Page 158 of Debts and Desires
Ty’s jaw clenched. He looked away as he said, “Yeah. Well, serves him right.”
“You don’t have to be super nice,” I offered. “Just… don’t kill him. That’s all I’m asking. I don’t want him to know that I found my stuff. Him not knowing why I left is punishment enough. Besides… Think about Mac and BJ.”
“Fine,” Tyler sighed. “But I’m not goin’ outta my way.”
Cassie went to set up the guest room for me while Tyler moved my car into their garage to hide it. He said it was just in case Carter was still out looking for me. It was close to four in the morning when I finally crawled into bed. I was exhausted. But I barely slept.
63. WILTED YELLOW FLOWER
December 25
One Day Gone
Ihadn’t really slept long, just enough to recharge my internal battery. I stared at the ceiling, doing my damndest to keep my mind quiet. It wasn’t until I heard the others awake and moving that I decided to get up. I got myself dressed and ready, packing the suitcase Tyler had graciously retrieved before we all went to bed for the night.
Once I had it repacked, I sat on the bed, staring at my phone. I needed to call Mia to ask about going there. I had wanted to do it days before, but hadn’t gotten the chance, too busy trying to hide my escape plans from Carter. My heart twisted at the thought of him.
I turned my phone on and wished I hadn’t. Messages and missed calls flooded the screen. The most recent being from two hours previous. I ignored them all, finding Mia’s name in my contacts and dialing her.
As it rang, my mind drifted, wondering what Carter’s texts said. I debated if I should read them, open them without reading, or just delete them. I wondered if he’d figured outwhyI left yet, but something told me no.
“Emo?” I hadn’t realized she answered.
“Mimi, hi. Sorry.” I went to speak again, but only air came out. What was I going to say? When I talked to her a week ago, I told her everything was more than good.
“What’s wrong?”
“Can…” I started to choke up. “Can I come back?”
“Of course you can. What happened?”
“Do I need to kill him?” I heard Cal ask in the back.
“Hush,” Mia said to him just as I answered, “N-no.”
“Is everything okay? Do you need me to come get you?” she asked.
“No. I have my car.” Why was it so hard to talk? Why did I feel like I was floundering?
“Okay. Where are you? Are you safe?”
“Yes. I’m at Cass and Ty’s. I was going to leave here soon. I can explain everything when I get there,” I sniffled.
“Okay. Are you sure you don’t need us to come get you?”
“I’m sure.” Mia let out a long sigh.
“Please be safe, Em. Especially today.”
“Today?”
“It’s Christmas, honey.”Shit.
“I-I can wait. I don’t want to intrude.”
“No, no. You come straight here. It’s just Cal here. We’re not doing anything special.”
“Are you sure?”
