Page 104 of The Tomorrows After You
My heart deflated. “It goes right to voicemail,” I whined.
Evan closed one eye, thinking. “Yeah, that means her phone is off.”
“You’re sure?”
He hesitated. “Pretty sure.”
Frustrated, Iwentaround the service area to the front desk where Ipickedup the regular goddamn telephone.
“Don’t do it, man. Two calls from two numbers borders on stalker status!”
That didn’t sound right. One of the guys in my cell blockhadbeenthere forstalkingand this didn’t feel anything like the storieshetold.
I carefully punched in her number, copying it from my phone.
“Hello, this is Nicolette Parker, I’m sorry I missed you…”
I hung up. “Right to voicemail,” I shouted over to him.
“Phoneisdefinitely off.That’sgood. If you didn’t leave a voicemail, she won’t know youcalledwhen she turns it back on. You won’t look desperate.”
“Evan!” Rodger called, throwing a set of keys to him. “PD got a report of an abandoned vehicle in the Valley. Need it towed to the impound out back.”
“Righty-O, boss!” Evan jogged away, and I was left with the aching, unsettled feeling of unease. Did Iwanther to know I called? Why was her phone off? It was almost one o’clock in the afternoon.
The men’s room stunk, but I needed to get a hold myself. I threw water on my face and hunched over the sink. I really did look like shit. The scar on my chin stared me in the face. It had made Nicolette smile. It had made Katie cringe.
Katie. I hadn’t thought about her in weeks.
As if my mind conjured her, the front door chimed and her singsong voice trilled through the shop. I cursed under my breath, walking back out.
Sheregardedme with a smug, disapproving grin. After a moment, the pretenseappearedto fall from her face and shelookedgenuinely sad.
“I’m sorry, Riot. But it’s for the best. Nicolette was never going to stay here.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“Well, she left town, right? I mean that’s the only reason she could have missed the Field Days recap meeting, right?”
“Sure… It couldn’t have possibly been that you publicly humiliated her on stage.”
I rolled my eyes at Katie’s shock.
“I don’t know how that clipgotin there. Maybe when weassembleditwasjust part of the download, I don’t know. But it doesn’t matter.She’sgoneand we can get back to life as usual.”But her voicewastoo high.
She sat down on the edge of my desk and smiled warmly at me. I blinked and averted my gaze.
“I forgive you, you know.”Her wordswerepatronizing and the urge to flip the deskwasoverwhelming. Sheputa hand on my cheek to make me look at her.“Everythingisgoingtobe okay, Riot.”Her words and touchwereso tender they almostmademe soften.“I feel like Ihaven’tseenyou in weeks! The Fourth of July Celebrationisgoingtobe incredible this year! Oh my gosh, and did you see that the elevator to the old minescollapsedthis weekend? And did you hearwe’refinalists for the tourism grant? I think we can win it…”
But Itunedher out, her handremindingme of the way Nicoletteusedto run a fingernail over the scar on my chin and then through my hair, down my back when Ihoveredabove her.
Fuck.
Maybe Katie was right. Maybe getting back to normal, at least the normal beforeherwould help me come to terms with the normalafterher.
“Hey! How about I bring dinner over for you and Brennan tonight?”
Iheldher gaze for abeattoo long,consideringwhat it would be like to try and go back to that. No, the idea oftryingto pretend like I could go back to beforewasridiculous.
