Page 198 of Collide

Almost immediately, the three dots appear, flicker, then disappear. A second later:

Broderick

I’ll bring a vacuum.

A laugh slips out before I can stop it, the first one in what feels like days.

Elena

Better bring a mop too.

Riley raises a brow but smiles when she sees me smiling.

Broderick has a way of making things feel lighter, even when everything’s falling apart. He can pull a laugh from me when I don’t think I have it in me. But as the smile fades, that familiarheaviness creeps back in. For a moment, I wonder if I made the right choice.

If chasing the high that came with Alex, the rush of something wild and all-consuming, was worth it.

Because now, I’m collateral damage to my own bad decisions. And as much as Broderick’s words steady me, I know I can’t drag him into this mess.

I chose Alex and everything that came with him.

Now, I have to figure out if I’m going to keep drowning in it or finally let go.

Broderick deserves more than what’s left of me after this carnage.

So, for now, I’ll keep my distance.

When I look up from my phone, Riley’s staring at me.

She nudges me with her elbow. “So, are we going to ignore the fact that you disappeared with Alex?”

I groan, bringing the vodka bottle back to my lips. “I needed an escape.”

“Uh-huh.” She smirks. “And was it an escape? Or was it amind-blowing, I need to re-evaluate my lifekind of escape?”

Heat creeps up my neck, and Riley’s eyes go wide.

“Oh my God. You had sex, didn’t you?”

I bite my lip, but the way my body practically lights up at the memory gives me away.

She shrieks, grabs a pillow, and smacks me. “You totally did! And it was amazing, wasn’t it?”

I let out a breathy laugh, covering my face with both hands. “Riley, I can’t even put it into words.”

She flops dramatically onto the bed beside me. “And you’re being safe, right? Last thing we need is you running around with a love child of your own.”

The irony isn’t lost on me.

“Oh my God, yes,” I groan, nodding more to myself than to her. “I put myself on birth control weeks ago, just in case. And Alex told me he’s clean.Afterwards.”

Riley makes a face. “Not exactly peak timing.”

“Not exactly peak anything, but better late than never.”

The last thing I want is to end up in some sister-wives arrangement with Madison.

“So…” She turns to me, eyes gleaming. “Did he, you know…make youO?”