CHAPTER 39

ZAYN CARTER

I walked through the cafeteria doors with Cole beside me, scanning the crowded tables for any sign of the girls. Fay had specifically told Cole to meet her here, but the place was packed, and there was no trace of them.

Cole frowned, pulling out his phone. "She's not answering."

I rolled my eyes. "Probably too busy gossiping about something stupid."

Cole shot me a look but didn't argue. He was too used to me at this point.

We walked past a few tables, but still, nothing.

"They're not here," I muttered.

Cole exhaled. "Maybe they're outside?"

Doubtful. If Fay told him to meet her, she wouldn't just disappear.

"Library?" I suggested.

Cole gave me a flat look. "Why the hell would they be in the library?"

I shrugged. "You know how Ari is. She gets bored easily. Maybe she dragged them there."

Cole sighed. "Fine, let's check."

We left the cafeteria and headed to the library, pushing through the doors and stepping into the quieter, book-filled space. The shift in noise was immediate, the low hum of whispered conversations replacing the chaotic cafeteria energy.

And there they were.

Fay and Blair sat at a table, talking in hushed voices, while a book lay open in front of Ari. But she wasn't reading.

She was asleep

Arms folded, head resting on the open book, face turned slightly to the side. Her chest rose and fell evenly, her lips slightly parted as if she had knocked out mid-sentence.

I raised a brow. The hell?

Blair noticed us first, nudging Fay. They both turned toward us, Fay immediately perking up.

"Oh, hey! You guys took forever," she whispered, careful not to be too loud.

Cole gave her a seriously? look. "You said to meet at the cafeteria."

"Oh, yeah, we got bored and came here instead."

I ignored them, my attention shifting back to Ari. Something was off.

She wasn't just sleeping.

She looked like she was hiding.

Not physically—she wasn't ducked under the table or anything—but the way she had folded herself into the book, her body language off. Like she was using sleep as an escape.

I pulled out the chair next to her, sitting down.

"What's up with her?" I asked, nodding toward Ari.

Blair sighed. "She's tired."

"No shit."

Fay lowered her voice. "Mateo asked her to prom."

That made me pause.

"...What?"

Fay leaned in. "He asked her to prom earlier today."

I felt my jaw tighten.

"And?"

"She told him she needed time to think about it."

I clenched my fist under the table.

Of course, that asshole Mateo would ask her. And of course, she'd say she needed time instead of just shutting him down immediately.

Ari shifted slightly, murmuring something in her sleep before going still again.

I exhaled, dragging a hand down my face.

This girl was exhausted.

And now, on top of that, she had Mateo breathing down her neck?

I looked back at her peaceful face, strands of hair falling into her eyes, completely unaware of the storm she was causing in my head.

Mateo was a dead man walking.