I had been sound asleep for about three hours —far less than I'd imagined I would get. For sure. My phone rang, piercing the quiet. I ignored it the first time, but whoever was calling was relentless, ringing again almost immediately. It had to be important.
"Ugh," Jude groaned beside me, clearly as exhausted as I was.
I blinked my eyes open, squinting as the soft glow of my phone screen blurred into focus. The night had been a whirlwind—so wild that I'd lost track of how many rounds we'd gone. My entire body ached with exhaustion, but it had been one of the best nights of my life. Every memory from it felt like a dream, almost too good to be real. But now, Gabi's name flashing across the display sent a jolt of anxiety through me, twisting into a knot in my stomach. Without hesitation, I answered the call, bracing myself for whatever news she was about to drop.
"Claudia, you need to get to Jude's house ASAP," Gabi said, her voice edged with frustration.
"What? What's going on?" I asked, immediately more alert. There was a faint tremor in her tone, and it woke me up faster than any alarm could.
"Jobe got completely trashed. Like, beyond what you can imagine. You need to see it to believe it," she replied, and in the background, I could hear what sounded disturbingly like retching.
