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“What? I think this way is better for my friendship with the idiot than punching him. It gives me plausible deniability.”

I throw my hands in the air, giving up. “Fine, just do it quickly.”

Owen grins widely at me before walking behind my couch, shoving Sebastian to the floor. I gasp at the loud thud, glaring at Owen. “Dude!”

Sebastian groans, sitting up slowly. “What the hell?” he mumbles, and Owen is beaming. I feel like maybe Ishouldn’t be sending Sebastian with him if I ever want to see him in one piece again.

“Told you it would work,” Owen says triumphantly, leaning down to help Bash into a standing position. “Let’s go, asshole.”

“Owen,” I scold again. I have no problem calling Sebastian an asshole, but right now I think Owen could be a little more sensitive.

“Where are we going?” Bash asks, blinking quickly as his arm is slung over Owen’s shoulders. Owen is practically dragging him to the doorway.

“We’re going to my house because I need to sleep. I would have gone to bed two hours earlier if I’d known I’d be dealing with this shit tonight.”

Sebastian is moving slowly, his feet practically dragging. His current state only affirms my thought process that if there ever is going to be an us again, it won’t be for a while.

Following them out to Owen’s truck, I wait until Sebastian is lying down in the backseat. “Thank you for coming to get him,” I say to Owen as he pulls me into his arms for a hug.

“No biggie. I promise he’ll make it to my place in one piece, but you need to promise to start telling me shit. I can’t help if I don’t know what’s going on.”

I swallow the lump in my throat, nodding my agreement. “I’ll do better. I’m sorry.”

“I’ll check in with you in the morning; try to get some sleep, okay?” Owen says, but there’s a slim chance of that happening. I’ll probably spend the rest of the night replaying everything that happened tonight in my head.

“I’ll try.”

Owen pulls away, ruffling my hair. “You guys will figure it out. Just give him some time, and stop thinking so much about the future. There’s no point in stressing about whether you’re supposed to be together or not. If it’s meant to be, it’ll be.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Sebastian

WHERE AM I?

I rub my eyes tiredly as a hammer pounds against the inside of my skull. I’m still wearing my clothes from yesterday, and I’m not even under the covers of whatever bed I slept on. It certainly isn’t the one belonging to the hotel I’m staying at now.

Everything from yesterday washes over me again. Kiera cheating, Kiera being pregnant, our engagement being over.

The last thing I remember is going to Thalia’s.

My head is throbbing, and the room spins as my stomach rolls. There’s a wastebasket next to the bed that I empty the contents of my stomach into just in time.

I feel like complete and utter shit, leaning my head against the side of the bed until the room finally stands still. I don’t feel better, though.

Everything fell apart yesterday, and I have no idea what I’m going to do now.

Fuck, where’s my phone? I spot it on the nightstand, and once I power it on, the flood of texts and calls comes through. I should have left it off because I have no interest inreading any of these messages from Kiera. However, the texts from Thalia catch my eye, and I can’t stop myself from clicking on them.

Thalia:We need to talk. Come by the gallery later if you feel up to it.

So I did make it to Thalia’s. At least that’s something. The only question is what did I do when I got there?

It feels like hours before I leave the room I’m in to find a bathroom to freshen up in. Based on the clothes left on the sink for me to wear after showering, I’ve figured out I’m in Owen’s stupid big mansion. Thalia must have called him after I got there.

Which means he and Blake know about the disaster that’s my life.

Blake is sitting on the couch when I make it downstairs, watching a hockey game. I sit down on the opposite end of the couch, and she smiles kindly at me. “Owen’s at the gym, but he’ll be back later. I took the day off, so I guess you’re stuck with me. How are you feeling?”

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