Strangers To Lovers

Chapter Fifty-Six

Although I was unable to hear him, I could feel the phone vibrating in my hand, ringing. Why wasn’t Luke picking up? Each call went straight to voicemail after a few rings, and his recorded voice did nothing but fuel the anxious storm brewing in my chest. The clock ticked past ten in the morning, and the longer he remained unreachable, the more my fear grew. Mrs. Connor wasn’t going to wait, and I knew she’d already set her plans in motion. The clock was ticking against us.

I grumbled, pressing the end button yet again. Nothing. Why wasn’t anyone answering? I tried Levi, but his phone rang out too. My throat tightened, a lump forming as dread crept up my spine. I couldn’t just sit here, helpless, while everything crumbled. There was no way I was going to let Mrs. Connor win without a fight.

With a surge of determination, I stomped towards my brother Brandon's room, pounding on his door. “Brandon, get up! We need to go!” My voice echoed down the hallway. Silence. No answer.

I pushed the door open, but the room was empty. His laptop sat untouched on the bed, his pillow still indented from where he had last slept. The sheets were messily thrown to one side as if he hadn’t even slept there the previous night. Panic clenched my gut.

Had he left already?

I dashed downstairs, checking the kitchen and the living room—both empty. A feeling of helplessness clawed at me, but I wasn’t going to let it win. I hurried out the front door, calling Channing and Levi as I ran, hoping one of them would answer. When Levi didn’t respond, I ran to Channing’s apartment, the closest place where Levi could’ve been.

By the time I reached his door, my hands were shaking, and my breaths came out in ragged pants. I banged on the door, not caring how loud or frantic it sounded. “Channing! Levi! Get up!” I shouted, not even bothering to lower my voice.

A bleary-eyed Channing opened the door, rubbing his eyes and blinking at the morning light. “Ella?” His voice was groggy, as if he had just woken up, and I pushed past him.

Levi appeared behind him, still dressed in nothing but a pair of wrinkled heart-patterned boxers, scratching his head as he blinked in confusion. “What’s going on?”

I almost screamed in frustration. “Have either of you even noticed what’s happening? Luke is about to get married to Isabelle today! I’ve been calling him all morning, and no one is picking up! You two are just standing around in your boxers like this isn’t an emergency!”

Levi groaned, rubbing his temples. “Look, I let him sleep. It was a rough night.”

“Well, maybe it’s time you both wake up and do something!” I snapped, pacing back and forth in Channing’s cramped apartment. My heart was racing, my mind clouded with the fear that time was slipping through our fingers.

Channing blinked at me, seemingly struggling to process everything. “Wait, Luke is getting married today?”

“YES!” I practically shouted. “To Isabelle. Today. This morning!”

Levi’s eyes widened, and for a second, I saw the panic flash across his face. “Damn it,” he muttered under his breath, already moving to grab his pants from the chair. “Where’s Dylan? Why hasn’t he called?”

As if summoned by his name, a frantic knock came at the door. Levi dashed over to open it, revealing Dylan standing there, disheveled and out of breath.

“Finally!” I blurted, my relief quickly replaced by the dread that returned in full force. “What the hell is going on?”

Dylan barely caught his breath before he spoke. “I’ve been tracking them. We have a lead on where they’re headed.” He ran a hand through his tousled hair, his shirt half untucked, his face creased with worry.