Page 129 of Stroke of Fate

“Who is that?” Sam mutters in disgust.

“It’s Sadie, isn’t it?” My eyes find Bear’s as I process what I should have figured out days ago.

I told myself girls like her don’t simply walk away when rejected, yet I still didn’t see this coming. Now, though, it’s so fucking clear what she was trying to do.

“Yeah,” Bear confirms my thoughts. “I think it is.”

It only gets worse when she tells us about the crude note left on her car’s windshield the day we met at the pool.

She blushes as she recalls the story, and my lips twitch at the memory. But my amusement quickly turns to anger when she tells us about the night Sadie showed up at Static and the warning note she left.

The concerned looks from the guys make me squirm in my seat, but Bear doesn’t seem to notice. They know Sadie and I hooked up once, but as far as they know, that’s where it ended.

I never told them about her threats and pestering because I thought I had it handled. Or at least, I thought I did.

“I didn’t know what she was referring to at the time, but it makes sense now,” Bear says. “She hated me because I was withyou, Levi.” I wish I could wipe the pain from her voice, but what we’re doing now is a step in the right direction.

“How did she know what you planned to wear to the party?” Austin asks, leaning in closer.

“Pia and I bumped into her the day we went Halloween shopping. She saw the skirt in my basket and made a snide remark about it.” Bear rolls her eyes. “Her parting words to me were something about watching my back.”

“Fuck,” I sigh loudly, running a hand down my face. “The night at the bonfire, when I went to get the blankets, she cornered me at my car, and we got into it. I told her to leave us alone, but she took it as some sick challenge.”

I clench my jaw to contain my rage for the shit she put us through, and for what? Because she had some delusional idea that we were meant to be together? It’s sickening, and I hate her for it.

I don’t throw that word around lightly, but it’s the only way to describe my feelings toward her right now.

I don't even realize how close Bear has gotten until our thighs touch, and she grabs my hand. That tiny bit of contact is enough to ease the tension rolling through me, and my jaw relaxes.

When neither of us speaks, the boys start talking at once.

“She’s nuts, bro.”

“Bat-shit crazy.”

“The girl has issues.”

Bear squeezes my hand, and I squeeze back. Austin’s eyes drop to our intertwined fingers, his brows furrowing.

“Let’s say Sadie convinced Levi that she was you,” he says to Bear. “Her face wasn’t covered. Surely you should have known it wasn’t Bear?”

The last part is directed at me, and he looks guilty as hell for saying it. But he’s always the one to say what no one elsewants to, so it doesn’t surprise me. What does surprise me is when Bear comes to my defense.

“That’s a fair judgment,” she says firmly, but with the soft expression she gives Austin, it’s clear she’s not mad at him. “But Levi wouldn’t have been able to put up much of a fight if he wasn’t in the right frame of mind. And I think he wasn’t because someone might have—”

“Spiked my drink with something.” I finish for her.

Mack curses, and Bear jerks her head up.

She stares at me, those aquamarine eyes swimming with confusion.

“You knew?” she breathes.

“No,” I shake my head. “But I suspected it.” I let out a deep sigh, rolling out the kinks in my neck. “I guess it’s time I tell my part. My memory is hazy, but I know I wasn’t feeling like myself.”

Bear stiffens beside me, and I give her a reassuring smile. “I kept trying to pinpoint the exact moment I started feeling off. It happened just before the drinking game. Which means it must have been after I took a pull from the beer bottle I hid behind the pot plant.” It was a stupid mistake on my part. I thought I hid it well enough, but if someone were purposely looking for it, they’d find it. “It tasted weird, almost like it had gone flat, so I barely touched it again for the rest of the night. But I guess the one swig was enough to have an effect.”

“What the hell were you thinking, hiding your drink behind a pot plant?” Austin asks.

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