Page 123 of Promising You
As the driver takes off, I try to assess where we’re at. It looks like the back of a strip mall. When the driver turns around the side of the building, we pass the drive-thru for The Burger Hut, a place that Garret and I sometimes go to eat. What is a rich guy like Sinclair doing with an office in a strip mall next to The Burger Hut?
I get my phone out to call Garret but there’s no signal, which is odd because I always have a signal here. The driver sees me holding the phone in the air.
“The signal is disabled in the car,” he says.
Arlin didn’t want me using the phone? But why? It’s another reason I shouldn’t trust him. None of what he said made sense. He belongs to a secret society? The same one Garret’s dad belongs to? I guess it’s possible, but I still don’t know what they do. Help rich people run for office? Keep people like me from marrying people like Garret?
The driver parks in front of my dorm, helps me out of the car, hands me my backpack, then drives away.
My phone immediately starts ringing. It’s Garret. I’ve been gone for hours and he’s probably been calling nonstop.
“Garret, I’m—”
“Jade, where the hell have you been? Are you okay?”
“Yes. I’m fine.”
Actually I’m not fine. I’m feeling really dizzy all of a sudden. Stress must make the concussion worse, like the doctor said. And I’ve been under a lot of stress the past few hours.
“Where are you?” Garret asks.
“I’m just outside our dorm. Are you in your room? Because I could use some help down here.”
“Yeah, I’ll be right down.” When he meets me there seconds later, I’m leaning against the building so I don’t pass out. “What happened? Is it your head?”
“I feel kind of dizzy. I just need help with my bag.”
“Something’s wrong. I’m taking you to the doctor. Can you make it to the car?”
“I just saw the doctor. I’m fine. I just need to sit down.”
“You saw Cunningham? That’s where you were? How did you get there?”
“It’s a long story. Let’s go inside.”
We go to my room and he helps me to the bed, sitting right beside me. He looks so worried. Nobody’s ever looked that worried for me. Frank and Ryan worry about me, but not the same way Garret does.
He fastens his arm around me and kisses my forehead. “I knew I shouldn’t have let you go to class.”
“I’ll be okay. I’m feeling a little better now.”
“Dr. Cunningham called me earlier and said you’re not supposed to go to class for the next few days. He knows you won’t listen to him, so he called me to make sure you take some days off to rest. But he didn’t mention you being at his office. Did you take a cab there? And why didn’t you answer your phone?”
“There’s something I need to tell you.”
He gets an even more worried look on his face. “What is it?”
“After class today a man approached me outside of the Student Services building. It was the same man who bumped into me at Rockefeller Center. And I was right. He is connected to Sinclair.”
“Are you joking here because this isn’t funny.”
“No. I’m serious. He had these men with him and I thought for sure he was there to kill me and then I passed out.”
“Jade! What the hell? Why didn’t you—”
“Just let me finish. I woke up at an office and Dr. Cunningham was there. He said I’m okay so you don’t need to worry. Anyway the old man came into the room and said he wanted to talk to me.”
“Who is this guy?”
