Page 9 of Ride or Die
“You don’t have to wait until Thursday to go again. We can go whenever you want,” I tell her. Raze is giving me a questioning look and I grin.
I need to find out if it’s the same girl who’s had my heart all these years. Even if she won’t talk to me, I need to know.
6
Cali
“Wow, what a dick move.”I finished telling Minx about Ryan and how he ghosted me all those years ago. “Has he tried to reach out to you since he left?”
I pause before answering her. That’s something both Emma and Bash asked when I told them about him. “No, he hasn’t.”
She looks at me with sympathetic eyes and grabs my hand. Before she gets a chance to respond, Rivet and Emma are joining us again.
“Have any luck?” Minx asks Emma.
A huge smile breaks out across Em’s face. “There are so many hot guys!” Emma laughs out.
“She had googly eyes for Clutch.” Rivet rolls her eyes but grins.
“Which one is Clutch?” I ask them.
“He’s at the second beer pong table. The only one wearing a grey shirt under his cut,” Rivet tells me. When I turn around, I get a glimpse of a black and blue hat. My mind instantly goes to Ryan and my heart skips a beat. My phone is vibrating in my pocket. I pull it out and Wren, one of my employees, is calling.
“Hello?” I answer my phone.
“Hey, Cali. I’m sorry for calling you, but I didn’t want to call my brother and I don’t have anyone else I can call,” Wren stutters out.
“Oh, sweetie, it’s okay. What’s up?”
“I, uh, was supposed to be meeting my boyfriend and he stood me up. I don’t have enough money for another Uber. Can you come and get me?” she pleads.
“Of course. I have Emma with me, but tell me where you are and we’ll come and get you,” I say calmly. She tells me where she’s at and it isn’t far from us. I tell her we’ll be there in ten minutes and we hang up.
“What’s going on?” Emma questions. Rivet and Minx look worried.
“No time to explain, but Em, we gotta go. Minx, Riv, I’m sorry. I’ll text y’all later.” Emma and I head to the car.
“Okay, I’m starting to freak out a bit. Can you please tell me what’s going on?” she asks as we reach her car.
“Wren was stood up by her boyfriend. She didn’t want to call her brother.” I tell her where she’s at as she turns the car on. Wren is only a couple of years younger than us, but you wouldn’t guess by the way she acts. She’s quite a bit more mature than other girls her age.
We get to the restaurant and she’s standing on the sidewalk. As soon as Emma pulls up to the curb and parks, I hop out.
“Oh, Wren.” I wrap my arms around her. “Are you okay?”
“I honestly don’t know.” She has tears in her eyes.
“Come on,” I tell her, walking her to the car. “You can stay with us tonight.”
We get in the car and none of us say anything the rest of the drive. Once we’re back at our apartment, Wren seems to relax. I get her settled in my room, letting her take my bed for the night and give her some chamomile tea to help calm her mind. I make up the couch for myself. Tonight was a lot of fun but I’ve been going non-stop since four this morning. I’m out as soon as my head hits the pillow.
* * *
I wakeup the next morning and check my phone. I sigh in frustration. Seven o’clock. I’m so used to waking up at four, I struggle to sleep in on my late days and days off. Even when I don’t go to bed until late. I get up and go to the kitchen to make some coffee. As it’s finishing, Wren walks in.
“Good morning.” I smile at her.
“Mornin’,” she responds. She gives a small smile but there’s a sadness in her eyes.
