“Not since the game ended.” He glanced around the gym, then lowered his voice. “She hasn’t gone MIA again, has she?”
“Of course not,” Allie said.
“You sure about that?”
She thought about putting him off, but there was genuine concern in his voice and Allie had to admit to herself that Claire had once again duped her. She couldn’t even feel stupid about it. Or even mad. She tried to tell herself it wasn’t personal. This wasn’t Claire against Allie. But it felt as if Claire had turned into some alien creature that Allie couldn’t begin to understand.
“You’re right. I think Claire has gone off to parts unknown again.”
“Is she suicidal?” Tom asked.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Have you met your brother?”
“He’s not that bad.”
“Not unless you’ve boinked his sister.”
Allie raised a brow.
“Trust me, the guy would love nothing more than to meet me in a dark alley some night.”
“The thing is…I never told Mimi and Zeke about the other night. Not the boinking,” she clarified quickly. “Thanks to Madame Gloria the whole town knows about that. But they don’t know about the party at Jordan’s. And before you say anything I know what you’re thinking. I should have told them. It was irresponsible of me. I’d never make it as a parent. I—”
“I wasn’t thinking any of those things,” he said.
Before either of them could say any more, Lauren walked up to them, her usual cute self. She wore black leggings and a maroon silk top. “Hey!” she said brightly. “I was just about to round up the boys and grab a pizza on the way home.” Upon seeing their expressions, her smile faded. “What’s wrong?”
“We need to find Claire Grant,” Tom said. “Before Mimi and Zeke find out she’s somewhere she’s not supposed to be.”
“Where do you think she is?” Lauren asked.
“I’m pretty sure she’s at a friend’s house in Grayton Beach,” Allie said. “At least…it’s a place to start looking.”
“How can I help?”
“Just keep this to yourself,” Tom said. “And if you don’t mind, I’m going to skip out on the pizza and help Allie track her down.”
“Of course,” Lauren said.
“I know this looks bad,” Allie said. “But Claire’s a good girl.”
“No worries. Hey, we were all teenagers once, too.” Lauren gave Tom a hug. “See you later.” She gathered the boys and headed out the gym door.
Allie glanced around the now empty gym. “Tom, you don’t have to help me. I mean, there’s no reason for you get involved in all this.”
“Yeah. There is.” And with those three simple words he offered her his hand.
She should turn him down. Not because she wasn’t grateful for his help but because involving him would mean letting him back into her life. This morning should have been the end. But she was beginning to think that as far as she and Tom were concerned there was never going to be an end between them.
She should take a minute and think about what she was doing. Go over the pros and cons of it all. But she didn’t. In the end, she simply took his hand.
*~*~*
Allie gave Zeke and Mimi a bare bones version of Wednesday night’s activities.
“What do you mean Claire took off from soccer practice to go to a party? And you didn’t tell us?” Zeke shoved a hand through his dark hair. The stadium parking lot was empty except for the four of them. “I know this Jordan kid. The DEA arrested her older brother last year for selling coke.”