Page 66 of Edge of Unbroken

Ronan doesn’t respond right away. “How does he even know where you live?” he finally asks. I have a hard time analyzing his voice.

“Oh, he gave me a ride home right before Christmas break one day. Vada and Tori were out sick and it was pouring, so he offered to take me home. And then I went to a hockey game last week. Afterwards some of us went to grab some food at Benito’s and Drew dropped me off at home again that night.”

Even though I know I did nothing wrong, an odd sensation of getting caught doing something I shouldn’t creeps over me.

“Oh, okay,” Ronan says. “Well, it’s nice of him to bring you soup.”

“Ran, are you okay?” I ask, trying to reassure myself. Today’s phone call was strange.

“Yeah, totally fine, baby. But hey, you really should try to get some sleep so you can feel better, okay?”

I nod. “Okay. You’ll call me next Sunday though, right?” I’m unhappy about our call ending prematurely.

“Of course! I love you, baby,” he says, his voice warm and sincere.

“I love you, too,” I say. “So much.”

Ronan and I end our conversation then, and even though I feel tired and want nothing more than to rest, sleep eludes me. I feel uneasy, the physical distance between Ronan and me suddenly so palpable to me and vaster than before. God, everything feels so off-balance.

Ronan

I know I’m probably reading way too much into this, but the fact that Drew gave Cat a ride home a couple of times and then just randomly showed up at her house today immediately causes my mind to race. I’ve never been the possessive type.Ever. And I’m not about to become a jealous asshole, but Drew has always made eyes at Cat and hasn’t bothered to back off even once she and I got together. And now I’m not there; I’m thousands of miles away from her. I can practically see Drew trying to weasel his way into her life.

I feel the anxiety rising in my chest at my inability to see Cat, to make sure she’s alright, to tell Drew to back the fuck off. I know exactly where this will lead if I don’t figure out a way to get control over my anxious thoughts—I’ll spiral straight into a fucking panic attack. So, I do the best thing I can think of and dial Shane’s number.

“This is Shane,” he answers on the third ring.

“Hey, man,” I say, relieved to hear his voice.

Shane and I have been best friends since childhood and it’s safe to say he’s one of only a handful of people I trust with my life.

“Holy shit, Ran!” he says, his deep voice about two octaves higher than usual.

I chuckle. “What’s up?”

“Not much, man. Just leaving the gym, actually. It’s not the same without you kicking my ass,” Shane huffs. “Fuck, it’s good to hear your voice. I can’t believe you’d call me. Don’t you want to spend every possible second talking to Cat?”

“Yeah, I do,” I admit without hesitation. “But she’s sick and I made her get off the phone with me so she can get some rest.”

“Oh yeah, Tori told me Cat is sick,” he says. “The girls were going to hang out today, but Cat had to bow out.”

“Yeah, so, listen. I don’t have a lot of time left to talk today, but I kind of need you to do something for me, or… actually, I have no idea what I need,” I ramble, pinching the bridge of my nose between my left index finger and thumb.

“What’s going on?” Shane asks, focused.

“This is probably completely dumb of me, but when I was just on the phone with Cat, Drew stopped by her house and—”

“What the fuck? He stopped by Cat’s house?”

“Yeah. He heard that Cat was sick, so he brought her soup.” My jaw is getting tight. Shane stays silent, letting me talk. “Apparently he knows where she lives because he gave her a ride home from school before Christmas break and after the hockey game last week. And he just thought he’d be nice and bring her soup.”

“And now you’re freaking out about it.”

“Look, I know I’m being dumb and irrational and all that bullshit. I’m not usually like this, Shay.” I groan, running my hand through my hair again. I want to crawl out of my own damn skin. “It’s so fucking hard being so far away from her and—”

“I get it, Ran. I’ve never known you to be the jealous type, and I don’t think you’re being irrational at all, man,” Shane says. “But, hey, I got you. Steve and I have been keeping an eye on things. Cat is so damn sweet, man. She only ever sees the good in people. Like, not to freak you out, but yeah, dudes are definitely circling, and motherfucking Drew would pounce if he had the chance.”

“God, shit, that does nothing at all to make me feel better.” I groan and sit down on my bed, eyes shut tightly.

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