Page 43

Oh, my fucking God.

I open my eyes, and he’s staring at me from the pool. Maybe thinking about the same thing.

Searching for a more appropriate topic, I turn to Appa again. “You know, I looked you up,” I say. “Enzo told me you were an influencer.” And that’s an understatement. She has over one million followers! But she isn’t very active now.

Appa shifts to look at me and blocks the sun from her sunglass-covered eyes. “Yeah? You did?”

“Honestly, I was embarrassed that I didn’t know who you were.” I pause, and she just shrugs. “I’ve never been one for social media.”

“I think Enzo likes that about you,” she adds. I gaze out at the pool where he unties his long hair, wet from diving into it, and puts it up into a fresh bun. The droplets of water on his skin reflect in the sun, almost giving his monochromatic tattoos some color.

“Do you think I’m a ‘pick me’?” I ask.

“God, no! I’ve been around my fair share in the influencer world. A true ‘pick me’ puts other girls down. You’re just being you,” she answers honestly.

I send her a small smile. “Thanks, Appa.”

“Ugh. So, when you were researching me, what’d you find? I hope not my old, cringy content.”

I look back at Appa and shake my head. “No, nothing like that, but I am curious about something.”

“Okay, shoot,” Appa says, relaxing her shoulders against the lounger.

“About five years ago, you were publicly linked to a now-deactivated account called Rook through comments or something. That would’ve made your timeline with Robby tight?” She gasps as soon as she hears Rook’s name. She sits up to face me, and I do the same. “Sorry, maybe I shouldn’t have asked.”

“No, it’s okay. I didn’t think we were that linked.” She glances down and toys with her engagement and wedding rings.

“What happened?”

“He deactivated his account. Moved on,” she simply answers.

“But why?”

She softly shakes her head, making her curls sway, and meets my eyes again. “Because he was never real.”

Goosebumps rise across my forearms. “Was he like AI or something?”

Appa lets out a quick laugh. “No, no. A very real person made those videos.”

“I was looking at forums. It seems like a lot of people were livid that he disappeared, and I’ve seen a few of his videos that got reposted. Not going to lie, Enzo’s hotter, but I like them tall.”

Appa giggles. “Rook is tall. Like six-foot-three. Anyway, yep, I got a ton of DMs. Some threatening. Like, where’s Rook? Are you together? He only followed you. That sort of thing,” she replies.

“How’d you cope? Did Robby help you through it?”

She smiles. “Yeah, he’s helped me through a lot, but that’s love, right?” In the corner of my eye, I notice the guys in the pool. I really need to tell Enzo… “Anyway, the messages, comments, reposts eventually stopped. People moved on to the next thirst trapper,” Appa adds, breaking me from my thoughts.

“Follow up question: he didn’t care you were flirting with some random guy online? Like I said, the timeline seemed complicated.” I laugh to keep the tone of our conversation light to not offend Appa, and it’s none of my business.

“No, he didn’t.”

“Do you know where Rook is now?” I ask.

Appa glances over at Ember and Robby, then back at me. “I’ll tell you, but promise not to tell anyone? Even Enzo?” I furrow my brows, but I nod in agreement. “He, um, left LA…got married and had a couple of cute kids.”

“Sounds like you still talk to him. I see why that’s something to keep to myself, I guess.”

“No, Tilly.” She widens her eyes and tilts her head in Robby’s direction.