Page 131 of The Off-Limits Play

I smile up at her, slashing the last of my tears off my cheeks. “Thanks, Jolie.”

“It’s okay.” She stands up and pads back across the room to get dressed.

“What time is it? Will there even be coffee available anywhere?”

She picks up her phone. “It’s six thirty, and I know Java Jeans opens at stupid o’clock on a weekday, so I’ll head over there. You”—she points at me—“get in the shower.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She grins and starts getting dressed.

I wait for her to leave before throwing the covers back and shuffling into the shower.

I stay there for way too long, the hot water beating down on my chest, my stomach still trembling and jerking as I fight more tears.

Why am I still crying?

There’s hope now, right?

Carson was drunk. He was emotional. He probably regrets everything he said to me.

But I can’t shake this gnawing sense of unease.

And it only grows worse as the day goes on. Hot coffee doesn’t help, and after Jolie leaves for her first class, I decide to take a sick day and crawl back into bed.

Grabbing my phone off the side table, I stare at the screen until my eyes blur, then go to my Favorites list and call Carson.

He doesn’t answer.

So I text him.

And he doesn’t reply.

Not after I finish watchingBack to the Future III.

Not afterPredator.

And not afterStargate.

When Jolie pops by in the afternoon, she’s surprised to find me in bed, but then she takes one look at my face and she knows.

All I can do is give her a watery, helpless frown before rolling over in my bed, closing my eyes, and trying to shut out the world.

CHAPTER52

CARSON

I read Nylah’s text for the twentieth fucking time, then slap my phone down with a growl.

I can’t reply.

I don’t even have a right to.

Besides, isn’t it bullshit anyway?

How can she want me when she can do so much better?

I saw her face when her dad was warning her away from me. Deep down, she knows I’m bad news.

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