Page 11 of Joyride
“I reached out to my best friend.” I break the silence.
“She’s the one dating your brother, right?”
I nod. “Yeah, Sienna.”
“What did she say?”
“I’m not sure. I turned my phone off after I sent it. I don’t want Shade blowing my phone up or trying to track where I am,” I admit. If I was talking to Aria about this, she would give me so much shit for doing that. Elena somehow puts herself into other people’s shoes and can see both sides of the situation, making her a great person to confide in.
“In my opinion, you should talk to Sketch,” Elena says. “Tell him you’ll talk to him, but he has to promise he won’t do anything reckless.”
“I should. It’s eating me up not talking to him or Sienna. I’m so used to telling them everything.” I sigh.
“Think about it. Maybe even sleep on it,” she tells me. “I’ll be there with you when you talk to him if you want.”
“Thanks, E. I appreciate that,” I reply. I mull over everything Elena said, contemplating having her with me if and when I decide to tell Sketch. It would, without a doubt, make it a little easier having her with me.
We sit outside for an hour before Harper comes out, suggesting the four of us go get brunch. Between the four of us, it takes an hour for us to get ready before we head to The Breakfast Club. It’s a little hole in the wall that’s only open from nine to two. They have the best brunch around.
8
Sketch
After breakfast,we went back to the hotel to chill. I fell asleep for a couple of hours only to be woken up to the incessant vibrating of my phone. Glancing at the screen, it’s a number I don’t have saved.
“Hello?” I growl out.
“Sketch? It’s Sienna.” Her voice is soft and laced with concern.
“What’s up? Is everything alright?” None of the Ol’ Ladies ever text or call me unless it’s an emergency. Maybe Cali went into labor early.
“I got a text from Wren,” she tells me. My heart skips a beat. “But when I tried to call her, it went straight to voicemail.”
“What did her text say,” I ask her. A feeling washes over me that I can’t quite place. Wren took my advice and reached out to Sienna.
“She said she was safe and apologized for leaving like she did,” Sienna explains.
“Have you told Shade?”
“Not yet. He’ll want to trace the number and drag her home.” She’s not wrong.
“You don’t want him to do that,” I question.
“I love him, but no. She left for a reason. When she’s ready to talk to us, she will. I know she’s safe and that’s all I needed,” she tells me.
“So why did you call me?”
“I know you two are close. I was hoping you could reach out to her and let her know I didn’t tell Shade. That I won’t unless she wants me to.” She pauses. “I have this feeling she’s in New Orleans.”
“Why do you think that?” For a second, I wonder if she knows I saw her. There’s no way she could.
“Because of something she said to me once.” She doesn’t explain any further, and I don’t press.
“Text me the number she texted you from. I’ll see what I can do,” I tell her.
She lets out a heavy breath. “Thank you, Sketch.”
“No problem.”
