Page 105 of The Casualty of Us
Because not only did I finally have the time to start to unpack everything about him that I’ve shoved to the side all summer, I also finally had the space and time to do a deep dive on what exactly he’s been doing instead of the usual perfunctory headline scroll to keep track of where he’s at. Staying up until the sun came up that night while discovering that not only had his father invited him along for their summer tour, but the drummer had apparently invited his daughter along as well.
His absolutely freaking gorgeous daughter, who was only a year older than us. His absolutely gorgeous daughter, who had been pictured with Hayes on some fan accounts that had been hidden down below the top hits. In multiple pictures.
Looking entirely too friendly for my liking.
But I can’t really say shit about that, can I?
And now…now we have this lovely stalker situation to contend with as well. Not that I have any intention of telling him that. Especially not after seeing Cheyenne Hills’s long black hair hanging all over his shoulders as he gave her a piggyback ride through the set. Stupid fucking rock star nepo baby—
“Whatever you say.” She rolls her eyes at me. “But I still think you’ll be happy to know that Josey shot herself in the foot with that one because I was named captain this year instead.”
I roll mine right back, lifting my drink and drolling out, “Cheers to you.”
Barely managing to get a sip in before she pipes up inquisitively.
“Hey, have you signed up for an athletics credit yet?”
“No,” I snort. “And I don’t intend to.”
Despite my summer running penchant.
No need to put myself through that for the whole year.
“You know that you do need at least a year of one to graduate.”
“I’ll take chess, that’s a sport.” I shrug, the extended silence I get in response making me glance over in time to catch her long-suffering sigh. The look on her face says she’s really debating if I am a lost cause and calls to mind that she thrives off of everything to do with social politics, which means she probably has extensive insight on the intimate dynamics of relationships. Insight that I currently lack. It has me squinting at her as she takes a sip of her drink, deciding it’s worth the risk and trying for casual. “So how can you tell if two people are…ya know?”
She shoots me a side-eye before mocking openly, “No, I don’t know. Whatever could you possibly mean?”
“Fucking,” I spit out in annoyance. “Or messing around, take your pick.”
Because he’s been on the road all summer with a girl that looks like a supermodel. All while I’ve been too suffocated to keep track of anything more than making sure he’s alive and ghosting on his attempts to reach out. Fuck.
“Aw, Ophelia.” She bats her lashes at me. “Areyouactually coming tomefor something?”
I glare at her before looking back out at the inlet and trying to backpedal. “Never mind.”
“I might shed a tear.”
She sighs dramatically with the tease, and I suck a deep breath in through my nose before snapping. “Never. Mind.”
“Oh, don’t be like that,” she shoots back. “I’m guessing this is about Flynn?” I purse my lips, holding my silence, and she sighsmore heavily this time. “Or I can ask about the bodyguards like I’ve been dying to do for days.”
“Bitch.” I look back at her with the insult, but she just smiles wider, setting my teeth on edge but getting her way because I need help, and sometimes it’s easier to ask it from someone who won’t pull their punches. “Fine, I need you to look at something for me.”
I reach down to snag my phone from where it’s lying on top of my towel before quickly unlocking it. Immediately tapping my photos and going to the most recent ones because receipts are everything. I flick through them until I’m clenching my teeth by the time I get back to the first one of him giving her a piggyback ride again. The harsh light of day and the two gin and tonics I’ve consumed not making it look any better.
I hesitate for a split second before passing the phone over to her. “Scroll through these and tell me if you think they’re fucking.”
Because I need to delegate something with everything else going on right now, and considering that I’m a virgin and she’s not, which I learned against my will two nights ago, she might see something that I would miss.
Plus she held my hair, so fuck it.
Her eyes slit as she scrolls through the collection of photos, gaze roving over them and taking her time while we both sip at our drinks before stating simply, “No way.”
“Seriously?” My brows fall with disbelief as she holds the phone back out to me, and I reluctantly take it back. “Are you sure?”
“Totally.” She gives me a nod, motioning to my phone with her drink. “So glad to know you’re as prone as the next girl to going down the rabbit hole, though.”
