“What a fool! And the nation admires someone like that!” He laughs hard, and suddenly, I see something like wounded pride in his eyes. Wounded pride, anger, but also envy. Oh yes, he envies Tanner. He steps toward me, and I back away. “After he was kicked out, he disappeared, and we never heard from him again.”
Well, it’s not like your father cared for him, I think as I walk backward, step by step, until I reach my dad.
He takes my arm, a gesture that strangely calms me because he’s there, giving me support.
“Did he do that?” Chester suddenly asks, pointing to my jaw where the bruise is fading.
Swiftly, I shake my head.
“Some patients tend to have violent outbursts during manic phases.”
Stop it!I want to cover my ears or punch him in the face.
“He always beat me up too.”
“That’s enough, Chester.” Clark Davenport glares at me. “She’s heard enough. She needs to tell us where to find Tanner.”
Maybe River isn’t even bipolar but merely consumed by guilt. Maybe it’s because of his upbringing—the withdrawal of love, with which his father punished him. And I don’t believe he hit Chester. He only said that about the girls because he enjoys hurting me.
River said he loves me.Damn it!
I recall him standing in the light of the streetlamp as if in a moon bubble.I love you, Tucks. He was so angry. He sounded so honest. Hot tears well up in my eyes, but I blink them away.
I must warn River so he doesn’t come here and run straight into his father’s arms. I have to talk to him alone.
Nervously, I glance around. An employee is standing behind the reception desk, busily typing something into his computer. To the right is the heavy glass entrance door, but I can’t just run away; they’re all faster than me.
He’s coming here; he wanted to meet here, I type on my cell phone and add three more sentences about the opening. I hold up my words to Dad. He shows them to Clark Davenport and Chester. Chester immediately pulls out his cell phone and types something; he’s certainly googling it to see if I’m telling the truth while his father glares at me with cold, narrowed eyes.
“If you lie again this time, may God have mercy on you.” It’s the first sentence he says to me personally, and his voice sounds threateningly soft. Dad returns my phone and looks at me almost pleadingly. I merely nod. I feel sick. I have no idea what will happen if Clark Davenport finds out that I’m lying. Maybe he’ll have Dad fired or make sure I go to prison. But I have nochoice because if he finds River, he will use his influence to put him in a clinic and pump him full of drugs.
On the other hand, River is Asher Blackwell. His word might carry just as much weight when it comes down to it. The whole nation loves him. No one in America could just have someone committed like that—not even Clark Davenport. Or could he?
And what if there is a valid reason for his concerns, one that goes beyond River’s drinking, his risky stunts, and his cutting? What if he truly is that sick?
I quickly write:I’m freezing, Dad. I need to change.
As if on command, my teeth chatter. Luckily, I took cover in the fountain, so now I have a convincing reason to disappear into the hotel room.
Dad looks at my phone and glances at Clark Davenport, who is talking to Chester. “Hurry up!” he says softly and presses a Coke and a chocolate bar into my hand.
I nod gratefully, so happy I put the key in my pocket earlier. I quickly sprint up the stairs and lock myself in the hotel room.
The little we have here has been ransacked. Were Chester and his father in our room? Or was it River searching for a disguise?
I don’t know, and I don’t have time to think about it. I hope River doesn’t come here. It was a white lie and the only thing I could think of in my panic to calm the others down.
With my heart pounding, I slip out of my wet clothes and pull on a pair of River’s dry jeans and his black sweater. A thousand thoughts whirl through my head as I roll up the jeans, fold up the sweater sleeves, and thread a belt through the pant loops.
I need to know how bad River truly is. I don’t want to believe that he only saves girls in his madness. With my forearm, I wipe away a few tears that are running unabated down my cheeks. After chugging the Coke, I’m about to climb out of the window when I remember the signal device that’s still in myjeans pocket. I frantically pull it out and click it into place before climbing through the window onto the crooked fire escape.
The steps groan. Sharp metal digs into the soles of my feet, and only now do I realize that I’ve lost my flip-flops.Damn!They’re probably floating in the Roman fountain—or somewhere else in The Forum.
After descending halfway down the ladder, I glance at the street below. The hotel entrance is around the corner, but maybe Chester is patrolling the area around the hotel. When I don’t see anyone, I climb down further until I’m on the sidewalk. I hesitantly start walking, and after a few steps, I start running.
I have no idea where to look for River.
I’ll find you.
