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My parents exchange a glance, and instantly, my stomach drops.

“Logan,” Mom starts cautiously, her voice tight with something she’s not saying.

I push myself up on my elbows, pain tearing through my side, but I don’t care. I need answers, and I need them now.

“Where is he?” My voice is laced with panic.

She hesitates again, and my dad clears his throat before stepping in.

“We don’t know. We’ve been trying to reach him, but he hasn’t been answering his phone.”

“Something’s wrong,” I blurt the words out before I’ve even had time to think. “Ryder’s in trouble.”

It’s a gut feeling. Ryder wouldn’t ignore my parents, especially not after I didn’t come home or call like I promised. He’d be here. I’m so sure of it, I’d bet my life on it. He would have been the first one through that door, gripping my hand, climbing into this small, uncomfortable hospital bed with me, muttering about how I scared the shit out of him and how I’m not allowed to die before he does because he can’t handle that kind of grief.

He never would have left my side, which makes panic rise because…because the only reason he wouldn’t be here is if hecouldn’tbe…because of Kyle.

My chest tightens, and this sick, heavy feeling forms in my gut. I don’t want it to be true, but something in me already knows it is. He has to be in danger because there’s no way Kyle would try to kill me and not go after him.

Kyle thinks Ryder belongs to him, because to him, love isn’t something you give, it’s something you take. Something you own and feel entitled to. And I was the obstacle standing in the way of the fantasy Kyle had built up in his head. He probably hopes I bled out in that parking lot, and I can’t wait until he sees my face again when I find Ryder.

Because I know Ryder’s out there and I won’t stop until I find him.

God, I knew this was coming. Something felt wrong, and I did nothing to stop it.

The thought makes something tear open inside me as panic claws its way up my throat like I’m choking on it.

I’m so fucking sorry, Ryder.

I can picture it so vividly—every horrible scenario flashing through my mind like a horror movie I can’t shut off.

“Honey, we don’t know that he’s in trouble. Maybe he’s sick or something,” Mom says gently, and I want to scream. It’s not her fault; we never told her about the stalking. I didn’t want to worry her, but now she doesn’t understand the severity of this situation.

“How long?” I croak. “How long have I been out?”

She hesitates. “About a day.”

A day.

A fucking day?

“You don’t understand,” I say, frantic now. “If he’s not answering and it’s been a whole twenty-four hours, something’s wrong.” My body screams at me to move, to get up, to do something, anything. I try to swing my legs over the sideof the bed, but my body betrays me with a fresh wave of pain that nearly knocks me out again. Fuck! I’m stuck here wasting time while Kyle does fuck-knows-what to Ryder.MyRyder.

“Logan—”

“No,” I snap, gasping through the pain. “We need to go to my apartment. Now.”

“Sweetheart, you’re?—”

“Mom, no, you don’t understand!” I cut her off and she looks shocked, I’ve never raised my voice and spoken to her like this before, but I’m struggling to control my emotions after knowing I’ve been out for a whole fucking day. “I’m sorry, Mom, but this is an emergency. It’s life or death for Ryder. Dad, please, where are my keys? We need to go.”

They need to understand how serious this is, but instead of rushing through the room like I want them to, Dad’s mouth flattens into a thin line, lips pursed likely at the way I’m speaking to Mom, but then finally, he nods. He knows I wouldn’t be like this unless something is very wrong, and it is.

“Honey, you didn’t show up here with any keys. They said you only had your phone on you,” Mom soothes gently, like that’ll calm me down.

What?

God damn it, I forgot Kyle took my fucking keys. After he ripped the fucking knife out of me he took the keys.