Tethered Hearts | ✓ | Books 1 & 2

Episode 26| On the Hunt

Sophia's P.O.V

"You okay, Sophia? I've never seen you so pale." Bryce brushed the back of his hand to my cheek. "Do want me to get you some water?"

"No," I whispered, catching my breath. "I'm fine."

I was not fine. I was nowhere near fine. For Bryce's sake, I had to put up a front by giving him a fake smile. The puzzle pieces in my head weren't matching up with the new information I had just received.

Conner wasn't gay...was he?

Saying I was confused barely scratched the surface. I had driven past confused and was diving –nose first—into delusion to think Conner was the person we were looking for. I mean, what other reasoning did I have to believe Conner was the mystery man Nicolas was talking to online?

Other than the fact that Nicolas and Conner were both "looking" for someone at the party, my reasoning was weak and baseless to think Conner and Hank were the same person.

Why Conner of all people? Against the original outcome I had for the night, I was praying that it was Kennedy now. Kennedy would be a far better pick than Conner. Only because Kennedy wasn't dating someone as scary as Kelsey. She'd hang us by our nostrils if she knew.

As the gruesome thought of Kelsey massacring us faded away, I reevaluating the possibility that Conner was our guy. Was Conner a part of Kappa Kappa Sigma? I had to ask Bryce to clarify what was going on.

"Bryce." I said as my brain tried to find a way to tread lightly and not scare him with my dire question. "I want to ask you a couple of questions."

Bryce curled his lips into a subtle smile and twirled his index finger in my hair, unwinding it until his hand fell to my waist. "You want to interrogate me?"

Rolling my eyes, I poked his shoulder, but his grin only widened. He wasn't taking this seriously. "Don't flatter yourself. They aren't questions about you. It's about Conner."

His thick brows knitted together, muddled at what I meant. "Um, okay then. Ask then."

"You said you came here with Conner. Where is he right now?"

"I left him in the driveway. He's waiting for Kelsey to come. She called a little less than half an hour ago, saying she wanted to come to the party, too. Conner invited her with him. But since she takes forever to get ready, we went ahead and left before her."

Alright. That didn't make sense to me. If Conner was the guy we were searching for, then why would he bring his girlfriend? He couldn't be Hank. Just to be safe, I asked a second question. "Is Conner a part of this fraternity?"

"God no," Bryce scoffed. "I'd make fun of him every single day until he died if he ever joined a fucking fraternity. It would be a bit hypocritical of him to be in one, considering he thinks they're all arrogant, materialistic dipshits."

I rejoiced, internally doing backflips when he said that. Conner wasn't a part of the fraternity. He was probably meeting up with someone else. Conner certainly wasn't Hank.

Stop jumping to conclusions, I thought.

"That doesn't add up. Isn't Kelsey related to Richard Jacobson Jr.?" Richard Jacobson Jr. was a movie director. His heyday was back in the seventies, making Science Fiction and Western Films. Back when I dated Remy, I had gained knowledge that she was family friends with the Annenberg family and that her dad was a loaded. Every winter break, the two families went to Aspen together and shared this massive lodge owned by the Jacobson's.