Book IV of the UNC Series
Carter Blake has a bone-deep hatred for the world-and especially for the people in it. All he wants is to keep his head down, focus on school and basketball, and avoid the mess of human connection. After enduring years of...
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My heart pounds in my chest, palpitating, causing my chest to ache. I press a palm just above my chest, making sure my heart doesn't actually give out or burst out of my chest despite feeling like it sank to the pits of my stomach.
I inhale, my palms tingling with anticipation, before I let out a drawling exhale. This shouldn't be this hard; at least, it wouldn't be if I hadn't said and done everything I've said. This is the most brutal phone call I will ever have to make.
It's the second hardest if I consider who else I need to call.
I stare at my phone, willing myself to click on Noah's contact. After my conversation with Carter, I couldn't in my right mind not apologize and talk to Noah and Penny. I owe them both a conversation. Even if they choose never to speak to me, that should be their decision, not a result of my fear.
It's why I finally have the courage to tell Carter about Ricky. But time isn't on my side. I'm really hoping he'll be back soon. This secret is weighing heavily on me, and I want to tell him so that we can find a solution to get rid of Ricky altogether.
I wish I had Carter by my side during these phone calls. Both are going to be tough conversations, but I can't run from my issues anymore.
However, I assume it'll be easier to talk to Noah between the two and how my previous conversation with Penny went.
I stare at his contact, the one I've never dared to delete or block.
I hug my knees to my chest, the eerily creeping sensation crawling over my skin as I shiver. Goosebumps scatter across my arms and my thighs. Though Olive sleeps by the foot of my bed, drowsy from the pain medication, the apartment feels vastly empty. I'm so used to Carter's presence that it feels uncannily bare without him. I'm used to being on my own with just Olive, but this feels different because I know what it feels like to have someone with me, caring for me, protecting me.
With Carter by my side, I have the courage to step outside past sunset, but with him leaving earlier this evening, I rushed home with Olive because I didn't want to be caught out in the dark.
Even with all the lights turned on and the front door locked, my skin crawls as I shiver again. I glance across my room to the window with the curtains drawn and the panel locked shut. There's no way someone could peer inside, especially with me on the third floor. But the incident at the tattoo studio remains tinkering in my mind.
I still have no idea who it could be. While my bets are on Ricky, I can't ultimately say it's him since I've felt like someone has been watching me when he's walking away from me. Even when I confronted him, he sounded so sure and confident, but he's a known psychopath who'll lie, do and say whatever he wants to get what he wants.
He could have easily been following me and gotten his friend from that nightclub to pretend to tail me when I was with Ricky, just to throw me off his scent.
