Total pages in book: 215
Estimated words: 199344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 997(@200wpm)___ 797(@250wpm)___ 664(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 199344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 997(@200wpm)___ 797(@250wpm)___ 664(@300wpm)
Linc’s rigid figure grows smaller with the distance, and Noah picks up his discarded ball as if nothing happened. “Did you really have to do that?” I ask Noah, swatting at his chest as Tarni continues her phone call, probably oblivious to anything going on here. “You were mean.”
“He’ll be fine,” Noah grunts. “Mom was planning on taking him and Hazel to see a movie this afternoon, and if he’s not home when she gets home, he’ll miss out.”
“Then why didn’t you tell him that?” I question, rolling my eyes, feeling as though I’m never going to understand how a boy’s mind works. “If he knew he was going to have a movie date, he would have run home.”
Noah shrugs his shoulders, not seeing the issue. “It was supposed to be a surprise.”
“You’re impossible, Noah Ryan.”
“Don’t pretend like you don’t love it.”
Rolling my eyes, I snatch the ball off him and throw it up into the sky, only as I go to catch it again, his big arm shoots out and collects it before I even get a chance. I give him a blank stare. “Why are you so adamant about it being just you and me?” I ask. “We’re just tossing a ball around.”
A wicked grin stretches across Noah’s face. “Did you see me walk in here with a ball?” he asks, indicating to the one now in his hand. “Linc brought this. Not me.” My brows furrow, and he lets out a groan. “I had no intention of tossing a ball around with you today, Zo. I was going to drag you into the woods and make out with you instead, but then you had to go and bring Tarni freaking Luca.”
My jaw drops, and I gape at him, watching the way my shock only makes his grin wider.
“What do you say, Zo?” he murmurs, stepping in closer, his fingers brushing along my arm. “Get rid of the tag-along.”
My gaze flickers toward Tarni, watching as she paces through the overgrown grass, mindlessly chatting on her phone, completely unaware of her surroundings. “What am I supposed to say?”
“I don’t know,” he grunts. “Just tell her to fuck off.”
“Noah!” I gasp. I hate when he talks like that, but I think it’s something he picked up from the boys at his fancy private school. Or maybe it’s just a high school thing. Maybe it’s just a Noah thing, and I’m just going to have to get used to it.
“What?”
I roll my eyes and go to tell him he’s an idiot when his phone rings. He dives deep into his pocket, pulling it out to find Linc’s name on the screen. He decides to ignore it, but I snatch the phone off him and quickly answer it before Noah can steal it back. “Linc,” I rush out. “It’s fine. You can come—”
“Help,” Linc croaks out.
“Linc?” I ask, my brows furrowed as I meet Noah’s gaze. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
Linc sputters, crying out in pain. “Help,” he cries. “I can’t . . . I can’t breathe.”
My eyes widen, fear brimming in my chest as I grab Noah’s hand and start running faster than I’ve ever run before, leaving Tarni behind. Noah screams something at me, but I don’t hear it over my panic. “What happened, Linc? What happened?”
“Zoey?” Noah demands, needing answers.
Linc sputters in my ear. “A car. It . . . It came out of nowhere.”
His words fade away, and it sounds as though he’s choking on something, and I cry out to Noah. “I think he’s been hit by a car.”
Undeniable fear flashes in Noah’s eyes. I’ve never seen anything like it before. “FUCK,” he roars, his feet pounding against the sidewalk as he drags me along with him toward the road that leads back to his house.
Realizing I’m only slowing him down, I pull my hand out of his. “Go,” I urge him, the fear of Lincoln lying somewhere along the road crippling me, making it hard to breathe. “You’re faster. Go, Noah.”
He doesn’t hesitate, taking off like lightning toward his little brother as I clutch his phone to my ear tighter. “We’re coming, Linc,” I promise him, hating how quiet he’s gotten. “Just hold on. We’re coming.”
I hear the noises around him, his gurgling voice, his strained gasps, and it terrifies me. I hear Noah calling out. “LINC,” he screams, only the sound isn’t coming from somewhere in front of me, it’s coming through the phone. “NO. No, Linc. Please. FUCK.”
I push myself faster, racing around the bend when I see them up ahead. A black car is stopped in the street, the driver has his hands buried in his hair as he stumbles around on the road, but Linc is lying motionless in someone’s yard. Blood is everywhere, and as I hold the phone to my ear, I don’t know whose terror-filled gasps I’m hearing—mine, Noah’s, or Linc’s.