Page 122 of The Sound Of Silence

“Fuuck.” Emotion clogs my throat. “Dylan, I—”

“I know. You don’t have to say anything.” He shrugs like it’s no big deal, but when his eyes meet mine, I see it. The understanding. He’s almost lost someone before, maybe not in the physical sense like me, but he understands a shattered heart.

“Thank you,” I say, clearing my throat so he doesn’t hear it crack before turning around, not wanting anyone to see my eyes water. “Thank you.”

Chapter Forty-Eight

Jesse

There’smediasurroundinguswhen we arrive at the tarmac, but for the first time, I don’t give a shit. It’s already been fifty minutes since I found out about Willow, and there’s still no news.

The flight time to Oregon is just over an hour and thirty-five minutes, then it’s another hour and a half drive to Willow’s.

Each second feels like minutes, the minutes feel like hours, and the combined journey feels like days. By the time we land, I’m ready to murder someone… and I plan to start with Alex and Tate.

Seth grunts when I refuse him a food stop on the drive. And when he interrupts my brooding, I almost make him victim number one. “You didn’t have to come.”

“I didn’t have to come? Really? Jesse, you’re in no state to drive.” He’s right, I am in no state to drive, but he’s still goddamn annoying.

“Since we have time to kill, tell me, how long have you had a thing for Pippa’s sister?” he jokes, and I consider punching him except that he might lose control of the car and swerve us off the road.

“I just met her, but I’m not fucking talking about this right now. Why aren’t you more concerned?”

Seth groans. “I’m freaking the fuck out, Jesse. I’m just trying to take both our minds off it. I’m here helping you out, so the least you could do is be honest.” His eyes flare with hurt, and I imagine he’s pissed I didn’t see what he was trying to do. But I can’t talk about her. It’s just going to make it worse. I need to change the subject.

“Why’d you say yes?” I ask, swiveling my body to face him.

“What?”

“Why me? Why’d you agree to rep me when you had multiple superstars banging at your door?”

Seth’s fists clench on the steering wheel, but he doesn’t otherwise react. “Believe it or not, I know potential when I see it,” he says with a smile. But if I’ve learned anything from Willow, it’s how to hide behind a facial expression.

“I’m not buying it.”

“You really want to talk about this now. Here. When we’re so close to your old town.”

I fucking knew it!

I open my mouth to speak, but Seth cuts me off. “Before you go freaking out, you had to know I’d do a background check.”

I’m not sure if that eases my mind or makes me feel worse. Not that any of this matters; we both know I’m just using it as a distraction.

“Why me?” I repeat, because at this point, I’d do anything not to push him out of the car so I can take over to speed up the drive. I’m not opposed to breaking the law.

Seth curses under his breath before his eyes briefly flash to mine. “I was in the system too, you fuckface.”

A relieved laugh escapes me as my head falls back to the headrest. “Fuckface? Really?”

“You’re a little shit, you know that. Why’d you have to know so fucking badly?”

Good question, and one that you do not need the answer to. “It was just bugging me.”

Seth huffs out a laugh of his own. “Sure it was. Did it work to distract you?”

“Nope, I still feel nauseous. What if something happened to her? What if—”

“She’ll be okay. She’s probably just visiting a friend and doesn’t even realize she’s missing.”

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