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“Thank you.”
There was an awkward silence for a moment, and it gave me time to wonder why Hendrix was the one calling me, especially since I never got his phone number. Clearly, Parker had given him mine. “Why didn’t Parker call me?” I blurted, pulling out a shirt from the chest.
Hendrix sighed so hard, I could practically feel the air through the line. “You’re ignoring him, Thea.”
I frowned, shaking my head. “What? No, I’m not. I’ve been sleeping.”
“He was texting you all yesterday, and you never responded. Then he called you twice this morning.”
My mouth dropped, and I stuttered, struggling to find words. I pulled my phone away, putting Hendrix on speaker phone as I frantically searched for my text thread with Parker. I had two more messages from him while my voice memo sat in my draft bubble.
“Oh god. I never sent my voice memo! I must have passed out before I hit send.”
“Okay, Thea. Well, he’s been worried. You were stuck in the woods with no cell service for hours, considering when Shane saw you leave the bar to when Calder found you.”
I didn’t say anything, not sure how to respond. My stomach turned, hating that I caused Parker any type of worry even if it was unintentional. The sound of his truck door slamming shut sounded in the background, and then the clicking and roar of the engine started up.
“I didn’t mean to worry him,” I whispered, swallowing to get rid of the lump in my throat.
Hendrix huffed, and I pictured him shaking his head. “I’ll be there in twenty. Don’t go getting yourself into any trouble before then.”
Chapter Fourteen
Hedndrix
“What’s up?” Parker’s clipped voice came through the bluetooth speaker of my truck.
He was working in the rock gym today, unable to leave to check on Thea. So he made it my responsibility. Not that I really minded. It would give me time with her alone, but I was still irritated with her for not getting back to Parker. He was catching feelings already, while she treated this like it was nothing more than some group fun.
Maybe that’s all it was for her. I wouldn’t mind if it was, but Parker was hooked already. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t, too. Maybe she was being honest and really had fallen asleep before hitting send. Still, she had ignored him all day yesterday.
“Got a hold of Thea. She said she meant to hit send on a text to you but must have fallen asleep first,” I said.
He huffed through the line. “It’s been two days. Two fucking days since I met her. Why is she driving me insane?”
My jaw clenched as I drove to pick up Thea. “Because you’re hopeful to get back what we had with Millie.”
“I’ve gotta go. Text me when you have eyes on her.”
“Sure, bro.”
“And we need to get cameras set up on her property so we know she’s safe.”
“Whoa,” I said through a shocked chuckle. “It hasn’t even been a week. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
“You haven’t been inside her yet, Hen.” He sighed, and I could sense the emotions flooding through him even though we weren’t together. Could almost feel them as my own, despite not being blood brothers or twins. Despite being raised in different parts of the country.
Parker and I had always been synched, always reading each other's thoughts.
I cleared my throat. “Exactly. I can see clearly. And she’s giving you all the signals that this isn’t serious for her. So, don’t turn into a creepy stalker yet, okay?”
He groaned, disconnecting on his end without saying goodbye. The bluetooth kicked out, and country music played in its place. I was only about five minutes from Thea’s now.
Two songs later, I was pulling into her site and cutting the engine to my ride. The Stingray was sitting in its spot, and I glared at it, angry with a car for quitting on her the way it did.
I’d heard the way she sounded when she was with Calder last night. Could tell she was distraught and had been crying. Thea was sweet, she had those big round fuck me eyes that were soft and her kitten eyes when she was pleading for something tugged at my heartstrings.
But beneath all of that, Thea seemed… tough. Unbreakable. Last night she was broken. I could tell by the way her voice shook, and the easy way Calder rattled her. I wasn’t sure which Thea I would be getting today.
