Erica came to stand beside me. “Uh, Jo? You know that thing was on the ground, right? You’re going to have to go to the hospital to get all those germs off of you.”
“Yeah,” I murmured. “Uh-huh.”
The paper was two weeks old. That was a week after I’d seen him, a week after he’d disappeared again from my life.
Kian Maston was released three weeks ago and given a new lease on life.
“Hey.” Erica stopped my reading, gazing down at the newspaper. “I shouldn’t tell you this, but you know that interview I’m doing in a few weeks, the one I’m working with Susan on?”
Oh, no.
My heart started pumping.
She continued, “It’s with him.”
“What?” My throat couldn’t work. That word had barely squeaked out.
She nodded, her eyes filling with excitement. “Can you believe it?”
“With this guy?” I had to be sure.
“I know. I can’t believe it either. I’ve been dying to tell you about it, but Susan and the senior reporter threatened us. If we say a word, I’m off the project. We’re not supposed to say anything, but, man, this interview is big. He’s only done one other interview. And get this”—her voice rose—“he reached out to us. I guess he always wanted to come to Hillcrest or something, so he offered to do an interview here.”
My mouth was so damn dry. “When?”
Her eyes got big. She shook her head. “I can’t say that but soon, very soon.” She moved closer, dropping her voice. “This could be huge for me, Jo. Huge.”
Oh my God.
A hand was pressing down on my chest.
I asked, unsure if I wanted to hear the answer, “Who’s interviewing him?”
The gleam in her eye slightly dissipated at my question, and she moved back a step. “Um…the senior reporter is doing most of it, but so are we—Susan and me. I shouldn’t have said anything, though. Crap. Don’t say anything to Jake. I know Susan still talks to him. She says she’s keeping tabs on him for Tara. Promise you won’t say anything? Please, Jo.”
“No.” I shook my head. “Of course not.”
Kian was coming back. He was going to meet my friend. I couldn’t get that out of my head.
“Thanks, Jo.” Erica rolled her eyes. “I shouldn’t have said anything, but I was excited. I am excited. I mean, this guy is everywhere. Journalists all over are clamoring for an interview with him, and he’s coming to our school to do one. Susan thinks it’s a weird angle for him to get into Hillcrest.”
“To get into Hillcrest…” I couldn’t have heard that right.
We resumed going through the market as Erica nodded, gripping her bag tighter. “Well, he’s out, you know? I mean, it makes sense. He’ll want to go somewhere for college. Everyone needs a degree, and his name attracts mayhem now. It can’t be easy, being him. Anywhere he goes, reporters show up, protesters start lining the streets, and who else knows what?” She shrugged and then stopped to pay for some corn on the cob. “The interview’s going to attract a lot of attention to our school. I think that’s why he’s doing it, showing the university what his name could do so that they’ll let him in.”
“I…”
He hadn’t been back since that night, since Snark had said he was going to go see Kian’s parents. I considered that the door was closed since it had been a month with no word from him. But, now, knowing he’d be coming back, a whole slew of sensations were bombarding my system. And I didn’t want to focus on any of them.
“All the hard questions are going to be asked, that’s for sure. Like where’s Jordan Emory, for one. The girl’s been missing for three years. How can someone like that, with eyes like that girl has, stay hiding? You know?” She bought a bag of kale, then saw my one bag of strawberries. “Is that all you’re getting?”
“What?” I couldn’t hear her. There was a pounding in my eardrums.
She indicated my bag. “I thought we were stocking up for the week. That won’t hold you.”
“Oh. Yeah.”
Erica chuckled, shaking her head, and moved to the next booth. “You’re being weird. Why are you being weird?”
“No reason.”
Kian would talk to Erica and Susan, and then he would leave again. But, my God, if he actually came to school here…
I felt sick to my stomach. Glancing around the little park, at the food market, I realized that all of this would go away. I’d have to go away. The media attention would be absurd.
Or would it? Did I dare hope…
I grabbed Erica’s arm. “You have to find out if he’s really coming here or not.”
She glanced at me, startled. “What?”
“Find out if he’s coming here to stay.” I was insistent.
Maybe it would be next year. Maybe I would have a whole year for the media buzz to fade away. But, no. I was fooling myself. If he came here, somehow, I would be discovered.