Blind Spot - Katana Collins Page 0,94

Everything was sort of foggy. What exactly did Shelby tell me? “I–I don’t know.”

“Well, I do. Because I know Shelby. And the answer is no. She didn’t. Believe me…if something was omitted, it was because she thought you knew or she assumed it wasn’t a big deal. And the fact that it was a big deal speaks more to your character than hers.”

Dread struck me hard, and though I hadn’t had much to drink, it was still sobering. “I need to talk to her.” I moved to push past Harrison into her apartment, and he stopped me with only one hand.

“Hell no, Tate. She’s completely drunk, and finally asleep. And if you think I trust you in there alone with my passed out sister, you’ve got a rude awakening coming.”

I looked back and forth between Harrison and her front door, finally nodding. “Okay,” I held up two hands in surrender. “Will you tell her I came by? And that I want to talk.”

He nodded, eyes softening. “I’ll tell her. Though, I’m sure it won’t do much. When Shelby’s done, she’s done. She moves on.”

“But you’ll tell her?” I added more urgently.

He paused and finally nodded. “In the morning. I promise I’ll tell her.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

TATE

“They gave me a second solo. My dad promised he would be there. He promised he’d make it, and even though my mom said not to get my hopes up, he wouldn’t promise and then not come, right?” Sophia bounced in her seat, the yellow number two pencil causing squiggle lines in the margins of her paper.

Oh my God. Was she still talking about this concert? “Ummm, right.” I was only half listening as I stared at Shelby from across the room. She split her time with two older students, and as she bent over the shoulder of one, my eyes wandered to her ass. It was as though she cocked that hip just for me.

“You’ll come, right?”

“Huh?”

“To my recital. Will you be able to make it?”

I cleared my throat, pulling my attention back to Sophia. “I’ll try. When is it?”

“I just told you. Tomorrow night. Seven p.m.”

“Of course I’ll come.” My eyes drifted again to Shelby, and an idea formed, a moment of excitement flaring with the thought. “You should invite Shelby, too. I bet she’d love to see you perform.”

“Yeah.” Sophia jumped to her feet, running over to Shelby, who smoothed her bangs over her scar in that same way she always did. How did I not notice that habit sooner? Sophia’s excited voice rang through the small room, and Shelby’s wide smile was like the first warm day after winter. God, she was stunning.

“Oh, man,” Shelby said, crouching down to Sophia’s level. “I would love to, but I already have plans for tomorrow night.”

Sophia’s smile dipped into a pout, but she nodded. The girl was used to disappointment, but it squeezed my heart all the same. And apparently, it had the same effect on Shelby. Her eyebrows tilted down, and she pulled Sophia in for a hug. “Hold on a sec, okay?”

Shelby pushed to her feet, walking over to Ryan. She lifted onto her toes, whispering in his ear. Every muscle in my body clenched as his hand landed at the base of her neck, his thumb stroking down between her shoulder blades. He smiled at her and nodded before Shelby rushed back over to Sophia.

“Ryan and I will both be there,” she said, grinning, and Sophia nearly tackled her in a hug.

My throat bottomed out into my guts. I wasn’t really sure what happened the rest of the day. The thought of Ryan and Shelby going anywhere together made my stomach churn, and I wasn’t positive, but I thought I might puke.

When Sophia’s mom arrived to take her home, I grabbed my time sheet, dropping it in front of Shelby.

She glanced up quickly before checking the time on her phone.

“Three and a half hours,” she said quietly. “I thought you had basketball on Thursdays?” She scribbled onto the sheet, placing her signature at the bottom.

“Yeah. I did. But Sophia has a test tomorrow. They’ll be fine at practice without me for a day.”

Her sharp breath registered in my ears, and she opened her mouth, looking up at me. But no words came out. She sat there, frozen, brown eyes locked with mine.

“Shelby—” I whispered, but she cut me off quickly, handing me the hours sheet.

“You can file this. You know where it goes, right?”

Ryan walked up, and my hands flexed at my sides.