Chapter 42: HE FOUND IT

I suppressed the urge to say anything and instead plastered on a neutral expression. "Heyy, Naz," I called, doing my absolute best not to burst into laughter.

The effect was so immediate I felt tingles in my stomach. She froze, her face dropping as she slowly and reluctantly took her leg off the guy’s thigh. "What did you just call me?" she asked.

"Oh," I tilted my head, pretending to be confused. "I don’t what that is either, honestly. Some guy said to call you that and hand you this." I pulled the envelope from my bag and held it out to her.

Her wariness was delicious. She glanced between me and the envelope, her friends whispering loudly confused about what was going down. Finally, she snatched it from my hand but didn’t open it right away.

“Excuse us,” she snapped, looking at her entourage.

One of the girls, a brunette with a permanent scowl, crossed her arms. "Are you fucking serious right now? You’re ditching us for her?" She jabbed a finger in my direction like I was a stray dog.

Nancy turned on her with a glare that could’ve frozen hell over. "I said leave!" she barked, now looking at the entire class. "All of you leave! Class doesn’t start for ten minutes, so just— fucking go!"

Everyone shared a look and there were a few muttered complaints, but one by one, they filed out of the room.

Am I loving this? Absolutely.

She kept her eyes on me for a moment longer, then opened the envelope with trembling fingers. She pulled out the folded paper and photo inside, and the second she saw the contents, her face went ashen.

She folded the paper so quickly it crumpled, her right hand flying to her mouth.

Uh…dramatic much.

She was shaking so hard you’d think she’d just seen her parents meet a horrible death.

She swallowed audibly and locked eyes with me, her pupils dilated with fear. "Who gave you this?"

I shrugged, trying not to smirk. "Some guy in a car. He was all covered up, so I couldn’t see his face. Said to call you Naz, and you’d know it’s from him."

Her voice shook. "You—you’re sure it was a man? Did you… open it?"

"Uh, no." I shrugged again, feigning disinterest. "Look, whatever this is, please don’t drag me into it. I still hate you for that dent you put in my business, and trust me, payback is still cooking. I’ve done what I was asked, so I’m out. I’ve got statistics in…" I glanced at my watch, "…five minutes."

I turned to leave, but her hand shot out and grabbed my wrist, hard enough to sting.

"Let no ear hear a word of this, you hear me?" she hissed, her eyes wild. "If I find out you told anyone—anyone at all—you and your wretched family will pay. Do you understand me?"

I snatched my hand back with a glare. "Uh, fuck off."

She looked ready to lunge, but I was already heading out the door, fighting the grin tugging at my lips.

eeeeeee!

I was almost at my class when I heard someone call my name from behind. I sighed, hoping this wasn’t another unnecessary interaction before I could even sit down and breathe. Turning around, I saw that. Uh.. what's his name again?

Oh! Elijah, yeah, Elijah.

He was waving at me with a wide smile plastered on his face as he walked over. His blue eyes sparkling.

“Heyy!” he smiled. “How are you doing? I didn’t see you at school yesterday, and I was worried something happened.” He paused for a second, scratching the back of his neck. “I would’ve stopped by your place, but, uh… I wasn’t sure if you’d like that.”

I nodded, trying to muster some semblance of politeness. “I’m good now, thanks. And… thanks for the ride that night.”

He nodded back, “No problem.”

I shifted on my feet. “If that’s all, I really need to get to class.”

I turned to leave, but before I could take a step, his hand gently grabbed my arm. His eyes glimmered, stopping me in my tracks.

“What?” I asked.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out an old, scratched-up phone. It looked like it had survived a war zone. And was oddly familiar.

“Okay,” he started, holding it out to me, “don’t bite my ear off for this, but…”

I blinked at him, confused.

“When you left the pool that night, I, uh, grabbed this and your earrings from the water,” he explained. “That was actually why I chased after you—to give it back—but, I couldn't find you, and uh… things got a little hectic. I panicked and kind of… forgot why I was looking for you in the first place.” He scratched the back of his neck again, looking sheepish. “So I figured I’d give it to you at school yesterday, but then you weren’t here, and, well, I wanted to give it to you myself, so I didn’t give it to Frankie.”

I stared at him, processing his words. Slowly, I reached out and took the phone from his hand, my fingers brushing against the cool, worn surface.

Inside, I was screaming. My heart was doing backflips, somersaults, and whatever other gymnastics move it could think of.

He found my phone. He fucking found it.

I tried to keep my face neutral, but I could feel my lips twitching, betraying the overwhelming joy bubbling up inside me.

He grinned, completely oblivious to the emotional rollercoaster I was on. “It’s working now, by the way. It didn’t sit in the water for too long, so I asked a friend to work on it. It might not work perfectly—probably lost some stuff—but it’s better than nothing, right? No need to thank me.”

And with that, he beamed at me one last time before walking away, his strides relaxed and carefree.

I stood there, staring at his retreating figure, clutching the phone tightly in my hand. I could barely contain myself.

I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from squealing out loud, spinning around instead to head into class. My good mood lasted all of two seconds.

The moment I turned, my eyes locked onto Frankie. She was standing there, staring at me.

Her expression wasn’t exactly welcoming. She glared at me, her lips presesd into a thin, hard line, before turning on her heel and walking away without a word.