Page 83 of Shattered

Shifting my bag on my shoulder, I span my gaze around the area. What am I supposed to do now? I ring the doorbell again, though I know he’s not here, and then go sit in my car. Maybe they just decided to go to a bar right after he texted me. But surely, he would have let me know the change in plans, wouldn’t he?

I wait another twenty minutes before calling Neilix again, but it’s no different from before when it went straight to voicemail. It’s possible his phone died before he could tell me they went somewhere else afterward.

I try Jason’s phone instead, figuring I’ll be able to find out if they’re still together. But it just rings and rings, sending my frustration through the roof. I text them both and then throw my head back against the headrest.

“Fuck.”

The more time passes, the more the seed of worry starts to grow, and the roots start digging into my stomach, causing different scenarios to start spinning through my mind.

What if they were mugged or jumped? Or what if Neilix decided to tell him about us, and they ended up in a fight? What if Jason beat him up? I think Neilix is bigger, but Jason is scrappy.

What if Jason took some pills? Neilix told me how Shane has been trying to reach him. What if they ran into Jason’s other friends?

What if Neilix took something as well? The last time they partied together, he did.

Gosh, what am I thinking? I shake my head. Neilix wouldn’t do that.

I can’t let myself get carried away. I just have to wait and see when he turns up.

...

Sienna: Where are you? You said you were done. I’ve been outside your house for a while now. I might be pissed if I wasn’t really worried.

Sienna: Answer your damn phone, Jason! You know I start to panic when you don’t.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Neilix

I race the streets, still wired from the night, and then check the time on my dash. “Dammit. Please be there.”

I know expecting her to hang around outside my home for two hours is a little far-fetched, and she’s likely to have taken off, no doubt pissed, but I can only hope. Will she understand? Will she be too angry to talk?

I feel like I hit every red light on the way home, and the streets seem littered with pedestrians who test my patience with every drunken step they take. Finally, I hit my street, and I’ve never loved the sight of a Ford Focus more than I do now.

I come to an abrupt stop right behind her car, and I’m pushing open my door in the next second. Hurried steps have me flying to her driver’s side door, but it’s locked when I try the handle. Sienna startles, as if she didn’t hear me pull up, and then I notice the phone pressed to her ear. She says a few more things to the person on the phone, then hangs up, looking up at me through the window with a world of emotions spinning through her eyes before she forcefully shoves her door open.

“I’m sorry.” My apology rushes out of me before she’s even on her feet.

“I’ve been waiting here for two hours.” Her voice is shaky as she looks me over as if checking for injuries. “I didn’t know what to do, and I couldn’t get a hold of either of you. Sarah said I should just go home, but I was so worried that something bad had happened.”

I pull her into my arms, noticing the slight shake of her body. Fuck. “I’m so sorry. I wanted to text or call, but I couldn’t.”

She jerks out of my hold, a mixture of hurt and anger in her watery eyes. “Why?”

Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I hold it out so she can see the completely smashed screen.

Her brows pull into a frown, and she gives a slight shake of her head. “What happened? And why did you take so long?”

“Come on,” I tell her, wincing when I see her overnight bag sitting in the front seat and hoping like hell the weekend isn’t ruined. “Let’s go inside and I’ll tell you everything.” She nibbles on her bottom lip as if she’s contemplating it, but then dips her chin.

I reach into her car to grab her bag, so she knows I want her to stay, and then lead her inside.

“Jason got into a fight,” I tell her once I close the door behind me.

“What?!”

I raise my hands to calm her. “It was actually a good reason this time.”

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