Page 151 of Villain
As I’m about to flag down a taxi, my phone rings. That didn’t take long.
The driver pulls over, and I ignore Casper’s attempt to reach me, desperate to get out of here. The phone goes silent only to ring again a second later.
“Where to, love?”
I give the driver my address, then silence my phone. Casper’s name flashes up on the screen almost the second he ends the second call. He’s getting worried, no doubt after covering the entire venue looking for me.
All I need is to get home and lock the door.
The taxi ride is quiet, the driver sensing that I don’t want to talk. He’s glanced up in his rear-view mirror a couple of times, probably silently praying that I don’t start crying until I’m out of his car.
To give myself credit, I’m doing a great job of holding it together when all I want to do is ruin Casper’s life.
I hate him.
“Good night, love?” the driver asks, clearing his throat, his eyes darting from me to the road, already regretting speaking.
Either he’s being sarcastic, or I don’t look as awful as I feel. My tears have dried, and I refuse to shed another, but I’m sure my make-up has run. I’m not the type of person to sob out my life story in the back of a taxi to a complete stranger—luckily for him.
“Long night,” I say instead, then I wince because I sound awful, like I’ve just been gutted.
“I’ll have you home in no time.”
“Thanks,” I say, staring out of the window and wondering how far behind me Casper is. Will he have found my bag gone yet? He knew where it was as we’ve been glued to each other’s side the whole day. I bet he’s seen and then found our room empty.
His latest call ends, so I send a quick text to Reggie explaining that I’ve gone home and don’t want to talk to Casper yet. He’ll relay the message, but Casper won’t listen, I’m sure. Not much I can do about that. Reggie deserves an explanation.
Freya and Imani are home, as far as I know, so I don’t think I’ll have much luck with going straight to bed.
I don’t mind that, to be fair. They’ll be able to look at this way more objectively than I can. If someone doesn’t tell me that it’s not as bad as it seems, I’m going to fall apart. But I know that’s not true. Betrayal burns through my veins like poison. I’m not okay, and I’m not going to be. I believed him. I gave him my heart and planned a life with him.
All in a matter of weeks.
God, can I get any more tragic?
The driver stops outside my house. “Take care, love.”
“Thanks,” I say as I pay him and get out.
As I approach the front door, it opens as if it’s helping me out, hiding me away from the world. But, of course, it’s not magic. Imani and Freya stand in the hallway, waiting for me with identical expressions of concern. Imani looks a little bit murderous, too, knowing this will be about Casper.
“Reggie,” I say, so emotionally drained, I want to curl in a ball. I wrap my arms around my waist as if that will stop me splitting apart.
“He just called us. Casper was going crazy in the background trying to find out what’s going on. We couldn’t tell him becausewhat the hell is going on?” Imani asks.
Freya scowls at her and grabs my hand. Her sympathetic smile only makes me feel worse. I’m going to have to tell them how stupid I’ve been.
“Come sit down,” she says.
Imani follows. “I told Casper not to come, but there’s no way he’s staying at that hotel tonight. He’ll be here soon. What are we telling him?”
“I…” The thought of seeing him makes me want to throw up. I don’t want to hear his excuses or listen to him try to talk his way out of this.
“What happened tonight?” Freya asks.
I sink into the sofa and hug my knees, wanting to disappear. “I overheard a conversation between Casper and his parents.”
Imani throws her hands up, struggling to be patient when she can see that I’m hurting. “Oh, I need more than that. Talk to us. We can help. I can kick his arse. Whatever you need.”