“Hey. Can I have your boyfriend’s number?”

“Why?”

I was in the same loop of hell with her.

“For the love of god, please give me his number so I can find out where Caz is!” I had lost all patience, and my voice was loud enough to echo in my ears.

“Calm thy juice box.” I couldn’t handle Devon’s nonsense today, but I had to play nice to get what I wanted.

“I’m sorry for my outburst. Can you help me?”

“Sure, I texted him your number and told him to call you. Good?”

It wasn’t what I had asked for, but that was probably as close as I would get. “Perfect. Thank you.”

“Welcs. You want Sonya back?” Before I could respond, my phone beeped, and hopefully, it was Matt.

“Gotta go.” I hung up on them to pick up the other call. “Hello,” I breathed into the receiver.

“Hi, this is Matrix. I work with Caz.” His tone was peaceful, and he didn’t seem like he would give me the same trouble as the Tweedles.

“Hey, Matrix, I’m so sorry to bother you, but Caz was with me, then she wasn’t, and now I can’t find her.” I sounded like a frantic parent who had lost their child.

“Oh wow. Umm, let me check her location.” He disappeared for a second. “It doesn’t show her current location. Either her phone is off or her battery died. Where was she when you last saw her?” There was concern in his voice, and I knew he was the right person to contact.

“We were at the coffeehouse.”

“Did anything happen between you two?” His question threw me a little, but I answered.

“We did my interview, then I went to talk to Ember, and when I was finished, she was gone.”

“Hmm.” Did this mean he knew something, or was he just making noise?

“What?”

“Nothing. Let me do some digging, and I’ll get back to you.”

“All right. Is there anything I can do in the meantime?” My mind was racing to the worst possibilities, but I was helpless to stop it.

“You can go about your day. She probably got called away. Don’t worry. I’ll let you know what I find out.” He ended the call, but something wasn’t right.

If it was work-related, wouldn’t he have already known that? He was keeping something from me, but what? And why?

He wanted me to go on with business as usual, but how did I do that? He had told me not to worry about Caz, but I was. How could I not be? But would I let her down if I didn’t go on this date with Ember? She had helped me so much, and giving up before the finish line seemed ungrateful.

The thought of going at this alone almost made me as nauseous as asking her out. However, that worked out in my favor, and I didn’t have to do the heavy lifting. Maybe the date would go just as smoothly without me overthinking and messing it up. That seemed highly unlikely, considering my mind was already a hornet’s nest.

My phone rang, shaking me from my jumbled thoughts.

“Hello?” I picked up without seeing who it was.

“Hey, cuz.” For once, hearing Sonya on the other end filled me with a glimmer of hope.

“Hey! I need your help.”

She loved a good project, so I had no doubt she would be on board.

“Of course you do.” She didn’t even question it.

“Aren’t you going to ask me with what?” I laughed.

“Why would I? I feel confident I can fix any problem you have.” It was evident she believed that, too.

“Are you free now?” Maybe getting a jumpstart on my date preparations would eliminate some of my jitters.

“I can be. But you’ll have to come over here. I’m going to take an edible, and I don’t feel like leaving.”

Of course, she didn’t. “All right. I’ll be there in fifteen or twenty minutes.”

“Sounds good. Will you stop and get some cheesy puffs?”

“Is that why you called me?” I rolled my eyes as I got into my car.

“I thought you called me?” Oh my god. She might not be able to help me after all.

Chapter 23Caz

Itried to remain neutral about the fact that Davia was in the same vicinity as me. But I hadn’t seen her since that fateful day when she left, and I couldn’t stop my brain from replaying that scene:

“Hey, babe, I’m home, and let me tell you—” I stopped midsentence as I saw Davia holding an overnight bag. “Are you going somewhere?”

She appeared shocked to see me but quickly turned her surprise into anger. “I can’t do this anymore. You’re not my forever person. I feel like you’re constantly trying to change me.” She picked up a small box, which was already conveniently packed.

“Davia, what are you talking about? I love you for you. Where is this coming from?” I pleaded for her to let me explain—to work it out.

“We are two different people who want two different things. I can’t keep lying to myself, pretending I’m happy.” Her cold, unfeeling gaze was on me as tears stained my cheeks.

“Please, don’t do this. Tell me what I can do.” My heart frantically pounded in my ears, each beat echoing my fear.

“Don’t you get it? There’s nothing to do. Our time is up. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.” She glared at me like I was the one ruining her life. “I’ll have someone come and get the rest of my stuff while you’re at work tomorrow.”

My only response was a waterfall flowing from my eyes and my body shaking with uncontrollable sobs.

“For what it’s worth, I hope you have a nice life.” Her voice sounded robotic, and I didn't even bother to turn my head as she walked away…

“Davs, come here!” The woman's words jolted me to reality from the nightmare I was reliving, and I clenched my stomach to suppress the churning nausea.

I sat stoically, keeping my eyes forward. I was no longer that sad, pathetic person who had begged for her to love me. My therapist said I couldn’t get blood from a turnip. Davia didn’t know how to love anyone but herself, so even if she had stayed, it never would have been a reciprocal relationship.