Page 57 of The Pact

I stare at him wildly. “No! No,” I correct myself, saying it calmly the second time. “I don’t want to involve the police. I don’t want there to be a court case or anything else that draws this out. I just-I just need to be better about locking my doors.” It’s not the best solution, but it’s all I’ve got. I need to be patient and wait Gavin out.

Eventually, he’ll get bored and leave me alone. Eventually.

Cole puts his hand on my knee. “I’m sorry you’re having to deal with him. I’m here for you. If you need a ride anywhere, give me a call.” His kindness comforts me, yet I know he still senses the worry in me. “Listen, I get that this is probably scary for you. Don’t be needlessly brave. If you’re not feeling comfortable and need somewhere to go, my home is yours anytime. I’m sure Cassie would say the same.”

He’s right. Cassie would give me her guest room in a heartbeat, although she’d also ask questions. It would be strange for it to escalate this much out of nowhere, and I don’t want to tell her about him grabbing me.

I need to be more diligent about keeping myself safe and secure.

Leaning over, I give Cole a kiss. “Thank you. I promise, if I ever feel unsafe at my apartment, you’re the first person I’ll call.” He smiles.

“Thea, I won’t let anything happen to you. Okay?”

Resting my head on his shoulder, I answer truthfully. “I know you won’t.”

21

THEA

Buzzzz. Buzzz. Buzzz.

The gentle vibration of my phone drags me out of my nap. I’m dazed and answer without seeing who’s calling.

“Hello,” I answer groggily.

“Jesus, Thea. Are you sleeping?” It’s Cassie’s voice on the other end.

It takes me a minute. What time is it? I pull the phone away from my ear. It’s a little after eleven a.m. My laptop is resting on my chest in bed. I must’ve dozed off editing photos.

Cassie’s voice urgently pushes through the speaker. “Thea?”

Why does she sound so panicked? “Is everything fine?”

“No, everything is not fine,” she hisses. “I have a client who has been trying to get a hold of you for an hour because you didn’t show up for her shoot. She tracked me down and started blowing up my phone. Today’s my day off. Where are you?”

I sit up instantly. My mind searches for the memory of a client booking for today, but I don’t have any until tomorrow. “Cassie, I don’t have anything booked for today. Is it possible she wrote the date down wrong?”

“I’m looking at her confirmation email. The date is today. Can you get your ass over here?”

I’m throwing on my shoes and grabbing my bag. I don’t think I’ve ever run so fast—getting there in less than five minutes.

Cassie shoots me a stern look as I open the door. “We’ll talk later,” she whispers as she leaves me with my client.

“I’m so sorry. There must have been some kind of mixup on my calendar. Let me go get settled and I’ll get you in right away. Is there anything I can get you in the meantime?”

The woman is visibly pissed. “No,” she answers curtly.

I need to hurry. I don’t want to keep her waiting any longer. Thankfully, I reset my studio after my last shoot, so there isn’t much to do except to turn on my lighting. Pulling my camera from my bag, I turn it on. I groan as I see that the battery is at seven percent and reach into my satchel to retrieve the charger. It’s not there. The extra batteries are also missing.

Hurrying to Cassie’s side of the studio, I search her work desk for batteries or a charger. I can’t remember what camera she has or if her accessories are interchangeable with mine. However, it doesn’t matter. She’s taken her camera bag home and there aren’t any spares.

She can’t find out about this.

I don’t want to face my client. How am I supposed to explain any of this? The truth is the only thing that feels right. I assure her I’m never this unprepared and practically beg for her forgiveness. I offer her a reschedule and the shoot at no charge to make up for wasting her time. She reluctantly accepts, although says she’ll call me to let me know about another date. Something tells me I might not hear from her.

It doesn’t make sense. Missing an appointment isn’t like me, as forgetful as I can be. I sit on the couch in my studio and pull up the calendar on my phone. Her appointment says tomorrow, yet her confirmation says today.

I have no one to blame but myself. Maybe I clicked the wrong date or meant to move another appointment. Either way, I know Cassie isn’t going to be happy if she finds out that I couldn’t do the photoshoot. I’ve disappointed her twice this week. I shouldn’t care about that as much as I do, however, I can’t help it.

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