Free RECKLESS - Part 3 (The RECKLESS Series) by Alice Ward

leave me without saying goodbye.” He leaned across the space between us, pulled me into him and gave me one last kiss. With my faces still just inches from his, he pulled back and whispered against my lips. “Even if it’s our last one.”
    There are so many things I could have said, and probably even more that I should have said, but I didn’t want to ruin it, that moment. So, instead, I simply nodded and then slid down to the ground outside, heart in my throat. I couldn’t even turn around and look back as I shut the door behind me, made my way up the driveway, and into the dorms.
    Just as I stepped inside our room, a text message came through.
    Listen to your heart. Not your head.
    I fell against the door and crumpled to the floor. The tears started flowing, all the things I’d wanted to ask or say swarmed around inside my head as everything I’d lost and gained weighed heavy on my heart. It was as though life had just crashed down on me, like a ton of bricks. Because, even though I’d just had the most amazing weekend of my life, I had to go back to my life.
    I didn’t know what that looked like, didn’t know where to start, or where it would all end.

CHAPTER SEVEN
    I’d spent all of Sunday evening going through my neglected studies. Unfortunately, between Jace and Sean, there wasn’t much room in my head for psychology, human behavior, composition, or math. There wasn’t even room for noticing that Becca hadn’t made it home until I’d woken up after falling asleep with my face in my books.
    When I jolted up out of a nightmare, I glanced over at the clock and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. It was nearly four in the morning. Becca never stayed out that late... but then again, she’d never been with a bass guitarist before. Rather than panic, I sent her a quick text.
    Hey, just checking on you. Okay?
    I hadn’t really expected her to answer, not at such a ridiculous hour, so I tossed my phone on my bed and then headed in to brush my teeth and wash my face. When I came out, I checked my phone again. Still no response, so I plugged it into the charger and then climbed into bed.
    About twenty minutes later, just as I was about to fall asleep, my phone dinged. I grabbed it from the nightstand and opened the message app.
    Staying with Zane. Sweet dreams.
    I smiled, put my phone back on the nightstand, and then drifted off to sleep.
    Two hours later, my alarm went off, telling me it was time to get up. I smacked snooze, picked up my phone and searched for any additional messages from Becca. Finding none, I crawled out of bed and headed for the bathroom.
    I didn’t know how. I didn’t know why. But for some reason, as I stepped into the shower, I couldn’t shake this feeling that something was off.
    At first, I thought it had been Becca’s text message, like maybe it hadn’t sounded like her. But after reading it several times, I didn’t pick up on anything odd. Then I chalked it up to having slept half the night in an upright position, or maybe just all the crazy sex over the weekend. But as I brushed my teeth and did my makeup, I knew that wasn’t it.
    Something was wrong.
    I knew it like I knew the sky was blue. I just couldn’t place my finger on it. I also didn’t have time to worry about it; I needed to stop by the journalism office before class and find out if Marcus had any projects that needed to be covered; I might have saved some cash, but I knew how the writing game went... like most things, if you don’t use it, you lose it.
    Plus, I really missed the high of chasing a story.
    I needed something to do with all my free time. Sure, I had Jace and my classes, but I’d spent no less than thirty hours a week at the paper the last three and a half years. I couldn’t possibly fill all those hours with studying and concerts and sex. And writing kept me sane.
    Unfortunately, that didn’t pan out so well; the paper was doing worse than ever. So, rather than beg on my knees, I pitched an idea for