Page 46 of The Sinner: James

I jerk upright and run a trembling hand over my face, thoughts spinning in my head, feeding my panic.

My mind is scrambling, trying to remember… What day is it today?

Oh, no, no… No.

I swing my legs over the edge of the bed and snatch my phone from the nightstand before swiping the screen impatiently.

Fuck. It’s Saturday.

I have several missed calls.

Daria called a few times, and then, um… Mom?

Eve sent me several text messages back to back.

Eve: Where are you?

Eve: Are you okay?

Eve: Your sister called.

Eve: Your mom comes home earlier.

Eve: Daria wants you to pick her up.

Eve: Her flight arrives at noon.

Shit.

Too late for that to happen.

I call Eve.

“You okay?” she says, short of breath.

“Yes. You?”

“Mm-hmm. They dropped me off at home last night.”

“I know.”

“You do? Where are you?”

“In James Sexton’s bed,” I say, a smile beaming in my voice.

“Oh, my God. Are you kidding me? Are you in the king’s bed? Ohhh… You have to tell me everything,” she says, and for a moment, I forget where I am and how late it is, and that I have to get back and give my mom an explanation, not to say I have to face Daria.

“There’s nothing to tell. Nothing happened,” I say, disappointed.

“What? Are you serious? You said you’d spent the night in his bed...” she says, disheartened, more so than I am.

“I slept alone. He wasn’t even in the room with me. Anyway, it’s a long story,” I murmur, annoyed.

“Oh… Okay. So, when are you coming back?”

“As soon as I can. What did you tell Daria?”

“You went to the market to buy fresh blueberries.”

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