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“How did they find him so fast?” I asked. She paused. “I mean, they came right to the door.”

She started to turn away and then smiled. “You’re the valedictorian, not me, but it seems quite simple.”

“How?”

“The school most likely called his parents to tell him he was missing. They called my mother or my father, and they told them where you had gone. So they put two and two together, and voilà.”

She started up again.

“But you didn’t tell your parents we were staying here. You told me not to say anything and that your roommates would cover for us if they called,” I reminded her.

She kept walking up the stairway. I sped up and caught up to her in the hallway. I grabbed her arm and spun her around.

“Kiera!”

“Relax. One of my roommates obviously broke down and told,” she said. “I’ll find out who it was and break her neck. Although I probably can’t blame her. I’m sure my mother was hysterical on the phone.”

I thought for a moment and then hurried into the suite to get my cell phone. I saw there was a message on it. Kiera came in behind me. I held it up.

“I have a call from your mother.”

“I’ll talk to her and explain that it was my idea to come here.”

“That’s not the point,” I said. “They thought I was listening to them and avoiding Ryder. Now they’ll know I lied.”

“Join the club.”

“I don’t belong in that club,” I said, moving toward my things. “I think I’ll just head back.”

“What? Don’t be stupid. I’ve been through many things like this with them. They’ll get over it.”

“Yes, but I won’t,” I said, gathering my things.

She stood there with her hands on her hips, her eyes widening with rage. “You’re actually going to leave me here alone after I planned this whole thing out, went through all this trouble for you?”

“I won’t be any fun to have with you, Kiera. I can’t help it. Sorry.”

“Great,” she said, and went into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

“Kiera, don’t be like that,” I said. I waited, but she didn’t respond.

Despite her tantrum, I couldn’t change my mind. My body felt as if there were at least a half-dozen fuses all lit inside. If I was going to explode somewhere, I’d rather it be at home.

“I’ll call you,” I said, and headed out. Seeing Ryder’s car still parked there brought tears to my eyes. How horrible it had to be for him to be driven all the way home in a police car and with his hands cuffed behind him like some common criminal. How could his parents do this to him?

I got into my car and started out of the parking lot. When I looked back and up, I saw Kiera on the small balcony. She had another glass of vodka and orange juice in one hand and a cigarette in the other. She wasn’t looking at me. She was looking out at the mountains in the distance. I wondered if she would stay there or return to her dorm.

It took me much longer to get back into Los Angeles. I hit all sorts of traffic. At one point, there was a backup because of an accident. I wasn’t really hungry despite eating little or nothing all day, but when I had a chance to turn off for gasoline, I bought myself a cereal bar and some water. I started to call Jordan again a number of times but thought it was better just to arrive. However, it was getting late, and when I was about an hour away, I did call.

“Where are you?” she asked immediately.

“Only an hour away.”

“Donald is very upset. I’m very disappointed.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll explain when I get there. Did Kiera call you?”

“No. I think she called Donald,” she said, “but I don’t remember the time. Drive carefully,” she added. Her voice was so small and distant that she sounded thousands of miles away. Before I could say anything else, she hung up.