God, how I loathe him.
“The group already has fifteen members, all of them from school, and the number is increasing.”
Breathing suddenly becomes difficult. The image blurs before my eyes, and I only hear his voice, which is now growing darker.
“Tomorrow after school, come to me, Kansas. Maybe I can help you. I’m sure I can find a way to change the boys’ minds.”
The screen goes black, and something happens to the recording. When I click on it again, the video stops working, and suddenly, it disappears as if it destroyed itself. I press the screen like a madman, but it’s gone.
Shortly after, my phone buzzes again. A voice memo from Chester.
“You can’t restore it, Kans.”
Kans—that’s what he calls me when no one is listening. And he says it every time with that conspiratorial tone that sounds confidential but strikes me as a threat.
I watch in horror as this message also simply disappears into thin air. I don’t know how long I’ve been standing at the counter.
What should I do now? River is still out there waiting, and I have no idea what to do next. I don’t even know where he’s going.To the land of dreams?
I shakily put my phone in my pocket, and I cringe when I look up and see River in the mirror. He’s right behind me. His blond hair falls over his oval face, and his expression is inscrutable.
“It took too long.” His voice is so dark it sends a shiver down my spine. For a moment, I think about how angry he looked this morning.
I quickly avoid his gaze in the mirror. I’m closer to crying than ever before. I’mA Silent Girl in Trouble. I swallow before looking at him again.
“You look terrible, Kentucky. Were you planning on doing something stupid again?”
I shake my head with pursed lips.
“Hey!” He puts a hand on my shoulder from behind but quickly removes it when I instinctively clench my fist. A sharp pain pulsates from my palm to my forearm. My skin burns much more than usual in the sore area.
“It’s okay.” He crosses his arms as if to signal that he won’t touch me anymore. “Is there anyone you want to say goodbye to before we leave?”
I answer again by shaking my head, and he points toward the door. “If we leave now, we’ll reach South Dakota and the Black Hills today. By the way, it’s also a good place for the final jump. Have you ever been there?”
With a dry mouth, I shake my head a third time. I’m so tired, so exhausted. I feel hollow.
He smiles encouragingly at me. “We can sleep out in the open, in a tent, or in a motel, whatever you want.”
Whatever I want? I don’t want to sleep next to a stranger at all. Who knows what River might expect from me if I go with him? I feel overwhelmed, but there’s no turning back.
Can you buy me a newspaper?I type with unsteady fingers, trying to ignore his smell of forest, herbs, and leather. It sickens me to think that I’m going to be with him all the time. Not because of him specifically, but because I’ve never been anywhere with a guy apart from the ones who bully me.
River looks at me strangely. “A newspaper?” he asks grumpily.
Please! I’ll give you the money.
“Don’t worry about it.” He sighs and points at me. “Just wait.”
Oh, that’s why he appeared so upset. He thought I was up to something.
He buys aMinnesota Todayand hands it to me. I won’t look at it yet and save it for later; I don’t want River to know what I’m reading.
We go back to the Porsche together, and I’m shocked as I look at the back of the car.
He has a lightning-shaped scratch on the right rear side. It’s no coincidence—the Porsche looks just like Chester’s. It is Chester’s. I’m quite sure. Just last week, David Cassidy, a.k.a. Snoop from the ninth grade, crashed his bike into it. Chester allegedly slapped him and had his cronies strip Snoop naked. Then, he had to run around the lacrosse field three times with no clothes on. I don’t know if the story is true; I only heard it because Chester and Hunter locked me in my locker, and the principal’s daughter, Abigail, came over and told her friends about it. It was the first time that I considered Mr. Spock might be Snoop. However, the rest doesn’t fit with what I know about Mr. Spock because, supposedly, he doesn’t speak either.
So, McFarley, you stole the car,I think and grip the newspaper tighter. I look at the scratch with an uneasy feeling.
