Page 121 of Did They Break You

My fingers close around Cortland’s vibrating phone, and I pull it toward me to flip the sound off.

But Maya’s name flashes across the screen.

It’s eight in the morning, and she’s calling him.

My stomach drops.

The call ends, showing it’s the third time she’s called.

But the screen, with the background of fall mountains at sunrise, shows something else too.

Text message previews.

And there are several from Maya.

I feel sick, and I close my eyes a second, not wanting to know. Not wanting to look. It’s not my business. We aren’t together.

But what I said last night is true, and I know it now.

I’m not stupid.

My eyes fly open, and I swallow, my mouth dry as I prop up the screen, take in the message previews.

A lot of all caps.

A group message from Chase and Brinklin that I don’t read, because my eyes focus in on one from Maya. The most recent one.

Maya

Let me make you feel good again.

Below that…

Maya

It was hot when Storm walked in. I’d let him watch me give you head all the time.

I feel sick, my stomach convulsing.

And one more.

Maya

Love you, Cort.

With a dozen heart emojis.

I just keep staring at the screen until it goes dim.

Then I clench my fingers around it so hard, it hurts. I sit up, shrugging out of Cortland’s grip, my pulse too fast in my chest. My head. My throat.

The phone lights up again, and I see Maya’s name one more time.

I take a breath, then hurl his phone across the room.

It hits the wall with a clatter, and I feel the bed shift as Cortland bolts upright, my name the first word out of his mouth.

I don’t look at him.

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