Page 172 of Theirs to Ruin

Taking a deep breath, I nodded, forcing a smile. "Yes. I'm sorry for freaking out on you. Yesterday…was a lot." When he still didn’t let me go, I gave him a quick kiss, one he deepened when I tried to pull away.

When he finally pulled back, I said, “I’ll see you later, okay?” Before he could respond, I rushed out of his room and into mine. I was dressed and in an Uber ten minutes later, having decided not to take the Bugatti since I’d be heading to class right after I saw Ty.

When I arrived at the hospital, I fought off memories of me being there after Ava died. Putting on a bright smile, I asked the person at the check-in area where I could find Mateo Serrello’s room. To my surprise, she said, “He’s gone.”

I gasped. “What do you mean, he’s gone?” My heart slammed against my chest and I caught the counter in front of me as my knees threatened to give out. Was she saying Ty haddied?

The woman winced. “God, I’m sorry. I only meant he left the hospital.”

“That’s impossible. He had an overdose last night!”

Shit. Way to spread the news, Camille!I looked around to make sure no one from school was lingering around.

“I’m sorry, but it says here he was discharged and left.”

Probably against doctor’s orders, I thought. God save me from macho, senseless men.

“Thank you,” I said then immediately ordered another Uber, which was twenty minutes away. I’d have to do my classes then see Ty back at the chateau afterward.

I stared at the Uber app, tracking how far away the driver was. Then, remembering Ty’s passcode, I brought up the phone keyboard. I still had his old phone number in my contacts, but I figured he’d changed it by now.

Absently, I traced my fingers over the keys that made up Ty’s phone passcode.

7-9-2-6

Did it have special meaning to him? Maybe it was based not on the numbers but the letters underneath the numbers.

The letters under the 7 were PQRS.

The letters under the 9 were WXYW.

Because of where they were positioned, my gaze automatically focused on the S and W.

I took in a shaky breath, then checked the 2: ABC

S-W-A

It couldn’t be, could it?

I checked the letters under the 6: MNO

S-W-A-N

Holy shit.

SWAN.

His nickname for me.

It could be a total coincidence but his tattoo of a black swan right over his heart made it less likely.

Even if the black swan tattoo was a reminder of how much he hated me, why would he use a passcode that would remind him daily of what we once were to one another?

Did I have the courage to ask him about it?

I guess I’d find out when I saw him.

That important Calculus test? It was a blur. I scribbled answers down, but the calculations seemed more convoluted than usual, and I’d be lucky if I did average at best. I headed to my next class, then grabbed a quick sandwich at a table in the corner of the cafeteria. There were a few snickers and hushed conversations that halted when I walked by, but I pushed through, focusing on my food and the hours left in my day.

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