I ran my hand through my hair and for the first time in my life, I actually wanted to get drunk. I’d never sought escape like that.

I headed for the door, bending over to swipe up my T-shirt and throw it on as I made my way out of the building.

Home. I’d go home, get obliterated, and check out, because I had no fucking clue what I was going to do without her or what my next move was.

Climbing into the car, I twisted my fist around the steering wheel and slammed the door, thankful that the parking lot was still empty. Very few people ever saw me mad, and I liked it that way. It’s hard to anticipate what you don’t understand, and I liked to keep myself in check. Most of the time.

I turned the ignition and blasted the stereo, the car vibrating under me. I shifted into reverse and checked the rearview mirror.

And stopped.

I narrowed my eyes, seeing her marks on my neck—her bite marks.

I reached up, running my fingers over the deep abrasions, feeling the dips where her teeth and mouth had been. She hadn’t broken the skin, but it was bruised red and purple.

And I wanted to smile.

She’d bitten me.

My gutless, helpless wallflower was wild, after all.

Someday when she’d moved on, and she’d found another guy, I would be able to look at her and remember that she was almost mine.

I would be able to remember that while he slept with her every night, I had had her soft body—sweating and needy—in my arms, looking at me as if I were her angel.

I would remember that she loved me once.

I drove to the Black Debs shop and walked in the door, pulling off my shirt immediately. Sitting down in Aura’s empty chair, I waited for her to come over from her desk with her hands on her hips as Jay Gordon’s “Slept So Long” played in the background.

“Do you know what an appointment is?” she snarled. “Jared makes appointments.”

I leaned forward, my elbows on my knees as I cocked my head, indicating the bite mark. “Tattoo it,” I said.

She pushed my head to the left and inspected the mark up close. Standing up, she looked at me as if I were crazy.

“You sure?” she asked, her lip arching up.

I nodded. “I want to remember.”

CHAPTER 27

JULIET

I jerked awake, yelping as my body vaulted up and down.

“Good morning, sunshine!” Madoc jumped on the bottom of the bed, sending me flopping. “I hope you’re naked!”

I scurried for the covers, bringing them up to my chin. “Madoc!” I screamed, covering my face with the sheet. I was in my pajama shorts and tank top, but still!

“Come on, Tiger,” Madoc taunted, still pouncing like a seven-year-old. “Time to stop snoring. Although it was supersexy.”

He was joking. I didn’t snore. Oh, God. Did I snore?

“Madoc, stop it!” I screamed, freaked-out by the half-naked man—someone else’s half-naked man—jumping on my bed.

He wore some Polo lounge pants—I could tell, because there were little polo players all over them. And no shirt. And he shouldn’t be in my room. His room. Fallon’s old room. My room!

“Fallon!” I called for his wife.

“Madoc!” I heard her shout, probably from their room across the hall. “Leave her alone!”

“What?” He acted innocent but kept jumping. “Two hot chicks under my roof. I have a big bed, and Freud says everyone is bisexual. I say you two take a shower. I watch. Win-win.”

I popped my head off the bed, fury burning my face. “Get. Off. The bed!” I bellowed from my gut.

“Whoa!” His eyes went wide, and he laughed as he dropped his whole body to lie beside me. “Is Satan your father or did he just raise you?”

I growled and threw the sheet over my face again. “I hate to complain, what with the free room and all, but …”

“Then don’t,” he said, brushing me off, pulling the sheet down. “Seriously, though. You have to get up. We’re having a party.”

“Huh?”

“Tate’s dad flew in this morning,” he started explaining. “His assignment is on break for a couple of weeks. And my dad and Jared’s mom will be in town for the weekend. Everyone’s kicking back,” he sighed, lying back and fixing his hands underneath his head. “We’re barbecueing and having a shitload of people over. We need someone to clear away the trash.”

I jerked the sheet back over my head.

“I’m kidding.” He pulled the sheet away again, grinning. “You know I love to tease you.”

I rolled my eyes.

