Page 3 of Catch Me

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Idon’t leave Lex’s side. His strong arms never let me go as he wades us through police questioning. I’m relieved when her guy leaves, if only because I don’t have to look at his face anymore. Not only did he hurt Reid, but he put his slimy hands on me.

A half an hour later, after her parents show up, Sasha’s led to a police car and is put in the back. Without handcuffs, unfortunately. If the looks from her parents could kill, though. Damn. Instead of looking at Lex and I that way, they should be turning around and piercing their daughter with that same hate-filled glare. Maybe it would teach her a few things.

Relief floods me when the police leave, leaving Lex and I alone in the hotel room. I blink after the retreating red and blue lights, disbelieving. I thought for sure they were going to ask me about running away, or what we were all doing there, but the whole thing was about Sasha and the picture she had of me on her phone.

As soon as we’re by ourselves, Lex turns my way. “Are you okay? What were they doing?” His hands move up to cup my face. “God, I’ve been crawling out of my skin, Briar.”

The intensity in his brown eyes doesn’t throw me. He’s looked at me like that for a while now. I grab his hands and curl my fingers around them, holding him in place. “R-reid?”

He closes his eyes and breathes out. “He’s okay. Severe concussion. Lucky Number Seven didn’t even break a bone.”

“But I heard a crack.”

“We all did. That was his helmet.”

“He’s…he’s okay?” My mouth wobbles.

Lex swears and pulls me to him. He wraps me in one of his big hugs and holds me there. “He’s okay. He’s fine. He’s pissed off he can’t be here right now, but his mom’s watching him like a hawk.” He kisses the top of my head. “I should probably call him.”

I push away from him. “No. No, you can’t do that.”

Questions burn through his eyes. My throat constricts. What I’ve done hurls into me with a force of a wrecking ball. I left Reid when he needed me. I abandoned him. He’s not going to want to hear from me.

“He wants to know how you are. He’s been worried sick. We all have.”

The room spins. I think about the conversation I had with Jules. It seems like it happened a hell of a lot longer than a week ago. Did I really ask her if it was better to have not loved Brady? I look up at Lex with spiked lashes. “There’s something wrong with me.”

“There’s nothing wrong with you, Briar. Jules said you were in shock. We didn’t know if you had a panic attack. We didn’t know where you went or what happened to you.”

“I ran away.”

“I know, baby. I know.”

He clasps my face again and pulls me to his chest. His even breaths help soothe me, but a hatred so deep sinks inside myself. I’m not any better than Sasha. I abandoned my friends. I abandoned the guy I love because what? Because I was too chicken to face what was going to happen next? That’s low. That’s despicable.

We stay standing, hugging one another, while a spiral of self-loathing churns inside me. Lex does his best to comfort me. Eventually, he moves me to the bed and holds me, his arms like tight bands. He kisses my temple. “I need you to tell me what Sasha and Richards were doing here?”

“Richards?”

A growl starts in Lex’s chest, rumbling my face. “The fucker who hit Reid.”

I close my eyes. I knew I was right. I knew that’s who he was.

“How did you find me?”

Lex’s muscles lock. I’m testing his patience. If he were Reid, he’d never let me get away with asking questions without answering his first, but Lex takes a deep breath and says, “It turns out Cade’s fuck buddy is good for something. She checked Sasha’s phone during practice and saw the messages between you and Ezra. We didn’t know if Sasha actually knew anything except for the fact that she’s been acting cagey and was the only other person who seemed to know you were missing. We told everyone you went to visit your grandparents for a little while.” He squeezes me tighter. “I got here as soon as I could after calling the cops. The Hayley girl overheard Sasha saying she was going to meet someone at a hotel, so I knew she’d be here. I had to tell them about the picture, Briar. I’m so sorry. It’s the only thing we have on Sasha right now.”

I swallow. “Sasha is Ezra.”

“I put that together.” His fingers dig into me. “I’m sorry.”

I blow out a breath. “I don’t know why I messaged him. I didn’t actually want him. I—”

“Shh,” he says, rubbing his thumb over my cheek. “It’s okay.”

I wish it were. I wish everything could just go back to before Reid got hurt and before I decided to run away again. After a few minutes of scolding myself, I ask, “Where’s Cade?”

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