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Aldo makes a strangled noise and I close my eyes, knowing what’s coming next.

“What about after the season finishes?” Joy asks, her voice barely above a whisper.

I shake my head. “I’m done. They’re not passing my probation period. I have until noon on Friday to clear out.”

“This is bullshit,” Aldo snarls. “Who the hell took those photos? Why would someone do this?”

I can’t bring myself to look at Joy, wondering if she has any idea. “It doesn’t matter now. It’s done.”

“We need to find Doug,” Joy says. “You know he’ll be blaming himself for this, right?”

Aldo snorts. “Total drama llama. Whose car are we taking?”

“What?” I finally lift my head.

“Whose car?” he repeats. “I think I should drive. Joy’s ride is too small and you’re clearly in no state. Meet at the Jeep in twenty?”

I blink, staring between the two of them. “And then what? This is bigger than calming McMann down. We’re both fucked. I can’t afford rent without this job.”

Aldo moves to stand in front of me, pushing forward until he’s between my thighs, his hands on my shoulders. “Now who’s being a drama llama?”

“Stop saying that,” I grumble. “You’re not a thirteen-year-old girl.”

Aldo grins, leaning forward and resting his forehead against mine. “We can fix this. Don’t worry about your apartment. There’s no way Joy and I are letting you leave. Same goes for Doug, even if I have to marry the bastard to keep him in the country.”

Joy laughs and my soul lightens, just a little.

“Okay, fine.” I tip my head and press a kiss to Aldo’s lips, before reaching for Joy and nuzzling into her neck. “Twenty minutes.”

JOY

The last thing in the world I want to do right now is go to the fundraiser. My stomach is in knots so tight, I can barely breathe. Picking up my purple headphones with trembling hands, I close my eyes and draw in a shaky breath. My phone vibrates on my desk, but I ignore it. I already know it’s my mom, wondering where I am. She’s called six times already.

A gentle knock sounds on my door before it opens, and Aldo steps into my room. For a second, the weights pulling and stretching at my heart, loosen. He looks gorgeous. Wearing a black velvet tux with the shirt unbuttoned, he looks like he’s just stepped off the red carpet. I try to give him a smile but fail.

“Damn.” He lets out a low whistle as he makes a show of looking me up and down. “You look incredible,mia stella.”

I don’t feel it. I bought my black sequined fishtail gown a month ago, back before everything went to shit, and Elsie, a freshman Bee who’s also on the swim team, did my hair in a complicated updo that I’ll never be able to recreate in a million years. But it’s all for nothing. If I hadn’t already promised Sol and Wes that I’d DJ tonight, there’s not a chance in hell I’d be showing up.

Sensing my dire mood, Aldo steps further into the room, sliding his hands around my waist and dropping a soft kiss to my lips. “It’s going to be okay.”

My eyes sting at his words and I step out of his embrace. “But it’s not. Is it?”

None of us have been able to contact Doug since he left Franklin West on Monday. We drove out to his house, but he wasn’t there. We sat in Aldo’s Jeep for three hours waiting for him to show before giving up and going to Lane’s place.

Aldo and I took turns checking for the rest of the day, while Lane drove into Portland and trawled as many bars as he could. But he never showed, and Lane couldn’t find him either.

My stomach twists. Four days later, we’re at a loss. The only comfort is that Lane bumped into one of Doug’s neighbors yesterday and she told him that she’d seen him recently. It eases a little of my worry that he’s still alive—still in Oregon—but it still hurts like hell that he won’t answer any of our calls or texts.

“We’ll find him,” Aldo says, reaching for my hand and squeezing.

I huff in response.

“Come on,” he says, tugging me gently. “Our folks are waiting.”

Yeah. They are. Yet another reason why my nerves are frayed as hell.

I let Aldo pull me from my room, my headphones around my neck and my clutch in my other hand. My decks are already set up and I did the sound check earlier this afternoon. Oh, yeah. It’s also the first time my parents will see me DJing.No pressure.

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