Page 49 of Envy

I check my phone. No text. Not that I expected one. He told me not to wait up for him after class.

“Do you know them?” Amy asks, pulling me out of my head.

Luke smiles just as I reply, “No.”

“Aren’t they on the swim team with your boy?”

I hesitate, then nod. “Yes, but he’s not my boy.”

Amy tilts her head playfully. “He’s not your brother either. You’re not related by any means. You didn’t grow up together, right?”

“You sound like Garret. He says that all the time.”

Her lips curl. “That means he likes you.”

I scoff, shaking my head. “He might screw anything that moves, but liking me? Not a chance.”

Still, I keep checking my phone, hoping I didn’t miss a message. Where did he go?

There wasn’t any swim practice today.

Last Sunday, he told me to take an Uber home and gave me the code to his house. Why? He was never this lenient before. He always had specific instructions—when to leave, when to arrive, when to wait. Now, suddenly, he trusts me?

Maybe it’s nothing. Or maybe it’s everything.

I can’t stop the dream from creeping back into my mind.

Melody, a knife in her grip, stabbing wildly—but not at me. It was Melissa at the church.

Then another dream.

John.

I’m trapped in a dark room, my body frozen, terror rooting me in place. But then—there’s someone else. A man in a mask. He saves me. But I don’t know who he is.

“Where do you think he is?”

Amy’s voice snaps me back.

“What do you mean?” I ask, though I know exactly who she’s referring to.

A knowing gleam dances in her eyes. “You know who I’m talking about.”

Before I can respond, a voice cuts through the din.

“Hey, ladies.”

I glance up, and my stomach drops.

Luke.

Amy throws me a look—one that says, Why is he talking to you?

“Amy, this is Luke. Luke, this is Amy,” I introduce half-heartedly.

Amy offers a weak smile, unsure how to react.

Luke barely acknowledges her before turning his attention to me. “I haven’t seen you at lunch in a few days. You didn’t answer my call about our date.”

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