Chapter 15
Jason stared at his teammates in confusion, the celebratory atmosphere suddenly feeling dronnier and wrong. “How did you know about tha
He and Hannah had been alone at the lake when she’d asked to get back together. The darkness had wrapped around them like a blanket of privacy There had been no one else around in overhear their comersalim no watching eyes, on litening Park.
“Dude, you really need in be more careful with your phone, Derek sald with a smilek, holding up his own tell. His casual tone was jurring against the sudden dread building in Jason’s chest.
“You never lock your screen, and it’s always in your pocket where you accidentally call people all the time. It’s like your signature m
“I got a call from you earlier tonight, Derek continued. “But you weren’t talking to me. I figured you’d pocker dialed again–you know, claude Sa
“Theard Hash ask you to get back together,” he added with a compimaterial wink “Don’t worry–I know that’s private, in I hung up right away! So, did you guys seal the deal afterward? Come on, details! He laughed, midging Jason’s shoulder.
The other guys joined in the laughter, but Jason’s face had gone pale, a cold sweat breaking out across his forehead. The room seemed to till slightly a realization began to dawn.
It was true–he was constantly forgetting to lock his screen. Actidereal calls happened so often that his friends had turned it into a running joke. Ite could picture his phone in his pocket, screen illuminated, calling someone without his knowledge while he spoke freely, unaware of the ring ear en the other end.
Which meant…
The thought hit him like a physical blow, driving the air from his lungs.
In a sudden flash of horrifying clarity, Jason showed past his still laughing teammates and grabbed his phone from where it had fallen. With trembling fingers, be scrolled through his call history, each heartbeat thundering in his ears like a countdown
His stomach dropped as though he’d plummeted from a great height.
There it was the night after he’d been with Kelsey at the boathouse, ho’d accidentally called her when he got back to his dorm. The evidence stared back at him, damning and undeniable.
He remembered none with painful clarity that was the night he’d brazenly sold his teammates he was just using Kelsey, laughing about his scheme. admitting that he was only dating her to secure Hannah’s Juilliard nomination. He had called her “easy” and “gullible.” He had boasted about how simple it was to manipulate her feelings
And she had heard every word.
Jason stared at the call duration in horror, the numbers burning into his vision like a brand.
One hour and three minutes.
Long enough to hear everything Long enough to understand exactly what she had been to him not a girlfriend, not even a person with feelings, jut a pawn in his game.
CLANG
Jason’s phone slipped from his numb fingers and plattered to the floor, the sound echoing in the sudden silence of the room
So that’s why Kelsey had suddenly changed toward him. That’s why she had looked at him differently afterward, her eyes in guarded, wounded. That’s why she’d decided to leave without a word. That night she had decovered the truth about why he i thom his own lips what she really meant to him.
Nothing.
h her, had heard
A wave of nausea swept through him as he read the magnitude of his cruelty. It hadn’t just been the scheine well–it had been bus callout pride in it, his complete dismissal of her humanity while she listened silently on the other end of the line.
“Stan, what’s wrong?
Chapter 15
His teammates exchanged worried glances as Jasmi’s face transformed with the devastating realization. The colne had drained fromana Seattrez čis eyes wide with horror and something else a desperate, frantic need to fix what might be unfixalde.
But he was already turning around, bending for the door, his movements jerky and urgent.
“Stan! Where are you going?” Tyler called after him, genuine concern replacing the earlier teasing.
Jason didn’t break stride as he answered, his voice tight with a determination that surprised even him.
“To the airport!”
At the same time, he pulled out his phone and dialed his father’s assistant, his fingers still trembling but his resolve hardening with each step.
“I need the family jet ready immediately,” I ordered, an authority in his voice that had never been there before. Tm going to London. Tonight.”
Ch
