Page 23 of Roaring Flames

The bell rings, signaling the beginning of my next class, and I reluctantly push away from her locker. I’ll just have to give her the present during chemistry.

But when I arrive at the class a couple of hours later, I don’t see Izzy anywhere. Ansel isn’t there either, but knowing that asshole, he’s probably off getting his anus bleached or something equally appalling.

An uneasy feeling swarms in my stomach as I claim my usual seat beside Ethan.

My brother looks as shitty as I feel. Dark smudges line both of his eyes, making me think he hasn’t slept in a while. He runs a hand through his disheveled blond hair, then he removes his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose. I know he always does this when he’s fighting off an impending headache.

I want to ask him if he’s okay but quickly decide against it.

Ethan’s fine.

He’s always fucking fine.

When chemistry ends, I hurry out of the classroom before anyone can stop me and make a beeline towards Jake in the cafeteria. The quarterback is joking with two of his friends—Kain and Dec—but their laughter immediately dwindles when I step up to the table.

Kain gives me a sour look, but Jake smiles good-naturedly and holds his fist out for me to bump.

“Hey, man. What’s up?” he asks.

There’s no point beating around the proverbial bush. “Do you know where Izzy is? I haven’t seen her all day, and I wanted to give her something for her birthday.”

Dec chuckles obnoxiously, muttering something under his breath about me being whipped, while Kain rolls his eyes. Assholes.

Jake, on the other hand, frowns in concern as he digs out his phone. “Yeah. I’ll text her. We drove into school together, so she should be here. But come to think of it, I haven’t seen her since this morning.”

“I texted her a few times but haven’t received a response.” My words come out low—almost a growl.

I hate being separated from my mate on the best of days, but today? On her birthday? It’s like a punch to the gut. I should be with her, dammit, celebrating.

“That’s weird. I wonder if she left her phone—” Jake breaks off abruptly as his phone pings with an incoming text. “Huh. She just responded.”

A strange combination of jealousy and hurt arrows through me at the fact that she replied to his message and not any of mine.

“And?” I ask, feeling impatient.

I’m vaguely aware that Ethan has joined us, though he stands a little bit behind me. Still, I can tell he’s hanging on to every word, just as eager as I am to hear about his mate. My mate. Our mate. Whatever.

Jake takes a huge bite of spaghetti while typing something out with his free hand.

“And.” Jake shrugs casually and drops his phone. “She’s not here.”

I’m going to fucking strangle him.

“Where is she?” Ethan interjects from behind me.

He ventures a single step closer, and I tense, feeling as if I’ve just been electrocuted. I want nothing more than to crawl out of my own skin just being in his presence.

“Away,” Jake answers evasively.

I narrow my eyes at my friend. “Away where?”

“Look.” Jake’s smile falls from his face, and he swivels completely on the bench to face us. “I don’t know what the fuck you did or said to her?—”

“What are you talking about?” I demand.

“—but she specifically asked menotto tell you or any of the other merry band of idiots her location.” Jake’s eyes promise murder as he glares up at me—a startling contrast to his jovial look from only moments before. “I swear to fuck if I discover you hurt her?—”

“Jesus,” Ethan murmurs, once again removing his glasses to wipe at his forehead.

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