The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback (Astra and Zayne) novel Chapter 163

Chapter 163

ZANE

I didn’t remember leaving my room.

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One moment I was staring at *Pride and Prejudice”, the next I was standing outside hers with my hand resting on the doorknob.

I hesitated for half a second before pushing the door open.

Silence greeted me.

The room looked exactly the way she had left it.

The curtains were half-drawn, letting the grey afternoon light spill across the neatly made bed. A cardigan hung over the back of the desk chair. Her textbooks sat stacked in one corner, a yellow highlighter tucked between the pages of the top one.

Everything was exactly where it belonged.

Everything… except her.

I stepped inside and quietly closed the door behind me.

The room still held the scent I’d come to associate with her, sweet strawberries softened by the clean fragrance of her shampoo. It hit me harder than I expected. I crossed to the bed and sat down slowly, the mattress dipping beneath my weight.

For a long moment I just looked around, eyes wandering over every little thing she had brought into this space.

A framed photograph of her and her mother.

A folded blanket at the foot of the bed.

A tiny pot holding three pens and a pencil that had been chewed absentmindedly at one end.

Then I saw it.

Patches.

The small teddy bear rested against her pillow exactly where she’d left him. Without thinking, I reached for it. It fit easily in one hand. The fur was soft from years of being held. My thumb brushed over one ear, the stitching was uneven.

I remembered asking about it once.

“What happened to its ear?”

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10:28 Sat, Aug 1

Chapter 163

She’d smiled sheepishly.

“I accidentally tore it when I was little.”

“So buy another one.”

She’d hugged the bear to her chest immediately.

“No. I’ve had Patches since I was five. He’s family.”

I’d laughed.

“You’re ridiculous, Trouble.”

She’d stuck her tongue out at me.

“Says the guy who talks to his car.”

:

A breath escaped me. Not quite a laugh. Not quite anything.

I looked down at the bear in my hands.

I’d give anything to hear her argue with me again.

“You miss her too, huh?” I murmured.

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The bear didn’t answer, of course. But holding something she loved made the emptiness in my chest feel a little less sharp.

I lay back against her pillows, still clutching Patches to my chest. My eyes closed. For a few minutes the world narrowed to nothing but her scent and the quiet rhythm of my own breathing.

A sharp knock sounded against the bedroom door.

I didn’t move.

The knock came again, a little louder.

“Go away,” I said.

The door opened anyway.

Jason stepped inside.

He stopped almost immediately, eyes sweeping across the room until they landed on me. For a long moment neither of us spoke.

Then his gaze dropped to the teddy bear still in my hands.

I raised an eyebrow, still sitting on Astra’s bed.

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10:28 Sat, Aug 1

Chapter 163

“What the fuck are you doing in here?”

Jason’s jaw tightened. “I came to see if you knew anything about Astra.”

I let out a short, hollow laugh. “Right. Because you thought I’d hide her in her own room.”

He didn’t laugh.

I set Peaches carefully back against the headboard and stood up, eyes never leaving his.

“Get out.”

He didn’t move.

“I said get out.”

Still nothing.

I took one step toward him. “This is the only warning you’re getting. Leave.”

Jason’s jaw flexed, the muscle jumping beneath the skin. “I’m not leaving.”

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I stared at him, arms crossed over my chest. The last thing I needed right now was another person in this room demanding answers I didn’t have.

“You think you’re the only one worried about her?” His voice came out rough, frayed at the edges. “I’ve barely slept. I even drove back to Harrington this morning, hoping someone-anyone-knew something. Nobody does. The police won’t tell us a damn thing.” He swallowed hard, throat working. “So I came here.”

My expression didn’t change. I wasn’t about to hand him anything.

“They’re not going to tell you anything either,” I said flatly.

“Then tell me what *you* know.”

The silence stretched between us, thick and uncomfortable. Jason took another step into the room, his usual swagger nowhere in sight.

“Please.”

That word sounded foreign in his mouth.

I looked away for a second, jaw tightening until it ached. “They’re searching.”

“I know they’re searching,” he snapped, frustration bleeding into every syllable. “Everyone knows they’re searching. Has anything changed? Anything at all?”

For a moment I considered stonewalling him completely. But the raw desperation carved into his face made

me pause.

“They found proof she’s still alive.”

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