Split(98)

After contemplating the situation, rolling it around in my head and obsessing at all angles until the sun drops behind the mountains, I give up. Chilled and more confused than I was when I got here, I climb back into my truck for the trip home. My phone flashes with multiple notifications; missed calls, messages, and texts.

I swipe at my screen and see two missed calls from my dad, another one from my brother, and then another couple from Trevor. Perfect, now I can call him back and beg for his help. Yay.

I’m sure my dad and brother were checking on me. The text I sent saying “I’m headed to Strawberry for a bit” was probably more worrisome than me not texting at all. After all, no one just goes to Strawberry. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re organizing search-and-rescue this very minute.

I groan and dial my dad’s home phone, wishing his damn cell would get reception at his house so I can just fire off a text and avoid the awkward conversation.

“Nash here.”

I clear my throat, hoping it doesn’t sound like I’ve been crying. “Hey, Dad. Just letting you know I’m on my way—”

“Shy, where are you?”

“I’m just leaving Strawberry.” I turn the key in the ignition to punctuate my words.

“What the hell are you doing in Strawberry?”

I chew my lip for a couple seconds, fighting the urge to break down and confess my shittiest of shitty circumstances with Lucas. “I was at the hospital most of the day, saw Sam . . .” My words trail off as if that alone is all the explanation he should need.

“Well . . . you need to come straight home.”

I blink and my foot lays a little heavier on the gas at the seriousness in his voice. “Okay, what’s going on?”

“You got a visitor,” he mumbles under his breath.

“A visitor at your house?”

“Yeah, Shy, where do you think?”

In my head I rattle off the very short list of people who would care to even visit me at my dad’s. But I come up with only one name.

It has to be Lucas.

My stomach churns, knowing full well what he’ll be asking.

He wants to know what happened when he blacked out. He’ll be begging for me to fill in the blanks. And I’m going to have to break him with the truth.

Gage had to know this was going to happen—matter of fact, this was probably all part of the torture. Having to relive what I saw in vivid detail and watch Lucas crumble under the guilt. Chances are Lucas woke up to a similar scene to what I saw and was confused. Surely he’d know he’d been used, and knowing Lucas he’d want to confess and beg for forgiveness.

God, this is all so f*cked up.

If I were stronger, I’d keep what I saw to myself, pretend like none of this happened and smother Lucas with all the love I have just to piss Gage off and prove he can’t break me.

A slow grin curls my lips and the sting of Gage’s unfaithfulness dulls.

My heart throbs with excitement and a flicker of evil satisfaction melts the icy freeze of betrayal. Just because Gage is meaner doesn’t mean he’s better.

He thinks he can humiliate me, turn me away by using the man I love as a tool in his sick game.

Funny, I thought Gage knew me better by now.

“Shy, did you hear me?”

I snap out of my thoughts with the sound of my dad’s growled question.

“Yeah, Dad. I’m on my way.”

Twenty-three minutes later, I pull up to my dad’s house. It’s the second time today I’ve had a fire to race out of my truck and into Lucas’s arms, and the second time today shock has me rooted in place.

“What the f*ck . . .?” I sink into my seat as confusion and the weight of disappointment makes it impossible to move. “What the hell is he doing here?”

The kitchen window fills with the silhouette of my dad, and I wish the earth would open up and swallow me so I wouldn’t have to face what’s going on inside. But it doesn’t.

I drop like dead weight from my truck, dragging my feet to the door. With a fortifying breath, I walk in to see two men. One big and looking way past the point of his tolerance. The other scrawny in comparison with an eager expression I haven’t seen on the man’s face since college.

“Trevor? What’re you doing here?”

He sets down what looks likes a warm and barely touched beer—typical since the snob only drinks IPAs, not the good-ole-boy American labels my dad prefers—and hops off the couch. “Hey, honey.”

I catch the look of disgust on my dad’s face as it mirrors my feelings exactly.

He wraps his arms around me and kisses the side of my head. “Missed you.”

I give him a weak smile but step out of his embrace, feeling somehow like I’m cheating on Lucas—even though Gage was f*cking another woman just hours ago. I shake that off and look between the two men.

“What’s going on here?”

Trevor shrugs. “Simple. You’ve got some psycho on the loose, and I need a story to blow LA away. I’m here to cover it.” He puts his hands on my shoulders. “The Shadow story got you fired; together we can use him to bring you back.”

“You want me to cover the story?”

His eyes light with excitement. “It’s the break you’ve been waiting for. If we nail this story, it’s your ticket to Los Angeles.”