I glanced at the clock. It was two in the morning. I quietly got up and went into the kitchen where my prescription was and got a glass of water.
I read the front of the bottle when Cal’s phone caught my eye. It was blinking.
When I went to tap a button to make it stop, a texted popped up. My heart stopped. It was from Jack.
Jack: How is she?
I gasped. Cal had told him what happened? I should put the phone down now. Bea told me that Jack’s distance wouldn’t have stopped them from being brothers. Sure, they must communicate now and again. As well they should. But about me?
Put. The. Phone. Down.
I bit my lip. Jack asked how I was…
I clicked the text and the conversation thread got brought up.
Nothing prepared me for what I started reading. My eyes went wide as I scrolled through their texts back and forth. Certain phrases sticking out to me like:
Jack: I thought you had this handled.
Cal: I do. She’s stronger than you give her credit for.
Jack: I give her plenty of credit. Which is why I can’t fucking stand this.
Cal: We agreed…
Jack: I know.
That was when Cal and I first started dating. After my run-in with Brock at my car at school several weeks ago.
We agreed?
What did that mean? I looked at the call log, and what I found was shocking. They spoke sporadically after Jack first left. But more recently, the back and forth was regular. More calls and texts had been exchanged in the last two weeks. It was Jack that Cal had been on the phone with at the hospital. He’d kept him up to date on me? On us?
“What the hell?” I whispered. When another text came through.
Jack: We need to talk. Now.
My thumb hovered over the keys. Pain and sickness were lining my stomach. I didn’t know the extent of what was going on, but Cal and Jack had some sort of agreement.
I typed back: What is it?
I waited a heartbeat, and Jack came back.
Jack: What is it? Lana got fucking hurt tonight. This changes everything. And this goes deeper than we thought. Something bad has happened. I’m calling this off early. You’ve had your time.
I frowned. What goes deeper? Brock’s hatred for me? This code they’re speaking in?
You’ve had your time…
My heart beat faster as I scrolled through the texts, going as fast as I could back to when Jack left. Finally, I found the date.
Jack: It’s done. She’s yours.
My vision wavered, and I realized it wasn’t because I’d been hit, it was because tears were lining my eyes.
“Lana?” Cal asked, standing in the entrance of the living room and looking at me. I held his phone and turned to face him. He looked at it, then at me.
“Jack is tryi