The room threatened to turn sideways while I stood glued to the spot, drawing in shallow breaths. Everything turned a little fuzzy, my vision tunneling gray at the outer edges.

My phone rang in my hand. The minute I saw it wasn’t Chase’s number, I hit Decline. It rang again, and I sent it straight to voice mail. It immediately blew up with a slew of texts and non-stop incoming calls. Derek, Zara, Noelle, their names on the readout blurred. I hit Decline over and over, not even checking the display any longer. Finally, I responded to my brother and best friends so they knew I was okay but told them that I couldn’t talk. Then I switched my phone into Do Not Disturb.

As Siobhan swept up the larger pieces, I caught Dallas’s eye. “Did you know about the video?”

His face fell. “Uh…”

“Dallas,” I pleaded, desperation rising to the surface. “Please tell me what’s going on.”

“If there’s anything like that floating around, it’s old. From well before Carter met you. That’s all I can say.”

I nodded slowly. What Dallas was saying made sense—in the photo, Chase’s hair was longer than I’d ever seen it. But that wasn’t my main concern. Why hadn’t Chase told me? Did he know it was about to leak?

Then it hit me. He did know. And that was why he’d ended our relationship.

The dull ache in my heart turned into a searing, stabbing pain.

Did he think I wouldn’t love him anymore?

How alone must he have felt to do something like that?

“What video?” Shiv asked, turning to him as she stood.

Dallas shook his head, giving her a terse look.

“Bailey.” She gasped, her attention fixed on my feet. “You’re bleeding.”

“Huh?” I followed her gaze. Sure enough, a pool of crimson had formed beneath my left heel. “Oh.”

“Do you need help bandaging it up?”

“No, I can get it. Once I get out of here.”

Dallas switched on the vacuum, and it hummed to life. Once he’d created a clear pathway, I hopped over to the paper towels on one foot and grabbed a sheet for my cut and another for the floor. A bottle of all-purpose cleaner I’d retrieved from the cabinet in one hand, I kneeled and sprayed down the tile. At least the blood hadn’t gotten into the grout. The literal only silver lining to my week.

With a piece of paper towel awkwardly wrapped around my heel, I opened the cupboard under the sink and stashed the bottle of cleaner, then threw the used paper towels in the garbage.

Keeping my weight on my uninjured foot, I straightened and faced Dallas and Siobhan. All I could think of was getting to Chase.

“Is Chase home?”