Page 65 of A Real Good Lie

“Sebastian went to go look for her,” Callahan answered.

“Looks like my brother was unsuccessful in his quest,” Rhys muttered, and Callahan looked back to the quad, expecting to see Sebastian and Jace returning, but finding only Sebastian.

“Where is Jace?” he asked.

“You can find him after the event,” Rhys said, glancing at his watch. “It’s nearly time to get started.”

Callahan fished his phone out of his pocket to check the time. Rhys was right, barely five minutes until the event was meant to begin, but…Sebastian was alone and Jace was missing. He put his phone back into his pocket and took a step away.

“I’ll be back in time,” he said.

“No, you won’t,” Rhys countered, sliding his arm around Ashley’s shoulder. She sighed and nestled into him.

Callahan jogged across the quad, meeting Sebastian halfway.

“I don’t want to hear it.” Sebastian stopped when they met and reached up with shaking hands to try and redo the tie he’d undone earlier.

“I was just going to ask you where Jace was,” Callahan said. He swatted Sebastian’s fingers away from the silk around his neck and set to work on tying another bow.

“He’s leaving.”

“What?” The bow unraveled in his hands, and he tried a second time.

“He walked with me to the edge of campus, then he hailed a cab.”

“And you let him?” Callahan nearly cried, unable to knot Sebastian’s tie. His hands shook worse than Sebastian’s had, utterly useless for the work required.

“How was I to stop him, Callahan? He’s an adult, and he’s not my responsibility.”

Callahan took his phone out of his pocket, but again found the notifications blank. He typed out a quick text to Jace asking where he’d gone, then made a tight fist around the device so he wouldn’t miss the vibration when Jace answered.

“Did he say anything?”

“Fuck, Callahan, come on.” Sebastian chewed on the inside of his cheeks and looked to the side. It was then Callahan realized Sebastian’s eyes were still glassy, walls of unshed tears covering his irises. He blinked and one escaped. Sebastian wiped at it quickly, but made no other reference to it.

“Where is Daniella?” he asked instead, waiting for his phone to buzz.

“Probably wherever Jace is,” Sebastian answered. “Far away from this place.”

“Did you two fight?”

“We always fight.”

“What about, this time?” Callahan looked at the screen of his phone to make sure he hadn’t missed an alert, but the screen remained otherwise empty.

Sebastian snorted, a derisive noise in the back of his throat. “What don’t we fight about.”

“Are you okay?”

“I want a divorce,” he muttered.

“What?” Callahan nearly dropped his phone.

“That’s what we were fighting about.” Sebastian looked back at him, expression resigned. “I told her I wanted a divorce.”

Callahan would never be the kind of person to tell anyone, least of all his best friend, I told you so, but he would be a liar if he didn’t at least admit to himself that he’d had this worry since Sebastian had embarked on his whirlwind romance with his wife.

“And she doesn’t?”