Page 155 of Playing Dirty

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The charger was plugged in.

But I wasn’t looking at it.

I was thinking about something I didn’t want to name.

The way she didn’t step away quickly.

The way I didn’t either.

Jace would’ve said something about that.

Probably something stupid.

But accurate.

I leaned back slightly.

Rowan was already on her bed again.

Phone in hand.

But I knew she wasn’t really looking at it anymore.

Because neither was I.

And that was the problem now.

Nothing was happening.

But everything had already started.

Twenty Six

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

ROWAN

The problem with nights like this wasn’t silence.

It was that you started noticing things you normally didn’t care about.

Like how the air conditioner clicked every few minutes.

Like how the city outside never fully stopped moving.

Like how someone else breathing in the same room changed the rhythm of your own thoughts.

I lay back on the bed fully now.

Phone on my chest.

Not really reading anything.

Just… holding it there like it was supposed to keep me anchored.

Mason hadn’t said anything for a while.

That should’ve meant peace.

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