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Misty refused to leave me alone. And because we were partners on the English project, she had more opportunities to badger me. By the time we hit study period in the library I was ready to strangle her. Or lure her out to my car and hit her over the head with the crossbow I wedged into my tiny trunk.
I finally dragged her to an empty corner to tell her to shut up. She started talking before I could open my mouth.
“You have to tell me, Alex.” Her high-pitched whisper set my nerves on edge. “I’m part of this. You weren’t the only one nearly ripped apart by—”
“Not. Another. Word.”
Her blue eyes widened. She backed away from me, pressed into the corner. “But—”
“Not here, Misty.” I let out a sigh. There was no way out of this one, and I’d never hear the end of it if she discovered after the fact. “I’ll call you tonight, and tell you what I can then. Okay?”
She did a double air punch with imaginary pom poms. “Hey, I have an idea.” She lowered her arms. “I can drive you home, and we’ll talk at your house.”
“I have my car here.”
“You drove to school?” Her gaze shot down to my arm. “Are you—”
“I’m fine. I have to run an errand, and I didn’t want to go home first.”
“Will Sam be there?”
My stomach twisted at the mention of his name. He wasn’t in school today, and I was terrified his absence meant his mom hadn’t made it.
“Earth to Alex.” I looked up at Misty, startled by the concern on her face. “Hey—what happened? You look like someone died.”
“Nothing. I’m tired, and my arm itches like crazy. Thanks, Misty.” I surprised both of us with that.
“Now I know you’re not okay.” She studied me, then shook her head. “You need to go home, get some real sleep. You haven’t really looked good since—you know what.”
“Thanks, Misty.” We both smiled, and for the first time, talking to her didn’t feel awkward. “Once my arm decides to stop itching like I have some disease, I should be able to get a decent night’s sleep.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Can I just say—eeewwwww.” She led the way back to our table, so clearly the private part of the conversation was over. “Why don’t I take the notes in case you don’t show tomorrow...oh.” She blinked at the flat stare I gave her, and flipped her blonde braid over one shoulder. “Never mind.”
“I’ll make copies for you.”
I gathered up the pile of notes, thanked myself for writing them out on the same size paper, and headed over to the copy machine. That was allowed, since copiers predated the current technology boom. If the school librarian, Mrs. Swiller, could destroy every computer at school, she’d be swinging a sledgehammer in a hot second. Instead, she glared at them, and forbid their use during study periods.
With a sigh, I straightened my pile and stuck it in the automatic feeder, hitting the start button. My phone buzzed, vibrating against my right hip. I leaned against the side of the copier and eased it out, careful not to let the technophobic librarian see me. My heart stilled when I saw Sam’s number on the screen.
Knowing I’d get my phone taken away if I were caught, I moved around the copier, and headed into the reference section right behind it, practically running as soon as I was out of sight. I wedged myself into the far corner and answered.
“Sam?”
“She’s okay, Alex.” I could hear the exhaustion, and the relief in his voice. “My mom is going to be okay.”
“Oh, thank God.” I slid down the wall, tucking my knees under my chin. Lowering my voice, I held the phone close. “I’m in study period, so I can’t talk long. I’m meeting my dad at the county records office after school. He’s using his access card to get me in, so I’ll check for any place Jake might be using as a hideout.”
There was a long pause. “Can I tag along?”
He tried to sound casual, but I knew how important this was. We had to find Jake.
“That should be okay. My dad likes you, so I don’t see a problem.”
“Your dad likes me.” The humor in his comment had panic squeezing my throat, so I couldn’t interrupt, or keep him from continuing. “That’s good to know. So I can join your plan-hunting party?”
“I—” My voice came out a strangled, unintelligible squeak. A squeak. Heat flamed my face.
“I’ll take that as a yes. Alex,” I could hear the smile in his voice. “Thank you for brightening my day.”
He ended the call. I lowered the phone, staring at it, my mind completely blank. I didn’t even have anything left to panic. Which I should have been doing, with gusto.
Sam Emmett knows how I feel about him!
There it was—my mind coming back online and into full panic mode.
I pushed off the floor, shoving my phone in my pocket out of habit—right before I ran head on into Mrs. Swiller.
“This is not a playground, Miss Finch.” Did I mention she doesn’t like me much? Yeah—too many clandestine trips to the computer when I was supposed to be “resting my mind from the ravages of technology.” I knew she wanted to grab me and drag me back to my designated seat, but she had been warned—repeatedly—that she was not allowed to manhandle the children. “Return to your seat, before I am forced to report you to your teacher.”
I nodded, afraid of what might come out of my mouth if I dared open it. I stopped long enough to grab my notes and the copies, earning another glare. Along with every book in the school library, Mrs. Swiller had an unnatural attachment to the copier.
She moved back to the low counter where we checked out books, and I could have sworn I saw her brush her hand over one of the computers. No—she hated them with a passion most people reserved for good things. Like chocolate. I was definitely seeing things.
I shrugged it off and headed back to the table, where Misty was doing her best to read the book for our project. I had her put it on her ereader, so she couldn’t tear out pages in frustration. I knew she didn’t enjoy the experience, but since I’d already written enough notes to choke an elephant, she gave in pretty quickly. After all, I already did most of the grunt work.
She looked up when I sat, setting the ereader on the table. “You still have your head on. She seems pretty mild today.”
“Nothing she could accuse me of. Except breathing, or looking at the computers, or breathing.”
Misty burst out laughing, smothering it with her hand as Mrs. Swiller’s head bounced up, her gaze scoping out the culprit. I shifted, hiding Misty until she composed herself. Like we were friends. I had to sit back, wrap my mind around that one.
The populars and I did not get along. It was against the natural laws of high school. Me geek, her cheerleader. Nope—not computing.
“Hey—you in there, Alex?” I blinked at her, feeling like I’d stepped out of the familiar and into the strange. As if finding out about Jake wasn’t enough strange in my life. “Time to go. Didn’t you hear the bell?”
I shook my head, gathered up my notes and stuffed them in my backpack. Study period was my last class today, so I pushed past the other kids avoiding their next class until the last second, and sprinted to the parking lot. The sooner I got to those plans, the sooner I could find Jake.
That last thought stopped me in my tracks. And I closed my eyes when I realized it was true.
I wanted to help Sam. I wanted to be part of this.
I was so screwed.