Ruthless (Enemies to Lovers 4)

&nbs

p; 888

WILLOW

When I walk into the apartment, only Evie is home.

“Where’s Leigh?”

She shrugs. “She didn’t say she was going out. I told her you were going out with Marcus, and she said she was just going to hang here. When I got home the place was empty.”

“Shit, that reminds me. I need to charge my phone.” I plug it in and make some coffee while it charges.

The second I switch on my phone, it starts to beep like crazy. When I see all the missed calls from Leigh, worry begins to tighten my stomach.

I call her, but when I reach her answering machine, the worry quickly turns to fear. What if something happened to her?

“What’s wrong?” Evie asks as she gets up from the couch.

“Leigh tried to phone me. She didn’t leave any messages. There are eight missed calls from her. What if she’s in trouble? I tried to phone her now, but I got her voicemail.”

“I’m sure she’s okay. Maybe she wanted to come out with us after all, and she was trying to find out where we were.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

When the front door opens, I swing around. For a second relief floods me, but then I see the state Leigh is in. She’s as white as a ghost.

“Leigh?”

“I have to pack. My dad’s coming tomorrow.” She looks dazed, which only makes me worry even more. “Dad’s coming tomorrow,” she repeats herself.

I’ve never seen her like this. She looks totally out of it. I put my arm around her shoulders and guide her over to the couch. Evie hands me a bottle of water which I press to Leigh’s lips. Thankfully, she takes a few sips.

“I’m going home,” she whispers, and she sounds so lost, it’s tearing at my heart.

“Why are you going home, Leigh? Did something happen today?”

“My mom had an accident. She died.” There’s no emotion in her voice, which makes my heart hurt. She must’ve just found out.

I pull her into my arms and hold her as I start to cry. My heart is breaking for my friend. She was close to her mother.

As I pull back, Evie leans in to hug Leigh.

“I’m sorry, Leigh. I didn’t know your mom, but I’m sure she was amazing. You’re living proof of it.”

There’s nothing we can do to make this easier for Leigh, so we let her sit on the couch while we pack her things.

888

I sit next to Leigh while we watch people move around the room. It’s a blur of black. Damn, this is depressing.

I get up and hold my hand out to Leigh. “Let’s go watch Greys Anatomy. I’ll even let you point out everything they’re doing wrong.”

She tries to smile, but it looks painful. She takes hold of my hand, and I pull her up. We sneak out of the room full of mourners.

When we’re both lying on her bed, I start the next season of Greys Anatomy. Leigh stares blankly at the screen until her eyes drift close as she falls asleep.

Not wanting to leave her alone, I decide to check if I have any messages. There’s only one from Marcus.