Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 111676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 558(@200wpm)___ 447(@250wpm)___ 372(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 558(@200wpm)___ 447(@250wpm)___ 372(@300wpm)
“Jade, please. I need you.”
And I needed him. Without him, the world felt gray and cold. Colorless. Just as I opened my mouth to speak, a shrill squeak sounded—like a dog toy, except I knew it wasn’t.
My heart skipped a beat before going into overdrive when my gaze landed on Squishy, his face buried in my backpack that Wolf had dropped beside the bed.
Wolf turned just as Squishy dragged the penguin from my backpack and, with a condemning squeak, dropped it to the floor. Time slowed down when one paw landed on its stomach and his sharp teeth wrapped around its head. One hard tug, and he ripped it off. Blue pills exploded from the toy, and Squishy stepped back. His dirty deed done.
My face burned as I sank to the floor, sweeping pills into my hand. The dog sniffed a few stray pills. “Squishy, no.” I shoved him away, and he huffed before hopping onto the bed.
“Jade,” Wolf’s voice came from over my shoulder.
My entire body tensed, my brain trying to come up with an explanation for the stupid penguin I’d forgotten all about.
“Why did you have that in your bag?” The tinge of hurt in his voice had guilt and shame taking root in my chest.
“It’s not—” I could have lied, but I didn’t want to. I couldn’t. I knew how bad it looked, though. How bad it was. I pushed to my feet, ignoring his gaze as I poured the handful of pills onto the nightstand.
“Jade?”
Taking a breath, I turned and looked at him. “I wasn’t going to use it.”
His brows furrowed. “Use it?” Evidently, it wasn’t as obvious as I’d thought.
I drew in a long breath. “You were blackmailing us…had a loaded gun to our heads. And then I figured out what you use the penguins for.” The confession poured from my lips in a rushed string. “We needed our own gun.” The betrayal ripped across his face. “But I couldn’t bring myself to do that to you!” I said in a rush.
He snatched the backpack from the floor, zipped it, and shoved it toward me. “Get out.”
My heart seized in my chest, as though it might stop beating altogether if he meant that. “What?”
“You heard me.”
It didn’t stop, but I almost felt it crack. He’d just told me he needed me, and now he wanted me to leave. I’d gone from seeing our whole future play out before my eyes to helplessly watching it slip through my fingers.
Tears poured down my face, the reality of losing him again tearing me apart. “What would you have done if someone were blackmailing you?”
“It’s not someone. It’s me.” His expression shuddered, jaw ticcing.
I knew him well enough to know nothing I could say would change anything right then.
“And I had that video deleted after you told me about your parents’ situation. Because the guilt of it was too much. Because I loved you. You, on the other hand, kept that fucking penguin.”
“I forgot I even had it,” I whispered, taking the backpack in what felt like an act of finality.
“I wish I could believe that.” His gaze held mine for a torturous beat. “Just go, Jade. Please, just get the fuck out of here. Out of my life…”
Thirty
Wolf
Morning sunlight streamed through the windows. Dog kept barking at those damn rats going apeshit on their wheel, and I wanted to chuck the pillow at the cage. I hadn’t slept worth a crap, just drifted in and out of a light slumber, every once in a while reaching for Jade, only to feel empty sheets, then glance at the pile of pills still on the nightstand. I couldn’t make sense of my emotions.
One minute, I was mad as hell; the next, I felt sick to my stomach. I’d go from feeling like I had overreacted to feeling like an idiot for trusting her when she obviously didn’t trust me—keeping that penguin as a back-up plan, trying to accuse me of going off with Megan…
I tried closing my eyes again, but that damn rat kept going on the wheel, sending Dog into a frenzy. Then pop music blasted from somewhere downstairs. “Fuck it,” I mumbled, getting out of bed to pack my practice bag before I went downstairs.
Tampons still littered the living room, along with popcorn and empty Solo cups. I couldn’t be bothered to be annoyed, not when it felt like my entire world was nothing but a ball of flaming shit.
Cassie stood at the stove, screeching along to the lyrics while burning whatever was in the skillet. “Where’s Jade?” she asked.
The mention of her name stung, and I tried to swallow around the knot in my throat. “She went home.” I dropped my bag on the floor.
She stopped stirring whatever was in the bowl and looked at me. “What do you mean, she went home?”