Page 170 of The Broken Note

I shoot up from the piano.

My heart is squeezing so intently that it hurts.

Tears sting my eyes and then I’m moving.

The leader of the band glares at me.

The drummer mouths, “Where are you going? We have another song!”

I stomp off the stage.

Hunter is right there. He throws a coat over me. He slings a hand over my arm. If he sees the tears running down my face, he doesn’t mention it.

I’m swept away to my dressing room where I change into a regular T-shirt and jeans. Hunter leads me out of the private show and into a black car.

The Christmas-decorated buildings become a blur of lights, fog and concrete outside my window. Finally relaxing a bit, I take out my phone and thumb through my messages.

Vi: I went by our apartment today. There’s still no sign of mom. Should we call the police?

I almost snort. Call the police and tell them what? That our mom who died came back to life and is missing?

I send Vi a reply.

Don’t worry. She’s probably fine.

The other message is from Breeze.

Breeze: Sending this early since you’re five hours ahead of us. Happy birthday to the best bestie in the world.

The message has a kissy face emoji and a video collage of me and Breeze together.

I smile for the first time since I stormed into Jarod Cross’s office and heard his proposal to go on tour.

The last message is from Serena.

I sit up straight when I see it.

She constantly asks me why I’m taking a break from Redwood, and I’m not sure what to tell her.

Serena: Redwood Prep is not the same without you, Cadence. Ps. Check out Jinx’s latest post. Do you know anything about this?

I scroll through the post and my stomach clenches in anger.

The car stops in front of the hotel.

Hunter hustles to get my door and open it for me. His eyes scan my face. “I’ll order something for you to eat. Go to bed early.”

“No.” I grip the phone tighter, Jinx’s words tattooed behind my eyelids. “I want to do what you suggested.”

“What?”

“I want to celebrate my birthday the right way.”

* * *

Jinx: Prince Charming Moving On?

Cinderella has been missing from Redwood Prep for three days now and sources say she might never come back. Prince Charming has been MIA lately too. But what first appeared to be a joint romantic getaway is now a royal scandal.

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