I sigh and disappear into my bedroom. This is going to be one heck of a long night. I need some time to myself before I have to fake smiles and lie to the woman I consider my second mother. I don’t know how Kendrick isn’t drowning in guilt. He’s been lying like that for years.
My phone chimes. I have a new message from an unknown number.
Unknown: It’s been a while, Kingston.
My heart skips a beat. I glance at the screen in silence for a couple of minutes. Only one person calls me Kingston.
The message is from Haze. No doubt. But what scares me the most is… that the other messages aren’t.
T W E L V E
Maybe I Missed You
I prowl around my bedroom, trying to remember every single detail I possibly can about the abandoned hotel. Who could be texting me? How did that person get my number? Tanner is my guess. But then there’s also Ian and the North Side.
Why would Tanner be trying to scare me? His brother doesn’t care about me. He made it clear by disappearing on me twice. Tanner got what he wanted—to weaken the East Side and get me away from Haze.
Winter: Who is this?
Unknown: You deleted my number. Harsh.
Winter: I repeat, who is this?
Unknown: I’m the guy you seriously shouldn’t be dreaming so much about ;)
Winter: Omg. Channing Tatum?
Unknown: Hilarious
Winter: I know. Seriously, who is this?
Unknown: I’m the guy standing outside your window.
Winter: Yeah, right.
Unknown: You really shouldn’t keep your curtains open. What if some creep is stalking you
There’s one thing you do not want to see after reading a message like this and that is your curtains wide open. I gasp at the completely uncovered window. He’s right. Either Haze is really standing outside my house, or he just took a really, really lucky guess.
I draw a breath, my mind racing, and look out the window. The streets are calm and certainly don’t contain any trace of him. The idiot is messing with me. I register his number in my contacts so I can differentiate his number from the other one.
Winter: You almost got me. Almost.
Haze: Careful. Just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not there.
Winter: You are so creepy, Adams, you know that?
Haze: Damn it, how’d you know it was me
Winter: Only you call me Kingston, dumbass. Plus, I think I know your bad jokes by now. Why’d you decide to come back to life?
Haze: Aw, did someone miss me? You’re the one who told me to stop texting for a week if I recall.
Winter: Since when do you listen to me?
Haze: Come on, fill me in. What have I missed
Winter: Nothing much except for my new reputation. Thanks to your crazy friend with benefits. I’m a hoe now. Haven’t you heard?