Page 60 of Forever and Ever

“Unless my brain has everything coming out in Spanish, yep.” I step around her and toss my purse onto the nearest piece of furniture.

“Noah’s ex is at his house right now?” She looks a little pale in the face, and I wonder if that’s supposed to be my reaction. But then again, I don’t react to things as intensely as Cassie, so it shouldn’t surprise me.

I pat her on the shoulder. “You heard me right.”

“What?” Cassie shakes her head again, making more pink tendrils come loose from the messy bun on her head. “How? Why?”

I shrug. “Beats me.”

She follows behind me as I head toward the voices coming from the living room, really wishing I could get out of this conversation, even though I know that won’t happen.

It’s not that I’m unaffected by the fact that Kali showed up, there’s just no point stressing out about it.

This is between Noah and Kali.

Which, come to think of it, does give me a little tug somewhere deep inside. Not because IlikeNoah or am jealous or anything—that would be crazy. But it was something about the look she brought to his eyes. In the span of ten minutes, he went from calm to spiraling. And I don’t like thinking about what that means for him now that he’s alone with her in his house.

Alone.

Why does that echo somewhere foreign in my chest?

It’s his ex.

He’s over her, right?

“And you’re just fine with it?” Cassie asks again, not letting this shit go.

We round the corner, and I spot the whole band sitting in Sebastian’s den. Eloise and Adrian are on one couch, and I wonder if we’re ever going to meet his elusive girlfriend. Rome is in a chair with his feet kicked up on the table and he’s smoking a joint. Then, there’s Sebastian, sitting up taller as he watches Cassie enter.

“Fine with what?” he asks.

Sebastian grabs Cassie’s waist, pulling her onto his lap. She squeals but then pushes him off so she can answer his question.

“Noah’s ex is at his house right now,” she says.

“Who? Kali?” Rome exhales a cloud of smoke.

“That’s the one.” I point a finger at him.

Rome leans his head back and starts laughing.

“And you met her?” Eloise asks, with a really strange, unreadable pinch between her eyebrows.

I nod. “I answered the door.”

“What did you think of the bitch?” Rome chuckles.

Eloise throws a pillow at him. “Stop using that word.”

“What, she is.”

Eloise crosses her arms over her chest and glares at him. Rome can use the most vulgar language on the planet, and she won’t bat an eyelash, but say something offensive about women, you better believe she’ll speak up.

“Well, I guess he’s not joining us,” Rome says.

I almost argue that Noah said he is, and he’ll be over once he’s done talking to her, but for some reason, I feel suddenly unsure about that, so I keep quiet.

Why was Kali at his house anyway? What could she possibly want after not reaching out for four years? If I had to guess from the look in her eyes, it wasn’t an innocent visit. And that shouldn’t bother me—but deep down it does.

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