I quickly pulled my hand away from David’s. The nerve of this guy—grabbing someone’s hand just like that! Especially when we don’t even know each other. I mean, sure, I know his name, but it’s not like he knows mine!

“Excuse me, but what do you want now? I’m really in a hurry,” I said, making sure my tone was firm so he’d get that I wasn’t kidding around.

David did let go of my hand, but now he was standing right in front of the stairs, blocking my way. Great. Obviously, he was doing it on purpose so I couldn’t get past him.

“If you don’t give me your number, I’m not letting you go,” he said with a smirk that made my blood boil.

Poor Amelie. I kept thinking how she believed David was this sweet, innocent guy who didn’t mess around. Guess appearances really can be deceiving.

I let out a sharp sigh, glaring at him.

“You want my number? For what?”

David chuckled. “What do you think? So I can call you, duh.”

“I don’t need you to call me. So I don’t see any reason to give you my number.”

“Wow. First time a girl’s ever turned me down for a number.” Now he sounded annoyed. “Aren’t you full of yourself?”

Ugh. Who does he think he is? Mr. Too-Handsome-For-His-Own-Good? I rolled my eyes and tried to walk past him again.

“You’re not going anywhere till I get that number,” David said, this time with a bit of a threat in his voice. “When you asked for mine, I gave it to you, didn’t I? So what’s the problem now?”

Okay, fine. He had a point. I *had* asked for his number before, and he gave it without making a fuss.

I swallowed hard, trying to stay calm.

“Alright, fine. I’ll give you my number,” I said, giving in with a sigh.

David grinned. “So your name’s El, right?”

“Yeah. Just call me El,” I replied reluctantly. “Now can you move? I gave you what you wanted.”

David raised his eyebrows, pretending to be confused. “Wow, you're kind of feisty, huh?” he laughed. “Seriously, never met a girl who gets mad just from being asked for her number.”

My eyes widened at his comment. God, this guy was getting on my nerves. Total waste of time dealing with a walking red flag like him.

“Bye, El! I’ll call you later!” he said cheerfully as I started walking away.

“DON’T BOTHER! I WON’T PICK UP!” I snapped, speeding up in case he tried to stop me again.

**

Even after I got to Wonderland, I was still annoyed. That whole stairway encounter had really messed up my mood. And even after we’d gone over some stuff about Sylvia, I couldn’t shake the irritation. Ugh, just thinking about David made me feel gross.

“El, what’s wrong? Did you have a fight with Sebastian? Or... wait, is this about Sylvia?” Sarah asked, clearly noticing the sour expression on my face.

“Ugh, no! I wouldn’t waste my time fighting with him over Sylvia. No way,” I rolled my eyes dramatically.

Sarah laughed at my antics.

Honestly, I’d already told Sebastian the whole story about what was going on, and to my surprise, he didn’t get mad at me at all.

“Wait, seriously? He didn’t get mad? Or even say anything about what Sylvia and his dad did?”

“He didn’t get mad at me, no. But about his dad and Sylvia? Oh yeah, he was pissed. I could totally see the anger and hatred in his eyes whenever he talked about them.”

Sarah sighed and rubbed her temples. “This is such a mess, El. Everything’s just getting more and more complicated.”

“I know, right? But it’s not like *you* caused the drama. Let’s just focus on finding a solution. And we’ve got Sebastian helping now, so chill a little.”

“El… I’m sorry, I keep dragging you into all the Wonderland drama.”

I waved my hand at her like it was nothing. “Oh, come on. Don’t be like that. I told you—I’m happy to help.”

“But you’re supposed to be done here, El. I already agreed to let you resign… and yet you’re still running around dealing with all this Wonderland stuff.” Sarah flopped dramatically onto the sofa beside me.

I let her vent. I knew she needed someone to talk to and someone who had her back. A few moments later, her rant faded into silence. I glanced over—and yep, she was out cold, already asleep on the couch. I smiled. Poor thing must be exhausted.

I quietly got up, grabbed a pillow from the end of the sofa, and started looking around for a blanket. After a bit of digging in the cabinet, I found a soft pink one. I walked back and gently draped it over Sarah.

I was about to leave a note before heading out, but then my phone started ringing. Worried it might wake Sarah, I quickly pulled it out of my jacket pocket and answered without checking the screen.

“Well, well. Thought you didn’t want me to call? But here you are, picking up right away,” said a voice I knew all too well. He laughed that annoying laugh of his.

That unmistakable voice teased from the other end, followed by a smug laugh.

It took me a second to realize who was calling. But once I recognized that annoying, all-too-familiar laugh, I immediately felt irritated again.

Ugh! What does this player want now?