The Endless Road to Sunshine - Nicky James Page 0,130

breathed.

“Not directly. I didn’t mean to. What am I going to do?”

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing. He can’t hurt you. He’s locked up.”

“But Jason is going to—”

“You aren’t telling Dr. Palmer shit. I don’t care if you lie through your fucking teeth. There is no way you can tell him about this.”

“I feel sick.”

“Yeah, I bet you do. What were you thinking?”

“This was your idea.”

“I didn’t tell you to go poke the rabid serial killer bear, did I? When I said, go interview him, I also didn’t know Jaxon Palmer was Jason Atkinson. Because you didn’t tell us.”

“This isn’t funny, and I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone.”

Hunter clasped the back of my neck. “It’s okay. Everything will be okay. Just chill. What do you want to do?”

“Let’s go home. I have six hours or more to figure this out before I see Jason. I need to get away from here.”

Chapter Twenty-THREE

Jason

I woke up in a puddle of my own drool, dangling off the edge of the couch at an awkward angle. My tie, which I hadn’t removed, strangled me. Peeling my eyes open, I groaned at the bright light coming in the window. My head pounded, and my mouth tasted like I’d licked a toilet bowl.

Without moving too much, I looked around, piecing the events of my night together. There was an empty bottle of Jim Beam lying on its side on the floor. The TV was on, muted and showing some nature show about wildebeests.

Something buzzed and buzzed and buzzed, but I couldn’t place the sound. My brain was shattered, and I was pretty sure I was missing pieces of the last twenty-four hours. My stomach roiled when I moved, so I stilled, willing myself not to vomit as bile threatened to climb my throat.

The buzzing stopped. A few seconds later, it started again.

Then, like someone flipped a switch in my head, everything came back to me at once. The swarm of reporters. The endless questions. The crush of bodies. My fake identity had been stripped away, leaving me naked and vulnerable and exposed right there on campus for everyone to see. Students whispered. Faculty gathered. People pointed. Cameras flashed.

I squeezed my eyes closed when they prickled with tears.

The buzzing stopped.

A few short minutes of silence followed.

Then, buzz, buzz, buzz…

I opened my eyes, understanding. Skylar. I hadn’t been able to get a hold of Skylar. He wasn’t in town. He’d gone somewhere with Hunter. Plans to do something.

The buzzing.

My phone.

I scanned the coffee table, hoping it was within reach. It wasn’t there. I tried to think of where I’d put it, listening to determine a direction. Shifting, I peered over the edge of the couch and saw it lying on the floor too far away.

Fighting against the throbbing inside my head and my churning gut, I stretched and reached for it, catching its edge with my fingertips and moaning as I dragged it toward me.

The incoming call was from Levi, not Skylar.

Had I called him last night too? Had I told him what had happened?

It was all a blur.

My brain had shut down at the university. Self-preservation mode. I vaguely remembered Reggie guiding me away, bringing me home. Talking. He’d driven, saying something about honesty and friendship and lies. So, so many lies.

A moment of panic hit me, and I sat up too fast, eyes wide as I glanced around the living room. There was no sign of Reggie. His shoes weren’t at the door, no clothing lying about. I was fully dressed. Thank fucking god.

My heart thundered with relief as I pinched the bridge of my nose and lay back down. I’d come home and done what? Drank. A lot, if the way I felt meant anything.

The phone started buzzing again.

I smacked my lips, trying to work saliva into my parched mouth as I fumbled to answer.

“Hello?” My voice sounded like it been run over a cheese grater.

“What the hell is going on? I’ve been calling you for over an hour.”

Levi sounded frantic.

“I take it you’ve seen the news?”

A pause. “What? The news? What are you talking about?”

A sharp pain stabbed my temple, and I groaned, squeezing my eyes closed. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the little stunt your boyfriend pulled at the prison.”

“What?” I shot upright, my head and stomach issues notwithstanding. “The prison? Skylar? I don’t… What?”

“Yes. I got a threatening phone call from Francis about an hour ago. He said Skylar arranged a little meeting with Morgan, claimed it was for some school project or