I couldn’t see Jay again.
My soul felt heavy, as though it weighed on my limbs, making it too difficult to get out of bed.
Beside my bed, my phone buzzed. I picked it up, already knowing it would be him.
All I can think about is how you taste. I need to see you.
I stared at the message, desperately wanting to reply. But how could I? If I told him that my family were onto us, and that someone had seen me, he’d just say ‘fuck them’. He wouldn’t let my family tell us what to do. It was different for him.
I wished I could figure out a way to make myself not care, but I was fearful of what they’d do if it was confirmed I’d been seeing Jayden Wynter.
My phone buzzed again.I miss your skin against my lips.
Fuck.
Goosebumps crept up over my neck. I ached for him. I wanted nothing more than to go to him.
My first lecture was at nine, but I already knew I wasn’t going to make it. I wasn’t going to make it to any of my other lectures today either. In fact, I doubted I’d even get out of bed, unless it was to use the bathroom.
A tear trickled down my cheek, and I swiped it away. My fingers itched to reply or call him, but I couldn’t. No good would come of it.
God, I missed him already.
I lay in bed, lost in thought, just letting the minutes tick by.
A knock came at my door, and it opened a crack. The housekeeper stuck her head in.
“Are you unwell, Ivy?” Mara asked. “You’ve overslept for class.”
It was easier to say I was sick than tell the truth.
“I think I’ve picked up a bug from somewhere.”
She frowned and entered the room fully. I twisted my face into the pillow so she didn’t notice me crying.
“Don’t come too close,” I mumbled into the material. “It might be catching, and I don’t want to get you ill, too.”
I sensed her pause halfway across the room.
“Okay,” she said hesitantly. “Can I get you anything? Some paracetamol or something to eat?”
I shook my head. “I just need some more sleep.”
“I’ll leave you in peace then.”
She probably thought I was hungover, though it wasn’t normally in my nature to drink too much and stay out late. Ihadbeen staying out late recently, though. I hoped she hadn’t been the one to tip off my father.
My mind was a whirlpool of worries, new ones darting like lightning strikes across it each time they formed. What if my father managed to get hold of my phone records? I had Jayden under ‘J’, but it wouldn’t take much for him to figure it out. Would he be able to see the messages we’d sent back and forth? Would he be able to read them? What about all the calls and how long they’d been? I’d never be able to explain that away. At least I no longer had any tracking apps on my phone—I’d made Jay take off the one he’d installed—though the men in my life preferred it if I did.
The sensible thing would be to delete all the messages, and his number from my phone, and not see him again, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
God, why was this so hard?
A couple of hours passed, and Jay’s messages went from sexy to worried to angry.
Where are you?
Why aren’t you replying?