie. “I’ll be fine. I’ve survived worse.”
He looks confused for a minute but doesn’t say anything else, so I turn back around and walk away from him. As I reach the gate between our properties, I find him still watching after me. I give him a tight smile and head home, determined to make a stand.
Once I’m back in my own space, I set the alarm before finding my charger to plug my phone in. The silence in this empty house is deafening, I hate it. I hit the tablet on the wall and start a playlist of low, classical music, just to fill the silence.
As I stare into nothingness, flashes of last night replay over and over in my mind until the buzzing of my phone brings me back to the present. I look down at my screen and see dozens of messages from Indi. I swipe them off the screen for the time being, determined to call the police without further distraction. I open up the phone app and my phone starts ringing in my hand. I don’t know the number so I hesitate, just a few seconds, before answering anyway.
“Hello?”
“V?” I relax at Finley's voice. “I’ve been trying you on and off all day, I was starting to worry.”
“What do you want, Finley?”
The line is silent for a moment and butterflies take flight in my stomach. “I need you to not call the police.”
I practically hold my breath, wondering how he could’ve known and why he’d even ask that. “How? How did you know?”
“Because despite what you might think, I know you, Octavia Royal. Always have, always will. Which is why I know you’ve wrestled with the decision of what to do, and you think this will help stop it from happening to anyone else. I need you to trust that it’s been handled. There isn’t anything the police can do that hasn’t already been done.”
My heart thumps in my chest at his words. “What does that even mean?”
“I’ll tell you one day, when you’re ready to know. Just know that it was handled.”
I suck in a breath as I clutch the counter. My knees shake as I try to calm myself. None of this makes any sense to me. None of it.
“He won’t hurt you ever again. No one will. He won’t hurt anyone else either. I know you don’t trust me, you have no reason to, but that will change. I promise you that much. Call me if you need anything.” He pauses, and I’m stunned to silence. “I mean it, V. Anything.”
The line drops, and I stare down at my phone wondering exactly what just happened. I’m still tempted to call the police, but something in his voice makes me pause. I’ve nearly chewed through my lip, grappling internally with the decision before me, when my phone rings again and Indi’s face fills my screen. The phone is barely to my ear when I hear her screech. “About fucking time!”