Page 29 of A Little Jaded
My neck snaps toward him. “You don’t have to?—”
“Yeah, he does,” Reeves interrupts. “After last night’s shit show, you can kiss your alone time goodbye for the foreseeable future.”
My shoulders hunch, but I don’t argue. Honestly, I don’t even want to. What does it say about me? What does it say about my relationship? If my parents knew…
“You need to block his number and vary your routine for the next little while, too,” Reeves continues.
My brows tug. “Vary my routine?”
“We don’t want to give him any opportunities to track you down. Not unless it’s on our terms. Which reminds me, can I see your phone?” He offers his hand palm up, and I set my cell in it.
“What are you doing?” Everett demands.
“Checking for any hidden tracking apps,” Reeves explains as his fingers fly across the screen. A few moments later, his mouth turns down at the corners. “Huh. Surprising.”
“What is?” I ask.
He hands me my phone, and I take it. “None of the usual tracking apps are on it.”
“What kind of tracking apps?”
“The ones stalking assholes like to download onto their victim’s phones without their girlfriend’s knowledge.” He shrugs and steals another Reese’s Puffs from Dylan’s bowl, tossing it into his mouth. “The only ones on your cell areFind My Friends and Life360, which you already disabled from sharing your location with him. Good girl.”
“Watch it,” Everett grumbles.
Reeves smirks. “Which brings me to step two. You need to prove you aren’t isolated or alone and have someone on your side. Someone who has your back. Usually, with abusive motherfuckers like your boy, they try to isolate you, proving you don’t have anyone but them. It’s a way to lure you back because no one likes being lonely. I’d say family’s a good avenue to try, and it is, but if your boy’s known you for a while, he likely knows your family, too, which means he knows your relationships or lack thereof, depending on the client.”
“What’s your point?” I ask.
“My point is, you need to go out and party and show Drake you are most definitely not alone, and you aren’t lonely.”
“You mean fake date Everett,” I clarify.
Reeves’ mouth lifts. “Exactly.”
“What if it pisses Drake off?”
“It should piss him off. You're his favorite toy, and not only were you taken away from him, you were also given to someone else to play with.”
“Ollie,” Dylan scolds.
Reeves lifts his hands in defense. “Just sayin’ it like it is, Pickles.”
“How long?” Everett murmurs. I can’t tell if he’s disappointed or resigned. If he wants this to happen, or if he wants me to leave him alone and never contact him again.
Scratching his jaw, Reeves answers, “Depends on the ex. I’ve helped girls for a few weeks. Others for a few months. The more you’re seen together, the shorter the timeline. Usually, anyway.”
“And with what little you know of Drake?” I ask.
“The fact he came here, attempting to prove you’re his, only for it to blow up in his face means he’s cocky. Arrogant. Even more so than the usual dickhead. If I had to guess, I’d say Drake will be a tough nut to crack.”
“And what if he doesn’t?” I question. “Crack?”
“Then we get the police involved.”
“That isn’t an option,” I murmur.
“Why not?”