Page 113 of Unleashed By Eden

Then the notifications hit. They explode like shrapnel.

Ping. Ping. Ping.

Banners stack over each other. Voicemails. Texts. Emails.

Names blur together, but I’m only hunting for one.

My thumb moves fast to the voicemail tab.

But it’s not there. Not a single one.

Instead, there’s one from Megan. Then Liam. More Liam. Another Liam.

My heart sinks lower, into my stomach.

Onto texts. Liam again—message after message. Chris. A few numbers I don’t recognize that I’m not touching with a ten-foot pole.

Still no Carter.

All I can hear is the whoosh of blood in my ears.

I open Chris’s message first, because whatever Liam has to say is going to cut bone-deep, and I don’t have the strength for that yet.

Chris

He’s asked that you don’t contact him. If you truly love him & want what’s best, respect his wishes. He’s spiraling & I need a sober Carter to get through the end of this tour. Give him space and don’t make this worse. He doesn’t have his phone. I do. When the time is right, I’ll have him call you.

I stare until the words separate into individual letters.

He doesn’t have his phone. Chris does.

Whether Carter handed it over or Chris ripped it out of his hands doesn’t even matter right now. The end result is the same.

I can’t speak to him.

I put the phone in my lap, press the heels of my hands into my eyes, trying to hold myself together with nothing but pressure and willpower.

The world has cracked open under my feet. And I don’t know how to stop myself from slipping into the void.

Hearing Liam’s voice will gut me. I can handle strangers ripping me apart online, tabloids inventing stories, Chris threatening me and barking orders. But hearing the disappointment in Liam’s tone is a step too far right now. I can’t do it.

I open the thread of his texts instead and scroll to the bottom.

Liam

Call me.

Liam

When you land, call me immediately.

Liam

Really, Vi? CARTER?

Liam

He’s not built for relationships. This was never going to end well.