Playing with the hem of the blanket, I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Jax will be here, then?” I asked, not looking at him.

“Jax will be at the Loop,” he shot back. “Adam will be here.”

Who …? Oh, right. Adam, his preppy friend. The one … I kind of ditched … when I got “lost” in the fun house. Yeah, class act right here.

Madoc rolled off the bed and walked toward the door, calling behind him, “Get dressed. Preferably in something Fallon can rip off with her teeth!”

“Madoc!” Fallon’s screech poured into the room, and I shook my head, burying my laugh in my pillow.

Tutoring had ended yesterday, so this was my first day without anything to do or to plan. I started back at the movie theater tomorrow, reclaiming my first and only job from high school, and as much as I enjoyed the job back then—hey, who doesn’t like free movies?—I was having a hard time getting excited. Spending the rest of the summer making minimum wage with kids who still went to high school felt like a significant step backward. But I knew it had to be done. I couldn’t live with Madoc and Fallon forever, and not only did I need a job, but I needed two.

My phone started buzzing, and I popped my head up, grabbing it off the charger on the bedside table.

“Hello?” I sat up, not recognizing the number.

“K.C.?” a woman’s voice asked. “Hi, honey. It’s Meredith Kenney. Your mom’s friend.”

“Oh, hi, Mrs. Kenney,” I greeted, puzzled as to why she was calling me. “How are you?”

“I’m fine. I was just calling to make sure your mom was okay,” she explained. “She’s missed the last two Rotary meetings, and when I’ve tried to call, I haven’t gotten an answer.”

I opened my mouth but then closed it again.

That was weird. My mother was always punctual, and I was sure she’d call if she needed to miss a meeting. Which never happened.

“Uh, well,” I stammered, “I don’t know. I’m sorry, Ms. Kenney, but I’m visiting with friends right now.” Chills spread down my arms as worry set in. “I’ll swing by the house, though, okay?”

“I’ve done that. No answer,” she said. “Now I’m worried.”

I shook my head, trying to figure out what could be up. I shouldn’t be worried about her. Had she called me since I came to get my journals? No, she’d abandoned me, and I shouldn’t care about her.

But she was alone. And I was different now.

“I’ll check it out and get back to you.” I nodded, throwing off the covers and standing up. “Thank you.”

“I’ll be waiting. Thank you, sweetie.” And she hung up.

Grabbing a white summer dress from the closet, I dived into the bathroom, got dressed, and brushed my hair.

Snatching up my purse and fastening the Gear to my wrist, I stumbled into the hallway, trying to put on my sandals. “Madoc?” I called. “Can I borrow your car?”

“No!”

“Thank you,” I chirped, jetting down the hallway and then the stairs, grabbing Madoc’s keys off the entryway table before slipping out the door.

I had to hand it to Jax about one thing. I was glad he’d taught me to drive a stick. It was the only thing these people drove.

The drive to my house—my mom’s house—took about twenty minutes, and even though it was hard not to speed in Madoc’s car, I took my time.

I wasn’t really worried about her. She always took care of herself.

But the truth was, I never worried about my mom. Her presence was constant, like a lamp or a car, and I hadn’t really thought about her having a life unless I was there to see it. What did she do with herself when I was away at college? What did she think about when she was alone?

Who hurt her to make her so vile?

And now, for the first time in her life, she was causing others to worry.

Pulling up outside the house, I slowly climbed out of the car and shoved the keys in my purse. The brick stairs to my front door loomed ahead of me.

I didn’t care. This wasn’t my responsibility.

But I walked anyway.

Climbing the stairs up my lawn, I took out my key and unlocked the front door, taking in the sight right away of unopened mail spilling over the entryway table and onto the floor.

I studied the heap, letting the door close behind me.

What the hell?

I shifted my eyes left and right, noticing that the rest of the downstairs seemed completely in order.

Clean house, polished floors, everything same as always. Except for the vacuum plugged in and sitting in the middle of the area rug.

Other than that and the mail, everything looked fine. She had to be out of town, and someone was collecting the mail for her.