Page 82 of Broken Pieces
I give her a glare that tells her not to fuck with me right now. The one that means I’m hanging by a thread.
She blinks hard, nods once. “Okay.”
She turns and starts walking toward the corner, each step slower than the last, as if she doesn’t want to leave me here alone.
I watch her go, every step pulling her further out of my reach.
When she reaches the corner, I watch her pull her phone from her pocket, tap the screen, and lift it to her ear.
I don’t need to hear the words to know she’s not done trying to save me.
Chapter Thirteen
Zane
Rainer’sstilltalkingwhenmy phone buzzes in my pocket.
I pull it out, thumb slick with oil, streaking black across the glass until her name cuts through it.
Cassie.
I answer.
Her voice hits through the static, fast and shaking. “She’s at the library. Says she’s got nowhere to go.”
Nowhere.
The word slides under my skin and stays there.
Everything in me goes tight.
Rainer’s still talking, but those words are just noise now. All I can hear is that one word burning through the rest.
The words rip out before I can swallow them. “What the fuck do you mean nowhere?”
“She aged out,” Cassie rushes. “Dolores told her to leave this morning. She’s been sitting out front of the library since school ended. I tried to stay, but she told me to go. Zane, she won’t let me help her. Skylar says she’s fine, but she’s not fine.”
Her voice cracks on fine and the sound goes straight through me.
All the places I thought were numb start bleeding again.
The world dulls.
The compressor hums somewhere behind me, metal hits metal, but the rest is just static now.
I press the phone harder to my ear, oil slicking down my wrist.
Skylar.
The sound of her name burns. Always has.
“You sure she’s still there?” My voice isn’t steady. Never is when she’s involved.
“She hasn’t moved since I left. Please, just—”
The line dies.
Silence.
