Funny, I'd almost forgotten he was there. It was the strangest sensation, because every other time we'd been together, I'd been obnoxiously aware of his every move.
I gave a mental eye-roll. Finally, I knew just the thing to push Zane Bennington out of my mind.
A squashed house.
Now, if only I had a million more.
Almost in a daze, I turned toward the sound of his voice. He was standing next to me, frowning as he eyed the damage.
I said, "Sorry, what was the question again?"
He gestured toward the house. "You want me to grab anything?"
I looked toward the mess and tried to think. Oh sure, I had a few dishes and clothes, but the place had come already furnished, and I couldn't see the point of sifting through the rubble now.
After all, not much of it was mine. And, in a weird twist of fate, everything I truly cared about was already packed, thanks to my distrust of Paisley.
I shook my head. "No. But thanks." I glanced toward the front of the house. "I guess I should grab my suitcases, huh?"
He gave me a look. "What?"
"From the trunk of the limo."
"Iknowwhere they are," he said. "But you're not unloading them here."
I was only half-listening. In the back of my mind, I was still trying to come up with a plan.
Stupidly, I'd sold my old beater of a car. And the other car, the nicer one, wasn't even my own. Rather, it was a company car for a job that I no longer had. This meant, of course, that I had no vehicle at all.
But surely,someonewould be willing to pick me up – if not my parents, then definitely Charlotte, assuming she ever answered her phone.
I mumbled, "It'll be fine. I'll just wait here with my suitcases."
"Wrong," Zane said. "What you'regoingto do is stay with me."