Chapter 15
Jason stared at his teammates in confusion, the celebratory atmosphere suddenly feeling dissonant and wrong. “How did you know about that?”
He and Hannah had been alone at the lake when she’d asked to get back together. The darkness had wrapped around them like a blanket of privacy. There had been no one else around to overhear their conversation, no watching eyes, no listening ears.
“Dude, you really need to be more careful with your phone,” Derek said with a smirk, holding up his own cell. His casual tone was jarring against the sudden dread building in Jason’s chest.
“You never lock your screen, and it’s always in your pocket where you accidentally call people all the time. It’s like your signature move at this point.”
“I got a call from you earlier tonight,” Derek continued. “But you weren’t talking to me. I figured you’d pocket–dialed again–you know, classic Stan move.”
“I heard Hannah ask you to get back together,” he added with a conspiratorial wink. “Don’t worry–I know that’s private, so I hung up right away! So, did you guys seal the deal afterward? Come on, details!” He laughed, nudging Jason’s shoulder.
The other guys joined in the laughter, but Jason’s face had gone pale, a cold sweat breaking out across his forehead. The room seemed to tilt slightly as realization began to dawn.
It was true–he was constantly forgetting to lock his screen. Accidental calls happened so often that his friends had turned it into a running joke. He could picture his phone in his pocket, screen illuminated, calling someone without his knowledge while he spoke freely, unaware of the listening ear on the other end.
Which meant…
The thought hit him like a physical blow, driving the air from his lungs.
In a sudden flash of horrifying clarity, Jason shoved past his still–laughing teammates and grabbed his phone from where it had fallen. With trembling fingers, he scrolled through his call history, each heartbeat thundering in his ears like a countdown.
His stomach dropped as though he’d plummeted from a great height.
There it was–the night after he’d been with Kelsey at the boathouse, he’d accidentally called her when he got back to his dorm. The evidence stared back at him, damning and undeniable.
He remembered now with painful clarity–that was the night he’d brazenly told his teammates he was
16:59
Mull
Chapter 15
just using Kelsey, laughing about his scheme, admitting that he was only dating her to secure Hannah’s Juilliard nomination. He had called her “easy” and “gullible.” He had boasted about how simple it was to manipulate her feelings.
And she had heard every word.
Jason stared at the call duration in horror, the numbers burning into his vision like a brand.
One hour and three minutes.
Long enough to hear everything. Long enough to understand exactly what she had been to him—not a girlfriend, not even a person with feelings, just a pawn in his game.
CLANG.
Jason’s phone slipped from his numb fingers and clattered to the floor, the sound echoing in the sudden silence of the room.
So that’s why Kelsey had suddenly changed toward him. That’s why she had looked at him differently afterward, her eyes no longer warm but guarded, wounded. That’s why she’d decided to leave without a word. That night she had discovered the truth about why he was with her, had heard from his own lips what she really meant to him.
Nothing.
A wave of nausea swept through him as he realized the magnitude of his cruelty. It hadn’t just been the scheme itself–it had been his callous pride in it, his complete dismissal of her humanity while she listened silently on the other end of the line.
“Stan, what’s wrong?”
His teammates exchanged worried glances as Jason’s face transformed with the devastating realization. The color had drained from his features, his eyes wide with horror and something else–a desperate, frantic need to fix what might be unfixable.
But he was already turning around, heading for the door, his movements jerky and urgent.
“Stan! Where are you going?” Tyler called after him, genuine concern replacing the earlier teasing.
Jason didn’t break stride as he answered, his voice tight with a determination that surprised even him.
“To the airport!”
At the same time, he pulled out his phone and dialed his father’s assistant, his fingers still trembling but his resolve hardening with each step.
16:59
Chapter 15
“I need the family jet ready immediately,” he ordered, an authority in his voice that had never been there before. “I’m going to London. Tonight.”
16:59
