Page 134 of Sincerely, Your Enemy

I’m not one to admit defeat easily, but I’m smart enough to know when I’m fighting a losing battle.

I cave, rising off the couch with a sigh.

“Let me go shower.”

“Oh my God,they have cotton candy!” Dia gushes as we’re settling onto a pile of blankets and pillows in the bed of Xavier’s truck a half hour before the start of the movie.

We have a clear view of the drive-in’s food stand from where we are, and the girls have been discussing getting snacks and drinks since we got here.

Like we haven’t already eaten twice our body weight in unhealthy crap tonight. Not that I’m complaining. I can’t think of a better time to indulge than when you’ve just had your heart shattered into a million pieces.

“I’d go get it for us, but my bladder’s being a bitch again. I need to find the bathroom,” Aveena says, topping it off with an eye roll that draws a laugh out of me.

“I got it,” I declare as I’m pushing to my feet.

I hop down from the bed of the truck, squeezing between the parked cars on my way to the foot stand. There are only a few people waiting in line. This shouldn’t take too long.

I’m next in line before I know it, and I fish my phone out of my jeans pocket, scrolling through my notifications. TJ’s sent me three new messages in the past hour alone. I should block his number at this point.

TJ

Talk to me, Lace.

TJ

Please.

TJ

If you think I’m going to cut my losses and give up, you’re wrong.

I’m about to click out of our conversation when three moving dots pop up on my screen. He’s texting me again. His message comes through at the same time I feel a presence behind me.

TJ

Please don’t kill me for this.

I know TJ’s standing behind me before I even get a chance to check.

My heart leaps up my throat when someone taps me on the shoulder, and I spin, coming face-to-face with the one person I’ve been going above and beyond to avoid.

Are you fucking kidding me?How did he know where to find me? And why does he look so drained of life? He looks like he hasn’t smiled, let alone slept, in years, his brown eyes hollow and rimmed with dark circles.

He looks like he’s a shell of himself. Like he’s lost that spark that makes TJ, well,TJ… and it’s tearing me apart.

“How’d you know I’d be here?” I say dryly.

I’m so exhausted from crying all night I don’t even have the energy to make a scene or go off on him for tracking me down.

“Intuition?” he tries a joke.

I don’t give him the satisfaction of hearing me laugh, my silence letting him know that I’m not amused.

“Okay, fine. I heard Finn was at the guys’ house while you were with the girls, so I made Theo ask Finn where you were.”

And now he’s using our mutual friends to find me.

Good to know nothing’s off-limits.

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