Paige.
Cade.
Her stalker.
It all intertwined.
It was up to me to get to the bottom of who was pursuing her. One way or another, I wouldn’t stop until she was safe.
I just hoped.
Prayed.
There might be a future for us after all this was done. Until then, the memories of our past continued to haunt me.
Starting with…
The night she first came to me.
Nine
Paige
Then
“Ithink a celebratory shot is in order for us after nailing our exam,” Cade remarked, nodding to the bottle on the counter at the party we were attending.
I was settling in nicely at school. My classes weren’t as difficult as I imagined they’d be. I was making new friends and loving every second of it. Truly, I was trying to live the college experience as much as I could.
The last month flew by. I spent a lot of time at the library avoiding the Drake’s apartment like it was the new age plague. I didn’t want to see Adrian. Mostly because I had no clue how to act around him now that I was aware he was behind the reason guys stayed away from me all these years.
The unexpected news of his whatever you’d call it, hit me like a ton of bricks. The only way I knew how to handle it was by avoiding him. It wasn’t like he was actively trying to make things right with me either.
“Hey!” Cade waved his hand in front of my face. “Where did you go?”
“I’m here,” I responded, smiling wide, trying to play it off as if I wasn’t just thinking about his brother.
“You’ve been kind of MIA lately. What’s up?”
“I’m just trying to adjust to college life, that's all.”
“I miss you.”
Talk about making me feel like crap.
“You don’t have to miss me anymore. I’m sitting right in front of you.”
“For how long?”
“Cade…”
“Is this about Hayley?”
“Of course not. I love you two together.”
“It just seems a little weird we’re finally on our own in college, and I’ve barely seen you this last month. I don’t want things to continue this way. You’re my best friend, Paige. I don’t want to lose you to anything or anyone.”
I swallowed hard, feeling the guilt of what he was saying in the pit of my stomach.
“I promise I’ll make more of an effort to see you, okay? Where is Hayley anyway?”
“She’s meeting us here.”
Wanting to get rid of this remorse he was triggering, I grabbed one of the shots he poured and took it down in one swig. At the last second, I decided to drink the other one too.
“Damn. That bad? You didn’t even do the salt and lime.”
“I’m a professional.” I coughed up a lung. “I don’t need the salt and lime.”
“What aren’t you telling me, Paige?”
“It’s nothing.”
“You act like I don’t know you or something. It’s written all over your face.”
“Oh, so you’re an interpreter of my emotions now?”
“You’re easy to read.”
“Enlighten me then.”
He poured another two shots and slammed his down before confidently stating, “I’m fine with you usually means you’re losing your shit. ‘Don’t worry about it,’ means I’m fucked. When you sigh, it means the world is coming to an end. When it’s that time of the month, you eat chocolate as if it’s your last meal. Also, you turn into a raging emotional wreck where all your reasoning goes out the fucking window. It’s one of those things where you just have to cry it out.”
“Wow.”
“I’m not done.” He chugged down the other shot, slamming it back down on the table again. “‘Go ahead,’ means I better stay my ass home if I know what’s good for me. Do I look fat in this? Means I better lie if I value my balls. Don’t get me started on the ‘I don’t want to talk about it,’ which always means you want to talk about everything.”
This time it was me who filled two more shots, swallowing them whole like a champ. Barely coughing now.
“How did I do?”
“A plus, Cade. I guess you have me nailed.” I smirked, once again trying to change the subject from me to him, I questioned, “You engaged yet?”
He chuckled, “You itching to be my best man, or I’d guess you’d be my best woman?”
“I’m not entirely sure how that works, but the fact that you’re considering me your best anything in a wedding I didn’t know about seems very serious to me.”
“I never said I didn’t want to get married.”
My eyes widened. “Are you thinking about marriage?”
He shrugged.
“Oh my God! Have you guys said I love you?”
“You’d know if you were around more.”
Feeling the liquor coursing through my veins, I openly sighed. Proving to him there was something on my mind. I wasn’t a big drinker. It wasn’t shocking I was quickly experiencing its effects.
“I’m sorry, okay? I haven’t been available to you like you’re used to, but from here on out, I’m at your disposal.”