Page 19 of All Your Lies

So I move the conversation from him and ask about the guard.

“Which one?”

“Alfonso.”

“No way.”

“Yeah, he had blood trickling from his head while he was lying on the ground. I even got to kick him in the ribs on the way out.”

A mischievous smile tugs at the corners of my mouth as I think about my best friend, who is usually so gentle, engaging in an act of violence. “You should have kicked him in the balls so he’s unable to procreate. He always gave me the creeps with his leering and weird comments about our clothes.”

“For real. Maybe next time.”

“Who are you, and what have you done with my best friend? First, running away, and then violence... Please tell me you’ve already made two horrible decisions but regret nothing.”

“I haven’t been able to do shit since Gage happened.”

“So he’s really back?” I ask with tears lining my eyes.

“Yep. Just be thankful you haven’t run into him yet.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” I say with a resigned sigh. “So where are you staying? With him?”

“No, he dropped me off at some friend’s house who is now my babysitter.”

My heart beats painfully as I think about him with someone. “A girl?”

Jenna’s eyebrow raises, and I feel like an idiot for voicing the question aloud.

“No. A dick. I swear he makes me want to poke out his eyeballs.”

Relief fills me, and I feel like a hypocrite, considering some unknown guy’s hands were all over me not even twenty-four hours ago.

“Is he cute?” I ask.

“No, he’s ugly as hell and a total asshole. I mean, I get he’s helping me out, or more like helping Gage out, but fuck, is he irritating. I don’t want to talk about me, though. Tell me about you. Are you okay?”

“I’m good, Ro. Real good. You’d like it here.” Silence greets me on the other end. “Hey, you still there?”

“Yeah, sorry,” she says, sounding preoccupied.

A hand appears in front of my face to place our baklava we ordered for dessert. I glance upward, offering a silent thank you and a smile to the server.

“Can we talk tomorrow? They just delivered our dessert.”

“Yeah. Love you, Lex.”

“Love you, Ro,” I say as I hang up and place my phone on the table before gazing at Jenna.

“Maybe Gage is just doing his rounds, and you’re next,” she says, her expression hopeful. She doesn’t know him, but I’vetalked about him more than enough times on a drunken night when I was in my feelings.

My mind goes to the saying, ‘If he wanted to, he would.’

I clear the emotion in my throat. “It’s fine. I need to focus on myself.”

“Let’s go back to the club, then,” she says as she wags her eyebrows.

“You—”