Page 49 of Not On Your Life

“I’m sorry I got us locked in there.” I scuff my toe along one of the many cracks in the asphalt.

She sighs. “It would have happened, eventually. It’s a hazard. At least I wasn’t stuck in there by myself.” Her eyes widen as she realizes what she said.

“I’ve spent Tuesday nights in worse places.” I dare a glance at her lips, and that’s when I notice it.

A tiny smudge of chocolate in the corner.

My smile is so big it nearly jumps off my face. But I know she must have been really hungry to give in and eat the Snickers, so I won’t tease her about it. I want to wipe it away with my thumb, but then she’d know I know. So I stick my hands in my pockets, my loose shirt fluttering in the stiff breeze.

“Have a good night, Maddie,” I whisper.

She lets out a long sigh and tightens her ponytail. “You too.”

Then I force myself to turn and walk away. But that doesn’t stop me from thinking about her the whole drive home. There might be hope for something yet.

Chapter 16

Maddie

I’m not risking it today. I leave the closet door propped open and consider screwing it to the wall behind it as an extra precaution.

It’s the end of practice, and I can see the girls gearing up to leave, but after Tuesday’s fiasco, I will not be left alone again.

“Hey, girls.” My tone is firm, commanding, possibly a touch too loud.

They freeze.

“Help me clean up. Please.”

They all look at Diedre, who rolls her eyes. “We did the setup.”

“Yes. And I appreciate it. But I got stuck in that closet Tuesday night for four hours and decided as a team we shouldn’t leave until a job is done andeveryteam member is safely on this side of that door.”

Their expressions are indiscernible…until they start laughing. “You got stuck in there?”

“Hey! It wasn’t funny,” I say, but my defense slips, because for once I feel like we might be getting along. I wish it hadn’t taken such an unfortunate event, but here we are.

“How long were you in there?” Callie, one of the other juniors, asks.

I sigh and give in to them. “Until the custodian found us and nearly had a heart attack.”

“You’re the one that almost killed Uncle Al?” Megan cackles, and I can’t help but join in.

“We didn’t kill him.”

“Wait a minute, wait a minute…” Diedre cuts in and raises a very intimidating eyebrow. “You said,we.” She pauses for emphasis. “Who did you sneak into that closet with, Miss M?”

Yikes. I forgot what it’s like to get caught red-handed in high school. Not that I ever did anything nefarious in my youth.

“Yeah, who?” all the girls echo.

“No one.” I frown and pick up a ball. One with a little lightning bolt and my mind goes back to Connor. If I’m being honest, it’s been on little else the past two days. “Did I say we? I meant me.” I toss the ball haphazardly into the ball cart. “Just me, myself, and I.”

Really believable, Maddie.

Diedre crosses her arms over her chest. “We aren’t helping you pick up until you tell us.”

Two can play that game.