Page 92 of Dash of Bryce
I didn't know who'd left the bottle, but Ididknow that it wasn't the first one I'd noticed in seemingly random places.
In spite of everything, I couldn't help but smile just a little. Sure, my heart was aching, but it was hard to becompletelydepressed with a passel of kittens wreaking such glorious havoc all around me.
On impulse, I pulled out my cell phone and called my mom, thinking that a friendly conversation would go a long way in driving away the gloom.
Boy, wasIwrong.
In fact, I was so wrong that as soon as I endedthatcall, I called Lexie's cell phone. When she didn't answer, I called the candy store's main line and hinted that it was urgent.
When Lexie came to the phone, I said in a rush, "Thank God I caught you."
"What's wrong?" she asked. "Is someone hurt?"
"No, but someone'sgonnabe."
She lowered her voice. "You're not drunk again, are you?"
Oh, for God's sake."No, I'm not drunk. But gee, thanks for asking." And when Lexiestillrefused to take me seriously, I finally blurted out, "I heard you were making out with Cole Henster."
She sighed."Sothat'sthe emergency?"
"Just tell me," I said. "Were you, or were you not, kissing that monster?" The question was mostly rhetorical. According to my mom, a neighbor had spotted Lexie kissing some guy outside a restaurant downtown.
The timetable was iffy, but the guy's description had perfectly matched Cole Henster's – which made this an emergency if I'd ever heard one.What if Lexie was seeing him after work?
Before she kissed him again, she needed to know what I'd learned from Mitchell.
Confirming my worst fears, she said, "He'snota monster. I know I called him that, but–"
"Oh my, God," I groaned. "Youwere." My grip tightened on the phone. "That bastard."
Lexie made a sound of annoyance. "Stop calling him names, alright?"
"No. It's not alright," I said. "You deserve better." And then, as Lexie listened, I gave her a condensed version of what I'd learned from Mitchell – basically that Cole Henster was blackballing everyone who'd quit, including her.
To Lexie's credit, shefinallyseemed to listen. When she mentioned going to his office to confront him about his treachery, I offered to go with her for moral support. And of course, she declined, so allIcould do was wait –andobsess over Bryce.
What was he doing?
Andwhowas he doing it with?
Today, he'd acted like a totally different person.Was it because of Natalia? Or because of me?
The longer I thought about it, the more I realized something. If he was angry, which he obviously was, I couldn’t fully blame him.
Last night, at the very least, I should have sent him a text telling him that I was leaving. But I hadn't. And I couldn't chalkallof this up to the booze.
I'd been angry and hurt – and at least a little jealous. Wasthatwhy he'd wanted an apology?
If so, he might've had a point. I chewed onthisidea for way too long before pulling out my cell phone and calling his number.
When the call went straight to voicemail, I almost hung up. But then, something made me pause.
Love?
Stupidity?
Maybe both?
