-Zade Collins:
I leaned back against my headboard, rubbing my temple with the side of my knuckle as Kayla paced across the room in front of me. Her heels clicked too loudly on the hardwood floor, like nails in my brain. I should've asked her to take them off at the door, but I didn't have the energy for that anymore.
She stopped. Planted herself. Crossed her arms. That dead-serious expression on her face made the air shift.
"Are you into him?"
My head lifted, a slow blink. "What?"
"Blake," she said, like the name itself was something she had to spit out. "Are you… into him? Say the truth."
For a second, I forgot how to respond. My face probably gave her nothing but pure confusion, and then—
I laughed.
I didn't mean to. It burst out of me sharp and ridiculous, cutting through the tension like a knife but somehow making it worse. I leaned forward, clutching my side from the sudden ache the laughter gave me.
