Page 54 of The Girl Who Was Taken

The Night of the Abduction

S he endured three hours of tedium while she waited.

She talked with people she had no interest in, and laughed at stupid high school humor she’d long grown bored of.

She watched Matt deliberately ignore her, and listened to Megan giggle in her fake voice whenever Matt uttered a word.

On a normal night, it would have been too much to handle.

But tonight was anything but normal. Tonight was special. Epic, even.

She stood with Rachel and Jessica around the bonfire and pretended to drink beer. Pretended to be interested in them. Pretended to care which college everyone was off to in the fall. Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she quickly grabbed it.

Finally, Casey was ready.