Page 29 of Tell Me You Like It

“Hey, is that them?”

I squint, and sure enough, I see two figures in the distance. They’re just standing there, and I wonder if they can see us. But as we get closer, I can see they’re not even paying attention to Lucas and me. They’re looking down at something in Lux’s hand.

“The bathroom, eh?” I say, sauntering up to them. “Why did you leave the fucking party?”

When Lux glances up at me, I see real fear in her eyes. The same fear I saw when she was attacked on my porch.

I glance down at what she has in her hand. It’s a cell phone.

“This is Bree's phone,” she says, her voice shaking.

“Yeah, so what?” My gaze shifts to Wyn. She looks white as a ghost, too.

“We found it right here, in the sand. Lux used her stalker app, and it was just sitting right here, half buried,” Wyn says.

Fuck.That can’t be good. But, still, there has to be a logical explanation.

I shrug. “Okay, so she lost it. People lose their phones in the sand. It happens.”

“Yeah, my brother loses his phone all the time,” Lucas chimes in. “Fucking idiot.”

“No,” Lux shakes her head. “You don’t get it. First, she didn’t show up at the party, and now, we find her phone half-buried in the sand. That’s not like her. Shealwayshas her phone. It’s practically an appendage.”

I tilt my head back and rake a hand over my face. Just what I fucking need right now—a missing chick. And not just any missing chick, Lux’s best friend. Fuck my life.

“Okay, Listen, let’s go back to the party and ask around to see if anyone knows anything. If we still can’t find her, we’ll take my car and drive around to some of the hot spots in town,” I say.

The last thing I want to do tonight is drive around and look for some random chick, but on the upside, I can send Wyn off with Lucas, and get Lux alone.

Lux looks a little relieved by my plan and nods. I’m hoping someone at the party knows something, so we can go on with our fucking lives, but when we ask around, not only has no one seen Bree, no one even knows who the fuck she is.

We’re outside the sorority house when I turn to Wyn and Lucas. “You two drive around the north side of the school. Lux and I will take the southside.”

With a nod, Wyn and Lucas take off into the night. I glance over at Lux, who is trying to unlock Bree's phone.

“Careful, you only get so many guesses before it locks,” I offer.

She huffs in frustration and shoves the phone into her bag. “Maybe we should just go to campus security and let them know we can’t find her.”

I laugh under my breath. She really is as naive as they come. “And what evidence do we have that she’s actually missing? A lost cell phone?” I lift my chin at her. “When did you see her last?”

Lux narrows her eyes at me. “I didn’t misplace my fucking glasses. This is my best friend we’re talking about.”

“Just answer the question,” I snap, my anger at her bubbling over.

She shifts on her feet and pushes a breath out. “This morning. And something seemed…off with her. I don’t know.”

“Okay, so it hasn’t even been twenty-four hours. Yeah, no way security is going to take this seriously. She’d have to be missing a few days, at least.”

“A fewdays?” She nearly launches herself at me. “That’s way too long. Can’t youmakesecurity investigate? Or is all this ‘I own the school’ bullshit just a delusion?”

My jaw tightens. This fucking chick doesn’t know shit about shit. I start walking toward my car. I pull my keyfob out of my pocket and unlock it. “We’re not involving security or the police,” I bite out. “Get in the car.”

She’s standing several feet away, not moving. “I can’t get in the car with you. I mean…I shouldn’t.”

For fuck’s sake. I open the driver’s side door and lean on the roof. “And why the fuck not?” I ask, allowing every ounce of my frustration to seep into my tone.

“Because…I don’t know you. I mean, not really. I just met you.”

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