Page 106 of Undone

He nodded, his brow furrowing deeper. “Yeah. I just found out. It’s not good.”

I straightened. “What did he leave behind?”

He hesitated, eyes lowering before returning to mine. “Nothing.”

My stomach twisted, and I took a sharp breath. “What do you mean?”

His tone lowered, his expression tense. “Not even a butterfly.”

“Zero?” I asked, disbelief swirling as John’s countdown replayed in my mind.

“Yeah… I think so.”

I forced myself to stay calm, but my mind raced as the full impact settled in. I only nodded in response.

The unease in his eyes clear even as he tried to hide it. “Are you leaving?” he asked, his tone cautious.

“Yeah, I’m going to head home.”

He hesitated, his brow furrowing deeper. “Are you going alone?”

I felt his concern pressing down on me. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Promise.”

It was clear he wasn’t satisfied with that. “Can I drive you?”

“Colt…” I met his eyes, trying to get him to understand. “I’m okay. I’ll text you once I get there. I just really need to be alone right now.”

He stood there for a moment, his lips tight as if searching for a way to argue. “You should have someone with you, Noah. This isn’t safe.”

I pulled out my phone, tapped on the location settings, and shared it with him for the next twenty-four hours.

“Here. Now you can see exactly where I am. I’m going straight home.”

He glanced at the phone, his expression reluctant but resigned. “Fine,” he said. “Just… be careful, okay?”

“I will,” I promised, though I felt the knot of unease settle deeper in my stomach.

“Text me when you get there.”

I nodded, then turned, fleeing out of the building as I hurried down the steps and into the parking lot. The echoes of laughter and the wedding fading out behind me.

I’d almost convinced myself that maybe, just maybe, Dorian would have wanted something real with me.

But after our conversation, my heart sank deeper. Sliding into my car, I pulled out my phone, only for the screen to flash once before going black. Dead.

Starting the engine, I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm my racing thoughts. As I drove, the dark road ahead was dimly lit by streetlights, but every mile was just a reminder of how heavy the last year of my life had been.

After a few miles, a jolt interrupted me, and the car lurched violently to one side. I wrestled the wheel, managing to pull over as the shredded rubber slapped against the asphalt.

Of course.

I pulled over to the side of the road and stepped out of the car. As I approached the front passenger side, my heart sank at the obvious flat tire.

“Perfect timing,” I groaned. It felt like the universe was conspiring against me.

I could probably change it myself with the help of a video, but in this dress, at night… with a dead phone. That wasn’t going to happen.

Plus, I had no idea what else might be lurking in the dark and already hit my quota of shit hitting the fan today.

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