Page 68 of Blades of Obsession

“This isn’t any time to be joking!” I snap. “You… you told Rhys to force himself on Catalina?!”

“Forc—Wait, what did he do?”

“Took. Her. Against. Her. Will. Do I need to spell it out for you?!”

“I didn’t tell him to do that. I told him to scare her a little so she’d leave you alone, maybe slap her around, that’s all. He… What the fuck, dude?!”

There’s a sudden smack, followed by a silence that stretches on the line, then the sound of fumbling. And grunts.

“What’s happening?” I ask.

No response. The sounds grow louder—punches landing, more grunts, a heavy thud—the unmistakable noise of a fight.

“Hello? Hello?”

With the muffled sounds of chaos intensifying, I sigh and hang up, deciding to follow up with a text instead.

Me: I am so SO mad at you! How could you let that happen? I don’t want to be anywhere near him—not in the same house, not in the same car, not even in the same college! I mean it. Sick!

Before I can even really process everything, my phone beeps with a new message.

Oh. My. God.

Skye: Hey girlie. I’m back in town. Meetmetocatchup? I’m sorry about everything that went down.

My fingers move at lightning speed to respond.

Me: Skye! Oh my God. Yes! Just tell me where and I’llbeonmyway

Skye: Here’s the address. Just swing by and we can catch up for maybe 20 minutes

“What’sgoingon?”

Jesus!I jump at the sudden voice and look up to see Rhett standing there. He nearly gave me a heart attack. I don’t know why I’m still surprised sometimes when he shows up—he’s always lurking nearby. “I saw Catalina leaving here crying. Are you okay? Did she do anything to you?”

“Um, no. But I’m glad you’re here because I need just one thing.”

“Okay?”

“If he asks, just tell him I’m still at practice. I’ll be gone for thirty minutes, tops.”

Rhett shakes his head immediately. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Ow! Rhett, why did you hit me? We were just having a small argument!”

“What?!”

I cup the side of my face, pretending to wince, and lock eyes with him, a calculating smile playing on my lips. “It hurts! Ow!” I say, my voice dripping with exaggerated agony. “We wouldn’t want me to tell anyone you just hit me.” It takes him a few seconds to catch on to whoanyoneis.

He crosses his arms over his chest, and I notice a muscle in his jaw twitching. “Fine,” he concedes, his tone clipped. “If you’re not back in forty minutes, I’m coming to get you myself.”

“Thanks!” I call over my shoulder, already hauling it out of the locker room. My heart races with excitement at the thought of finally seeing Skye again. And making up for real this time.

•••

I arrive at a rundown motel, its lobby walls stained yellow, with a flickering neon sign that’s missing a few letters. Navigating the dimly lit, musty-smelling hallways, I finally reach room 2B and knock.

The door swings open, and Skye stands there in a mismatched sweatsuit. I’ve never seen her like this, looking so... unkempt. Wild hair, stained clothes, and the bags under her eyessay she hasn’t gotten a good night’s sleep in a while. Even when she got food poisoning from a bad batch of shrimp she never looked this sick.

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