Chapter 11 Reed
REED
My phone buzzed once on the coffee table, lighting up the dim living room with Harper’s name.
I almost ignored it. It was well past midnight, and I was ready to crash on Cam’s couch. Figured it was the usual party picture or some random update. But something in my gut told me to open the text. I picked up my phone, leaned back on the couch, and opened the message.
Little Sis
fucckk reed. wrens with tyler. You remember ty? because i dont think she does. ooorrrr she’s too drunk to remember.
I sat up straight.
Tyler.
That name hit me like a slap to the back of the head.
I hadn’t heard it in over five years, and I preferred it that way.
Tyler “Ty” Carrington was the smooth-talking ex who left Wren gutted, paranoid, and doubting her own damn reality.
The one who’d played nice in public and torn her down in private.
The one who’d isolated her from friends, controlled who she talked to, and who she was.
The one who charms a room and ruins a life behind closed doors. The reason Wren gave up painting.
My jaw tensed. I fired off a reply without hesitation.
Me
Where are you? Send me the address. Now.
I was already up, grabbing my hoodie and wallet off the chair by the door. I didn’t even stop to put my shoes on correctly.
Cam was in his room, music on. I paused for a second outside his bedroom door and considered telling him, but then turned around and kept walking to the front door.
If Cam found out Ty was back in town and back near Wren, it’d be a problem. A serious one. The kind that didn’t end with words. Cam would burn down the whole damn house with everyone in it just to get to him. And I didn’t have the energy to talk my best friend out of going to jail tonight.
No. This one, I could handle myself.
The phone buzzed again in my hand. A dropped location pin from my sister. My thumb hovered over it for half a second, then tapped it. The map was up and the route was clear. Fourteen minutes, I bet I could make it in seven.
I was already halfway to my truck before the front door clicked shut behind me.