Page 177 of Bad Prince

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The noise drowns everything out.

The music fills the spaces in my head.

I laugh at something Delia says.

I even forget?—

Until I don’t.

“Did you hear about T & T?”

The words cut through everything.

I freeze.

Just for a second.

Then I keep moving like I didn’t.

Like I don’t care.

A group of girls stands near the kitchen island, phones out, voices buzzing.

“He literally went in the ambulance with her.”

“No way.”

“Yes way. My friend is on the soccer team she said he wouldn’t leave her side.”

My stomach tightens.

I take another drink.

Too fast.

“That’s so hot,” one of them sighs.

“Right? Like—protective but calm? Total bad prince energy.”

“What’s her name again?”

“Isa. Isabella something.”

“God, she’s so lucky.”

Lucky.

The word lands wrong.

Another girl leans in, lowering her voice like it’s a secret worth savoring.

“She posted from the hospital.”

Phones tilt.

Screens glow.

“There—see? And look—he’s literally right there.”

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