Page 28 of Should Our Stars Collide

“I was thinking about it.”

The guys laugh, even though Kieran wasn’t joking.

“Here.” Shane pushes another beer towards him, the foam at the top still thick. “This one just arrived, so you can have it.”

His body going from relaxed to rigid in a matter of seconds, Kieran forces himself to breathe through a bout of nausea. He scrambles for a response before anyone can notice his strange reaction. “Thanks, but…I’m not really into beer.” It’s not even a lie.

“That’s fine,” Shane says, unbothered, and nods towards the QR code glued to the middle of the table. “Order whatever you want.”

A stuttering breath leaves Kieran’s lungs, his stomach slowly settling down. He knows he’s being irrational. He knows no one put anything in the beer (probably). Now if he could only convince his brain.

Pulling out his phone with slightly shaky hands, he goes to scan the QR code when an incoming call from his mum lights up the screen.

For fuck’s sake… Is today cursed or something?

He considers letting it go to voicemail, but that would only result in ten missed calls in a row. Better get it over with now.

“Sorry, guys, I have to take this.” He makes his way outside, away from the music, and takes a bracing breath before he picks up. “Hey, Mum.”

“So youdoknowhow to use your phone.”

“What?”

“You never call. I always have to chase you.”

Nice. Guilt-tripping instead of a hello. Must be a new record.

“I’ve been busy.”

She scoffs. “With what? It’s not like you’re working towards a promotion.”

Kieran’s hand tightens around the phone. Criticizing his job again? That’s rich coming from someone who relies on her boyfriends to pay all the bills.

He doesn’t say that out loud, and instead asks, “How’s Tom, by the way?”

“Tom?” she repeats with disbelief. “That’s been over for two months. You’d know that if you’d called.”

Suppressing a groan, Kieran rests his head against the wall of the pub, the music making the it thud and vibrate.

A disapproving sound comes from the other end of the line. “What’s that noise? Are you out partying in the middle of the week?”

Here we fucking go again.“I’m not out partying, Jesus. I’m having a drink with coworkers.”

“Well, just be careful. You know how you get.”

Despite knowing the answer, and how it will send his blood pressure through the fucking roof, the masochistic part of him forces him to ask, “How do I get? Please, enlighten me.”

“You know what I mean. You have a penchant for getting with the wrong crowd because you are so impressionable.”

Getting with the wrong crowd. What a freaking irony. There never were any crowds. No one who’d give Kieran the time of day, no matter how much he wanted to be part of something. But at least he learned how to appreciate solitude and the peace that comes with having only yourself for company. It all worked out in his favor, because that’s how he prefers it now. Who needs other people, anyway?

So yeah, no crowds, and definitely none when he was a teenager. He had no idea that taking a joint from the class bully on a dare and subsequently getting caught would stick to him like chewing gum forthe rest of his life.

Instead of saying any of that, he just grits out, “Anything else you wanted to say?”

She gives a sigh, because clearly Kieran is being terribly difficult right now. “I just wanted to see how you’re doing.”

“I’m fine. Going to work. Going home. Living the dream.”