Page 29 of Soul So Dark

“It’s—it’s Dallas,” I croak, clenching my hand in my lap to stop it from shaking, “I…um…” What the hell am I even saying?

“Hey!” To my relief, his tone softens when he realizes it’s me. “What’s up?”

“Um,” I feel myself losing it, “I just…” my heart starts beating faster, like the walls are closing in, “Can you come over?” I blurt out, my filter having completely left the chat.

After a few seconds of silence, I hear Alex’s voice again, this time deeper and filled with concern. “What’s wrong? Are you alright?”

I take a deep breath, trying to calm my breathing. “Not really,” I admit.

“Where are you?”

“At my house,” I mumble.

Alex doesn’t miss a beat. “Where are your parents?”

Where are they? It takes me a few seconds to remember. “Out with family…they were in town, for the funeral…” I trail off. That sounds right...I think.

“Want me to find Col?”

I cringe when he says Colson’s name, not wanting to elaborate. Of course, Alex would ask that.

“No!” I say much louder than I mean to. “I mean,” I swallow hard, grinding through the next few words, “can you just come?” I ask impatiently, “I don’t know where he is, but please don’t tell him you’re coming here.”

There’s silence except for white noise from wherever Alex is, and the longer he hesitates, the more I start to notice the silence around me. The house is quiet. It’s heavy, still, and eerie. Evie’s door remains shut since the night Colson freaked out and tried to “save” me while Scott wrestled him on the floor of my bedroom and mom had to pry me out of his grip.

Maybe that’s why I just blurted out an invitation—or rather, a plea—for Alex to come to my house. I must be desperate for my own distraction, or just freaking out. Otherwise, I’dneverdream of calling up one of Colson’s friends. That’s just weird.

And maybe Alex thinks I’m weird for it.

“Are you there?” I ask, cutting the prolonged silence.

“Yeah, I can come,” he replies, “I’ll be at your house in a few minutes.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Alex

I smile to myself as I slide my phone back into my pocket because I know exactly where Dallas’s brother is. But my amusement is short-lived because she sounds freaked the fuck out, asking me to come over but not tell Colson about it.

Stepping through the glass door back into Aiden’s living room, I glance over at Colson next to Aiden at the sideboard. Aiden pours him a generous glass of Scotch and then proceeds to do the same for himself. Colson heads over to the oversized black sofa, where Mason lounges in the corner, scrolling through Aiden’s phone trying to find music for the sound system.Lingerby the Cranberries comes over the speakers, filling the room with its lilting string melody.

“Change it,” Aiden calls from the sideboard, sliding the bottle of Scotch back into its place.

“Why? I like it,” Mason whines with irritation.

“Because it’s notyours,” Aiden replies, his tone sharper than a razor’s edge.

Mason rolls his eyes and continues scrolling, finally settling on In This Moment instead.

Gazing aimlessly around the room, I start running scenarios through my head. I planned on staying here the rest of the night, likely crashing in the same spare room I’ve stayed in for years. And, every time, it’s cleaned and straightened by the next time I come back, regardless of what happens in there or what shit gets left behind.

People who set foot inside the Raffertys’ house, whether to cook, clean, or do business don’t ask questions. And that’s also how I’ve decided to run my own life for the past four years—I don’t explain anything to anyone. And it usually works.

“Fuck,” I mutter down at my screen.

“What?” Mason tosses Aiden’s phone onto the coffee table and leans back, tipping his glass to his lips.

“Adrian.” I give a shake of my head. “Shit’s missing at my house. It’s probably Luca, I have to go.”