Page 90 of Puck with Karma
We hang up, and I follow the line of guys to the large bus that’s waiting to take us to the hotel. Since it’s late, we are going to spend the night at a hotel here in the city, then fly back home tomorrow.
I find two empty seats and take the one by the window, putting out enough weird vibes where I hope no one will want to come and sit by me.
“Fancy meeting you here.”
I look up just in time to see Noah dropping in the seat next to me.
“Thanks for saving me a spot,” he jokes.
I don’t want to give him any attention, but he really is like a little puppy, so eager to please and make me laugh. Considering I don’t have any close friends on the team, or in general, he is as close to a best friend as I’ll ever have.
That’s sad and pathetic, I realize with a start, but decide to ignore him, nonetheless. I pull my phone out to see if I have any new messages from my mom about Mallory. I’m not even sure how I can help her. That’s what I get for trying to do something nice.
Me: did you hear anything?
Mom: she made it to the game
I let out a sigh of relief when a second text comes through, this time with a picture of Mallory. I frown at the screen and zoom in.
Me: so she got the ticket you sent her?
Mom: I didn’t think she did, we were having technical difficulties. But I guess she did after all. I’m so relieved.
I go back to the picture she texted me. Mallory attended the game alright, but she is in the Sliders’ VIP section.
“What the fuck,” I mutter to myself, trying to figure shit out.
“Whoa, who’s this chick now?” Noah has his whole head over my shoulder as he stares at my phone. “Where do you find these girls, dude? I want one just like that.”
I roll my eyes. “She’s my sister’s best friend. I’m not sure how she ended up in the VIP section for the Sliders.”
Noah squints at the picture.
“Oh yeah, look at that,” he points at it. “She’s smiling at your buddy, Karlsberg.”
I swear my left eye starts twitching in an instant, and not because I’m jealous. I could care less what Mallory does or who she does. But it’s the fact that I paid for her plane ticket to New York, and that fucker is the only person she could find to flirt with in a city of millions.
I look through the texts from my mom and find Mallory’s number. On a whim, I decide to call her.
Noah becomes distracted with his own phone now that I’m not talking anymore. He whistles softly to himself as he scrolls through messages.
“Hey,” she answers after the second ring. It sounds like a lot of background noise wherever she is.
“Mallory, are you okay?” My voice comes out a lot gruffier than planned. “I can come get you,” I lie, hoping she’d say no.
“Xander, no way,” she laughs awkwardly. “I met some people. It’s all good.”
I grunt. After seeing those pictures, I know exactly who she’s hanging out with. I have more to say to her, but I pause and try to gather my thoughts.
I’m not sure how much time passes when I feel Noah’s body tensing next to me.
“Dude.” He elbows me hard enough where I almost drop my phone. “What’s the hot intern’s name?”
I eye him suspiciously, and rush to get Mallory off the phone. I have more important things to worry about now.
“Why do you need to know?”
He turns his phone to show me. What I see makes me sick to my stomach in an instant. There’s not much there, just a picture of Abby. She smiles and looks happy. But the headline accompanying it is not something I wanted to see.
