Page 98 of The Casualty of Us
She presses the lid down on my drink and gives me a confused look. “It’s literally right next door.”
“I know, but I really am in a rush.” I try for another grin before quickly adding. “Please?”
She pauses, holding my drink, and I watch as her eyes stray toward the door. “The box is for your mom or something, right?”
Repeating another lie of mine recently.
“Right,” I echo as her gaze comes back to me, holding my breath for the beat it takes her to agree.
“Sure, Ophelia.” She smiles, passing my drink over. “No problem.”
“Thanks so much.”
I take the drink from her a second before Talan’s voice interrupts. “What’s taking so long?”
“Jesus.” I jump, head whipping around to find him behind me now. “I got you food. Chill out.”
“Huh.” He eyes me suspiciously for a second before his gaze drifts toward the display case. “What’d you get?”
“Food.” I snort, rolling my eyes back and seeing the grin on Zoey’s face as she packages up the croissants. “Say thank you.”
Appreciating yet again that she’s a person who knows how to mind her own business and has never asked about the particulars of the assortment of people that trail after me everywhere. Such a rare breed these days.
Cara next door is way too chatty for my liking.
Especially while I’m trying to add more acts of fraud to my repertoire.
At least I can’t be charged with self-endangerment. Now that’d be a—
My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I choke down a sip of the overly sweet and caffeinated monstrosity that I’m holding while reaching down to dig it out of my leggings. All for Talan’s benefit, of course, because I can’t very well come to a coffee shop every day to order the exact same thing I can make at home. It’d be way too obvious.
I press the side of my phone to check it and look down, immediately going still at the message on the screen.
Miss you, Freckles.
And for an instant, everything about me hurts, longing to just sob the entire freaking sordid ordeal to him. Then wrap myself around him and demand he sing to me. Maybe lose myself for a while in that newly discovered thing between us.
Let him take control for a bit.
But I don’t do any of that.
I just stare at it…because he’s half a world away and having the time of his life from what I’ve seen of it.
“Whoa,” Talan’s voice intrudes, bringing my attention to how he’s moved closer and is pointing at my phone now. “That’s the ‘he,’ isn’t it?”
I glare at him, pulling my phone back out of his view immediately. “What are you talking about?”
“Your face.” He moves his finger up to the object in question, and my brows fall further. “It hasn’t looked like that all summer.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I toss back shortly. “This is literally how my face looks all the time.”
“Nope.” He shakes his head like a freaking dog with a bone, and that stupid little smile pops up as he tacks on thoughtfully. “Your resting bitch face definitely let up there for a second.” My mouth pops open as he turns to Zoe. “Back me up here, it did, didn’t it?”
I whip my head back her way in time to see a guilty smile spread on her face before she betrays me too. “It totally did.”
“Whatever.” I take another sip of the disgusting drink, narrowing my eyes at Talan and hoping to distract him. “What are you going to do when I go back to school anyway?”
“Continue to run down possible leads.” He pats the top of my head. “Don’t worry though, we’ll be stationed right outside the campus in case you feel like making any impromptu trips.”
