Page 37

Given the absolute pressure of high school, what kind of volume should I be screaming at, right now?

Class ended, and I heard him come up to me again, saw the fireflies swirling in his pocket near his phone. “So can we study tonight?”

Looking up at him, I froze. He was the boy I’d spent hours dreaming of kissing on ZB—and the reason that bad things had happened to Lacey on Friday night. His place, his party, his horrible friends. I wanted to stand up and tell him off—but Lacey didn’t want anyone to know—and here he was looking innocent and expectant with those gray-green eyes. I had never been so confused.

I shook my head. None of it mattered anyways. “I have to work.”

“What about tomorrow?”

I inhaled to say I’d have to work tomorrow, the day after that, and the day after that one and any days in between I’d be washing my hair—but as he looked down, with his letter jacket slung over one shoulder, I realized he was the only in I’d had into what’d happened to Lacey. He, or someone in his group, knew who hurt her—and who was sending her messages on ZB.

She may not want to know what happened now—but what if she changed her mind?

“Sure.” I heard myself say.

He flashed me one of the smiles he was famous for and said, “K.”

I spent the bus ride home imagining a thousand different ways I could prove myself to Lacey again—if only she’d give me the chance. I just needed for her to believe in me.

I ignored when Shannon and Emily said things, egged on by Kortney, and I hopped off the bus to walk straight to Lacey’s.Her car was in the driveway, so I rang the doorbell and waited, listening for any movement inside.

When I heard nothing, I knocked politely. After that, I knocked harder. “Come on, Lacey! It’s not like it looked!”

I waited patiently after that. When I got no response, I tromped around to the back of her trailer where her room was. “Lacey—I know you’re in there.”

“Go away!” she shouted.

“I was stupid, okay? I’m sorry!”

No response.

“Look, I was only trying to figure things out. Things are weird right now?—”

At that she slammed her window open. “Yes. Yes, they are. Now go away.”

I opened my mouth to say something, anything, to fix things—but announcing that I thought I had superpowers was not going to help here, I knew it.

“Love you, bye,” I said meekly, and followed the direction she was pointing, walking off of her lawn.

I got home to my own trailer and slouched. Mom was in hiding again, and Allie was playing—she’d taken several Barbie dolls and popped their heads off. Other Barbies were attempting to solve the crime. I sincerely hoped she was acting out an episode ofLaw & Order, when the phone rang.

She abandoned her dolls immediately and ran for it. Only two people called this place—the truant officer, after that one time Mrs. Jadeberry had screwed up attendance and gotten me grounded for a month even though I wasright there, and Dad.

“Hello?” Allie said, breathless from the speed with which she’d crossed the kitchen floor.

Her face took on a strange expression, at once disappointed yet hopeful. “Yeah. She’s here.” She held the phone out for me. “It’s for youuuuuuuuu.”

I crossed the kitchen slowly. If it were Lacey, Allie wouldn’t be acting like that. “Hello?” I made sure to hold the earpiece away from my ear.

“Hey Jessica, it’s Darius.”

“Oh, hey.” Allie started doing a crazy dance on the kitchen floor. Oh God. In her mind, we were already married or something. “What’s up?”

“I thought you might need a ride tonight. And that you might still be grounded.”

“You thought right, on both counts.”

“Four-forty-five?”