my fear, but it wasn’t. And when sobriety kicked my ass this morning, my real fears came colliding like a tidal wave in my chest. I feared losing the only friend I’d ever had. Would he really be mad? Would he really hate me?
Lance loved hard. He was the most unselfish person I knew. He was selfless and compassionate. He was a prominent supporter of love; it was evident in the way he approached life. His affections and devotion to people came without resentment or stipulations. But this would destroy him.
When shit hit the fan, I knew I wouldn’t be enough, I wasn’t good enough for her. I’d told her that I wanted expectations and labels, but truthfully the idea of commitment terrified me. I had my parents’ blood flowing through my veins, and that had to count for something, right? The only thing I was good at was being Lance’s best friend.
“Mr. H?” a breathless voice called from the doorway, and I snapped the number two pencil in my hand at the sound. I wasn’t in the mood to see Maximillian Fucking Hemsworth. Seeing him in the hall with Blakely felt like walking on hot coals. I had to put on a brave face, but it burned me up. Turning in my seat to look at the asshole, I had to hold back a sneer. Maximillian was smart. Available. Determined. Courageous. He wasn’t afraid to make his intentions known. He wasn’t scared to look like an asshole and ask her out.
He was probably here to gloat. I could tell in the way he pulled her away and walked her to lunch that the fucker had plans to show Blakely what devotion and dedication actually looked like.
“Go away, Max. My office is closed,” I growled. This piece of shit was really trying my patience. If I didn’t lose my job for falling in love with a student, then I’d definitely lose it for kicking his ass. It would be worth it.
“It’s Blakely,” he began, but I cut him off. There was no way in hell I’d talk about her with him. I couldn’t do it.
“I don’t want to talk about—”
“Something’s wrong,” he huffed out. The angry haze clouding my brain started to fade and was quickly replaced with anxiety as I looked at him. Max looked terrified, and every damn alarm in my head started going off.
“What’s wrong?” I asked as the toxic thoughts in my head reminded me that he was probably more qualified to help her.
“She got a weird call about her dad, then disappeared. I think something’s wrong, and even though it seriously pisses me off to have to come to you, I think we need to find her before something bad happens or she does something reckless.”
“What did the caller say?” I asked.
“She kept asking what they’d done with her dad. She mentioned something about only being a waitress, then ran off spouting some shit that it was safer if I didn’t know.”
Fuck. I quickly picked up my cell phone and dialed Lance’s number. He answered on the second ring as Maximillian hovered over me. “Hey, have you spoken with Blakely?” I greeted him with an immediate question.
“No? Is she skipping class again?” Lance asked with a light chuckle. “She’s been needing a break. You’ve really got to stop meddling. If I were concerned, I’d say something.”
I ground my teeth before responding. I wanted to tell him that I had every right to meddle. He couldn’t hoard her anymore. “A student just informed me that Blakely got a call about her father and ran out of the school. Apparently, she was really freaked out,” I explained. I was orbiting the black hole in my heart with trepidation.
“Fuck!” Lance yelled. “I’m in Louisiana, but I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Please tell me you put a tracker on her phone,” I gritted while gathering my things. Max was watching me move while gripping his backpack. I could tell he felt lost and out of the loop.
“I did,” Lance answered. “I also have one in her car. I’m going to call the detective assigned to Frank’s case.”
“Good. Send her location the second you hang up,” I demanded before ending the call. A numbness bred from overwhelming fear settled over me as I started walking toward the door. I settled into the eye of the storm so I could have a clear head while finding her. I couldn’t afford to be irrational, though I wanted to break every