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“Kid? I’m only two years younger than you, Ivy. My mom told me to come over here and watch the house. So here I am,” he says and takes a drink. “You looking for Stone?”
“Yeah, and why are you being so weird?” I’m frustrated now. Who does Gray think he is? “Where’s Miss Martha?”
Gray sits at the roll-top desk beside the liquor cabinet. “Stone’s not here. And I don’t know where the fuck Miss Martha is. She didn’t come in today. Wish she was here, I’m starving.”
“Stone’s not here?” My heart stops. “Do you know where he is? Is he in jail?” My legs start shaking. My body grows instantly cold at the idea of Stone behind bars because he was protecting me.
“It was so fucking stupid. I should have just kicked the asshole in the nuts and called it a day.”
“He’s not in jail,” Gray says like he’s taunting me.
“He’s not? That’s good. Where is he?”
“Not here,” Gray answers, and it just pisses me off more. “He’s not here at the ranch. Or even in Texas.”
“What?” I shake my head in disbelief. “What do you mean he’s not in Texas? I was here with him last night. There was a fight,” I explain, but Gray holds up his hand and stops me. He’s surprisingly arrogant for a sixteen-year-old. “What?”
“I know all about the fight, Ivy. That dude didn’t make it. Died last night.”
“What? After Peaches took me home?”
“Apparently.” He takes another swig of his whiskey.
My stomach drops, and I feel like I might pass out. Gray jumps up, catches me before I hit the ground, and leads me to the sofa where I’ve spent countless hours with Stone. The realization hits me that everything has changed now.
“I have to check on him,” I mumble, pushing myself up from the sofa. But Gray’s next words stop me in my tracks.
“Don’t bother,” he says coldly. “Gunnar and Peaches sent him away to lay low while they handle things quietly.”
My mind races with questions, and panic sets in as I think about Stone being exiled because of me. “Where did they send him?” I ask frantically.
Gray shrugs, unconcerned with my distress. “I don’t know, Ivy. They only tell us what we need to know.”
“It’s not fair!” I cry out, pulling out my phone and texting Stone again for an answer. As if on cue, a notification dings from the kitchen.
I rush into the kitchen and find Stone’s keys and phone sitting on the table. “What the hell, Gray? Where is Peaches?” I demand, sending her a frantic text as well.
Can you tell me what’s going on with Stone? Please?
My hands shake with fear and anger as I wait for a response. The silence is deafening, and I can feel my whole world crumbling around me. This can’t be happening. Not to Stone. Not because of me.
“He’s my friend too, Ivy. But he has to lay low until Peaches and Gunnar figure this shit out. When they get back, I’ll ask my mom if she knows anything. But for now, you need to chill.”
But I can’t chill. My heart feels like it’s being crushed in a vice, shattered into a million pieces.
He’s my best friend.
And he’s gone. He didn’t even say goodbye.
Shit. How am I going to survive life in Opey without him? If not for our friendship, I would have skipped town the minute I got my diploma.
I plop back down on the sofa, staring at my phone. I’ll sit here until Peaches gets back. I can’t believe this is happening.
I totally get it now. How life can flip in just a second. The moment that dude’s head hit the pavement, our whole life went up in smoke.
CHAPTER THREE
Stone – Present
