Page 125 of Wrong For Me

“I spoke with Everly a little while ago, after I saw the article.”

I spin on him. “And what did she say? Where’s Rose? How do I get to her?”

There’s something I can’t read in his expression. “I don’t think you’re going to be able to get to her, man.”

I just stare at him, trying to make this all make sense. My brain feels jumbled, like there’s too much fighting for my attention. Like I’m missing something obvious.

And just like that, it clicks. “She thinks I did it,” I whisper. Holy shit, she actually thinks that. Her family most definitely does. And why wouldn’t they? This article mentions me by name.

“This cannot be happening,” I mutter, rubbing my hand over my forehead. I snatch Bodhi’s phone off the table.

“What are you—“

“I’m calling her!”

“Maybe you should wait a minute—”

I don’t bother to wait for him to finish. I pull up Rose’s name, my heart clenching at the picture he has assigned to her contact—the two of them with face masks on, grinning big, right here in this kitchen.

The phone rings and rings before I get her voice mail. I swear and press redial. When it still doesn’t go through, I toss the phone away in disgust then stride to my room, Bodhi on my heels.

I plug my useless cell into the charger by my bed, the wait for it to power on killing me. But I need to try her from my own phone. Maybe if she sees my number she’ll pick up.

The second the screen lights up I’m dialing. Voicemail. “Shit!” I yell, immediately pressing call again.

“Leo, let’s chill for a minute,” Bodhi tries while I listen to the phone ring. “Talk this over.”

“I need to talk to Rose,” I snap. Panic is bubbling in my veins, the idea that she might think this was me making me feel nauseous. It’s more than that, though. If I know Rose, she’s hurting right now. And I can’t handle the fact that she’s hurting without me there to help her.

On the third attempt, the call finally connects. “Rose?”

“You’ve got a lot of nerve,” a gruff male voice growls.

Fuck. “River? Is Rose—”

“It’s Fox, asshole,” her younger brother snarls.

“Fox, is she there? I need to talk to her. I need to—”

“You’re not coming near my sister ever again,” he says. “Lose this number.”

Then the line goes dead. “Fuck,” I yell, yanking the useless phone from the charger and throwing it across the room. I hold out my hand. “Give me your phone.”

Bodhi stares at me like he’s never seen me before. “You’re not calling her back right now, man. You need to calm down.”

“How in the hell am I supposed to calm down? She thinks I did this! Her whole family thinks I did this!”

He’s quiet for a moment and I make the mistake of meeting his eyes. Something cold slithers into my belly.

“So do you,” I mutter, shaking my head. “Jesus, you think I did this too.”

“Leo—”

I stand, pushing past him. I can’t look at him right now. “It’s fine,” I say, voice bleeding bitterness. “I get it. You’re probably wondering how much they paid me, right? Because a loser asshole like me would definitely sell out his girl to make a few bucks.” I snort, thinking about her dad and the background check. “That’s probably what her whole family thinks. And I’m sure they’ve convinced her by now.” I want to break things, want to tear down this entire apartment. But what good would it do? It’s not going to get me Rose back.

“You’re right. I won’t call her again,” I mutter. “What’s the fucking point, right?”

Bodhi grabs my shoulder, spinning me around, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look so pissed off. “I should punch you in the fucking face,” he snarls.