Page 10 of Wreckage

“You’re late,” Adrian muttered, crossing his arms.

I ignored him, pressing a hand to my chest as I caught my breath. He already knew I was going to be late, so why he needed to remind me irritated me. Plus, it was only three minutes.

Troy didn’t even look up from his phone, his jaw tight, eyes locked on whatever conversation was currently frustrating him.

I opened my mouth to apologize—not because I owed them one, but because I didn’t have the energy to argue.

Before I could speak, a familiar, cheerful voice broke through the tension.

“Elena! There you are.”

I turned and immediately relaxed.

Dean—our family friend and longtime pilot—walked toward me, his face breaking into a kind smile. In his forties, Dean was good friends with Steve. They golfed together, and we even spent a lot of time with Dean and his family for various events, like golf outings and holidays.

“It’s good to see you, kid,” he said warmly, pulling me into a quick hug.

I hugged him back. “It’s good to see you, too.”

“You made it just in time,” he chuckled, stepping back. “But it’s fine. I wouldn’t have left you.” He gave me a wink.

Adrian scoffed. “Yeah, yeah. Can we go now?”

Dean shot him a look but didn’t comment, instead motioning toward the plane. “Let’s get going, then.”

We boarded, and I made a beeline for the farthest seat from Adrian and Troy, dropping into it with a quiet sigh. I quickly pulled the shade so I couldn’t see outside.

Once that was done, I plugged in my earbuds, cranked up the volume, and opened my book.

The cabin filled with the hum of the pre-flight system checks, and then, finally, the plane took off.

I slumped against the seat, closing my eyes for a moment.

I’d made it.

Now, I just had to ignore them until we landed.

Chapter 5

Troy

Iwas so fucking over this weekend. I’d said a hundred times already.

Amanda and I had been fighting since the party. She wouldn’t let Elena or the engagement go. Everything out of her mouth had Elena’s name attached to it, even my reasoning for not wanting to announce our engagement. Whenever I thought we’d let it go, she found a way to drag me back in.

Elena.

The engagement.

The future.

It was all too much, and it was on repeat.

My senior year was already drowning me in expectations. According to my dad, law school or the company were my options.

I didn’t know which one I wanted.

Maybe I didn’t want either.

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