Page 25 of Leah

I shook my head. “Actually, you know, I don’t look all that great. I might slip away and change first.”

“Nonsense, you look fine. Let’s go.”

She took me by the arm and pulled me into the house, forcing me up the spiral staircase as she rattled on about how unexpected their visit was. Did she seriously not know how hard she was squeezing me? Or was she sending me some message, like I wasn’t going to get out of this whether I liked it or not. It was too late to question her, anyway.

I felt my body sag in defeat.

I was going to see the boys.

Why were they even here?

Weren’t they busy being famous and all?

My heart was beating rapidly, and my stomach was twisting in nerves. This was too sudden. I could hardly think, and what I was thinking was repeating itself in my head.

Carter.

Carter.

Carter.

Over and over again that name.

Was he here too?

Of course he is.

When we reached the top, I spotted a long line of suitcases against the hallway wall. There were some pinks ones too.

What the hell did that mean exactly?

My vision was spinning as she led me to the living room, and before I even looked at any of them, my skin prickled, like I couldfeelhis presence without seeing him. Totally impossible, but the feeling was undeniably there, stirring my insides into a frenzy.

“Leah’s here!” Marlena proudly proclaimed, like I was some Queen that’d just arrived.

The first person I saw was Rome in between the kitchen entrance and some dark-haired girl beside him that oddly resembled Melanie. For a split second, I thought itwasMelanie, until I noticed her unusually plump lips, fake boobs, and orange spray tan.

It was a completely insipid version of my best friend.

Without wanting to, I gaped at him in shock. Rome looked completely different from his grungy looking days. He was dressed in stylish rocker clothes. Like Leo, he was tatted up, both sleeves done, depicting some sort of abstract design that looked very impressive. A super expensive watch adorned his wrist, its giant face gleaming under the bulbs of the chandelier overhead.He was all… money. Dripping in it, actually. His green eyes looked at me warmly, and he came bounding in my direction, his girl following him closely behind.

“Leah!” he said, throwing his giant arms around me in a tight hug, bathing me in his expensive cologne as he gave me a kiss on the side of my head. “Holy shit, look at you, wearing pink like a girl.”

“Hey, well, I sort of am a girl,” I replied light-heartedly, when really I was feeling suddenly conscious.

It was laundry day back at the condo, and I had only the clothes at the very bottom of my drawers: oversized pink top of the most generic kind and a pair of jean shorts that had seen better days a thousand years ago. Compared to Rome’s girl, who was immaculate in her brand name summer dress, I was dressed like a sack of shit.

I’m just being comparative.

Not that it was a sack of shit inmyeyes.

He pulled away and immediately gestured to the girl. “This is my girlfriend, Alyssa. Alyssa, this is Leah, the one I’ve told you lots about.”

He talked about me?

He caught my curious look and quickly added, “All good things, Leah. All good things.”

I forced a smile on my face; it wasn’t the Joker one from before, but it was still forced as fuck. “Hi, nice to meet you,” I told Alyssa.

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