The Punk and the Plaything (When Rivals Play #3) - B.B. Reid Page 0,58

room. Joe seemed visibly relieved the moment he saw me enter the foyer while Jamie reluctantly stood back, allowing him to see me fully.

“Hey, Joe! Sorry. I should have texted you,” I said with a pointed look at Jamie. “I decided to stay a little longer than I planned, so Jamie is going to give me a ride instead.”

“That’s fine, miss.” The frown Joe wore now was troubled. “I’ll just have to let your father know.”

My heart sank to my stomach. I knew my father would demand I come home if he found out that I was with anyone other than Ever.

“Or don’t,” Jamie snapped with a scowl.

Without thinking, I placed both hands on Jamie’s chest, hoping it would silence him. It did, but I could tell he didn’t like it. Joe hadn’t missed the exchange, and I knew we were no closer to convincing him to risk his job by lying to his employer. He’d already bought me the beer. Maybe I was asking too much. Remembering the wife and daughter he had to consider, I dropped my head. I couldn’t allow Joe to lose his job because of me.

“I’ll just be a sec.” Spinning on my heel, I hurried back into the living room. The movie had been paused, and everyone was staring at me when I entered.

“You have to go?” Lou asked as she stood and yawned.

Wordlessly, I crossed the room and pulled her into a hug. “Thank you,” I whispered so only she could hear. She’d probably never know how much tonight had meant to me. Sometimes, the smallest gestures made the biggest impact.

“Anytime,” she whispered back.

Letting her go, I waved goodbye to everyone else, and that was when I realized Ever was missing. When I stepped out into the hall, I noticed two things: rain was falling, and neither Ever nor Joe seemed to notice as they spoke in low whispers at the end of the drive. The expression on Jamie’s face as he looked on was so intense that I had the feeling he was trying, or at least hoping, to read their lips.

I attempted to slip past him, hoping to escape without making this harder, but of course, Jamie grabbed my hand, and I knew there was no such thing as easy when it came to us. Reluctantly, I met his gaze, and those brown eyes of his seemed to plead with me.

Don’t go.

It felt like tearing off my own limb when I slowly pulled my hand away.

I have to.

I STOOD IN THE RAIN, watching the taillights of the SUV until they disappeared. Ever had already run back inside without even an explanation on what the hell he’d said to Joe or why he was suddenly so tense.

I wanted to go after Bee.

To steal her away from whatever the hell had caused that haunted look in her eyes. I wasn’t blind. I knew she wanted to stay, so why the hell hadn’t she? Her father was a prick who hated my guts, but did it really matter how she got home as long as she made curfew?

It was just more questions that needed fucking answering.

Shouting from inside had me realizing that I was still standing in the fucking rain like a complete jackass. I stepped through the front door, and I gritted my teeth because I couldn’t stop replaying Bee walking through it.

“I need money!” Lou shouted when I returned to the living room. “How else am I supposed to get it?”

“I give you money,” Wren snapped.

With one hand on her hip, Lou gave him a withering look. “I’m a modern woman, Harlan. Mama’s gotta bake her own bread.” She waved what looked like Vaughn’s wallet in the air as if picking pockets was her idea of a job. Vaughn snatched it from her hand, but Lou simply shrugged. I was pretty sure she’d pilfered his cash already.

“Who the hell invites someone to their home and then steals from them? Isn’t it supposed to be the other way around?”

I started to laugh at the perplexed look on Vaughn’s face, but then I pictured the solemn expression on Bee’s face right before she pulled away, and my laughter died. My friends had all returned to their normal lives while I still felt like I’d had a hole punched through my chest. Right where my stolen and then broken heart wasn’t supposed to be.

I STARED INDIFFERENTLY AT MY reflection in the gold-framed vanity mirror while my mom wrapped sections of my hair around a curling