Chapter 215

Orion The ringtone hit me like a punch to the brain, dragging me out of sleep before I even knew what was happening. I flinched and turned my head, only to get blinded by the bathroom light I'd forgotten to switch off. I groaned, slammed my eyes shut, and muttered something that probably counted as a curse. The phone kept ringing, loud and sharp, like it was trying to split my skull in half. I reached out blindly, hand fumbling across the nightstand until I grabbed the cold, cracked screen. I pressed it to my ear without checking the caller. "Dude, where the hell are you?!" Jakub's voice exploded through the speaker, half-drowned by pounding bass and shouting. My brow furrowed as my brain tried to boot up. Then it hit me. I snapped my eyes to the clock. 11:00 A.M. Crap. "Shit," I muttered. "Sorry, man. I got buried in school stuff. Lost track of time. I'll be there in fifteen." I threw off the covers and shot out of bed. I was shirtless, goosebumps crawling across my skin. Yesterday's