Page 87 of Don't Let Go

I cleared my throat. “Why?”

“So we can text. We need to be united.”

Makes sense.I told her, and she added me to her contacts.

I wiped the sweat off my forehead. “What about the party?”

Chloe finally stepped back, glancing at the time on her phone. “Rory can’t go. I need to keep her out of trouble so she doesn’t do anything she’ll regret. I had to drag her here. I thought seeing you play would liven her up.”

Rory appeared out of the bathroom, coming our way. “Why wasn’t she sitting with the band?”

Chloe flashed a smile to Rory and muttered, “She quit.”

“Okay. I’ll make an appearance at the party for my teammates, but I’ll be home early so I can try to coax Rory into talking. I can’t make any promises, though.”

“I get it,” Chloe said before embracing Rory. “I missed you, girl.”

Rory rolled her eyes. “I was barely gone, and you stole my keys.”

Chloe nudged Rory with her elbow. “You know me.”

Rory gave Chloe and me the stink eye. “What were you two talking about while I was gone?”

Chloe laughed nervously. “Nothing, just the game. Tyler’s going pro. You know that?”

“Mmm-hmm.” Rory looked me up and down and turned her back on me. “Can we go now?”

“Totally. See ya around, Ty!” Chloe shouted, waving at me.

“See you,” I called back.

I shook my head, finally making my way to the locker room.

What the hell was my life becoming?

As soon as I entered, everyone clapped. “You’re the man,” Christian said.

Bryce fist-bumped me. “I knew it was right getting you on the team.”

James put a hand on my shoulder. “A true Mustang. You ready to party?”

My head spun with what Chloe had told me. Rory and her family were involved in the mafia. They have been for a longtime now and this all happened under my nose without me knowing. How blind was I? How could I help Rory when I didn’t see this?

“Hell yeah,” I answered, hoping cheer rang through my voice.

The locker room roared with excited energy as everyone showered and/or changed into their street clothes.

Part of me wanted to say screw it and get drunk after playing Lincoln and having to face Quincy and the others on the court. To forget about Rory. To not be me for a while. But Chloe needed me to hold up my side of the deal, and I couldn’t watch Rory spiral down this dark path. I couldn’t lose another person I cared about.

34

Aurora

Chloe wouldn’t leave my side, turning me into a prisoner trapped inside her loft as we binge-watched 90s romcoms. My stomach had enough sticky candy, buttery popcorn, and bubbly soda for a lifetime. It probably didn’t help I haven’t eaten real food since Lizzy died.

It still didn’t seem real. When I left school earlier, I drove by her elementary school to pick her up. Seeing her friends’ faces as they shuffled to their mothers’ cars reminded me I had no one to pick up anymore.

My finger and thumb pressed into my eyes, just enough pressure to make my eyes burn in their sockets.

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