Page 320 of Faking the Goal

Miho's head whips toward me so fast I almost laugh.

"A girlfriend?" She lets out an exaggerated gasp before smacking my arm. "Oni-chan! Since when were you planning on telling me this?" She narrows her eyes playfully. "Or were you just keeping her all to yourself because you're afraid I'll steal her?"

I snort, shaking my head as I glance down at my phone.

The smile slips from my face.

It's not Taylor.

It's Luke.

I swipe to answer.

"Hey, what's—"

"Kent!" Luke's voice crashes through the speaker before I can finish, so frantic that every muscle in my body immediately locks up. "Where the fuck are you?"

I straighten instinctively.

"At my mom's. Why?"

There's a split second of silence on the other end. I can hear shouting in the background. Doors slamming. Someone calling out instructions.

Then Luke says four words that rip the ground right out from under me.

"The stalker got to Taylor."

Everything inside me stops.

My fingers go numb around my phone, and it almost slips from my grasp.

"...What?"

"She was attacked outside the hockey house." Luke's breathing is uneven, his words coming out in a rush. "The ambulance just took her. Kent... it's bad."

No.

No.

"No."

The word tears itself out of my throat before I even realize I've spoken.

I can't breathe. Can't think.

The last time I saw her, she was smiling... telling me she'd wait for me... kissing me goodbye before I got on the bus... promising she'd be there when I came back.

I was supposed to be with her.

I was supposed to pick her up.

I was supposed to protect her.

And I wasn't there.

CHAPTER 40

KENTARO