Page 53 of (My Accidental) Killer Summer

Noah

I pushthrough the front doors of the school, my heart racing with anxiety. The fluorescent lights buzz overhead, and the air is thick with the scent of disinfectant and burnt coffee.

Not too unlike the police station.

“Excuse me, I’m looking for Elle Grant,” I say, stopping just short of the front office desk. My voice sounds calm, but there’s a low thrum of unease building in my chest. “She’s here for a meeting with the principal.”

The woman looks up from her paperwork, adjusting her glasses as she registers my face. “And you are?”

“Noah Grant. Her husband.”

“Oh. I wasn’t aware she had…” she trails off awkwardly.

“I’ve been…away… on business,” I explain just as awkwardly.

“Well, Mrs. Grant has already been here,” she says. “She and Jill left about ten or twenty minutes ago.”

Jill? She’s never been the one to get into trouble before.

I blink. “Not Jaq?”

The woman gives a small shake of her head.

I nod, mutter a thank you, and head back outside. The heat hits me like a wall. Bright sun, no breeze, just the sound ofkids still on the playground in the distance and the weight of unanswered questions pressing against my chest.

I climb into the SUV, turn the ignition, and grip the wheel hard enough to crack something. My jaw’s already tight. I tell myself not to overthink, not to go there—but I’m already halfway down that road.

I start to back out, glancing once toward the sidewalk.

That’s when I see them.

Hood up. Backpack slung low. Hands in their pockets, head down like they’re trying to blend into the pavement.

Jaq.

Walking.

Alone.

My breath catches. My foot slams on the brake.

I’m out of the car before I know what I’m doing.

“Jaq!”

Their head jerks up.

And for one second that excited flash ofoh, hey, I’m happy to see you, before their expression shutters and they look away.

They keep walking.

But not fast.

Not running. Not pushing me away.

Just… not sure.

I catch up in a few strides. I don’t touch them. I don’t force anything. I just walk beside them for a few seconds, my heart pounding in a rhythm I haven’t felt in years.