I Was the Unwanted Fifth in Their Life and Death Pact novel · Chapter 12 of 24

Chapter 12: The First Call

Brody lived on the third floor of a building with no elevator, so Nolan carried my crutches and I took the stairs one at a time on my good leg.

He didn't offer to carry me, and I loved him a little for it.

Brody opened the door before we knocked.

His glasses were crooked, and the apartment behind him was dark except for a laptop glowing on the kitchen counter.

"I haven't slept," he said. "Come in."

He looked at Nolan.

"That's Dr. Kerrigan," I said. "He's the one who stayed."

"Thank you," Brody said, and his voice broke on it.

Nolan nodded once.

We sat at the counter on three mismatched stools.

Brody wiped his palms on his jeans.

"I run the servers," he said. "Derrick wrote the app. I built the recording archive. On Monday night, after you came to the office, he called me and said to wipe the Tuesday file."

"And you didn't."

"I made a copy first. I told myself I'd delete it tomorrow. I never did."

"Why not?"

"Because I rejected the fourth call." He looked at the counter. "I looked at my phone, and it said your name, and I thought, here she goes again. I thought that for one second. And then I put the phone down and had cake."

I didn't say it was all right.

It wasn't.

"Play it," I said.

He clicked a key.

← Chapter 11 · All chapters · Chapter 13 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend