I stop abruptly, spinning to face him. “One, I’m not your sister, so stop calling me that,” I say in a whisper-yell. “Two, we haven’t been friends for a long time. You hate me now, remember?”
“Fuck, Shayne, you want a plunger to bring up some more old shit?”
Old shit?
“You literally threw me into a car and kidnapped me yesterday.”
“Again with the drama. And, technically, that was Thayer.”
I storm off, shaking my head. Unbelievable. Holden jogs up to me and catches me by my elbow, spinning me around.
“Listen,” he says, dropping the act. “I’ve been a dick.”
I arch an eyebrow. “That’s an understatement.”
“We had to know,” he continues as if I haven’t spoken, running a hand through his thick dark brown hair. “When you came back, it caught us off guard. It’s hard to know who to trust. It’s been a fucked-up year, okay?”
I sigh, looking up at the sky to avoid his puppy-dog eyes. Leave it to Holden to use the death of his brother to manipulate me into being his friend again. And even still, knowing exactly what he’s doing, I’m falling for it, hook, line, and sinker.
“I’m sorry if we scared you.”
“You didn’t,” I snap a little too defensively. I clear my throat, looking around and noticing for the first time that we have an audience. “Let’s drop it, okay?”
“Truce?” he presses, not letting me off the hook that easy. I spot Valen pushing through a group of people, heading my way, expression perplexed.
“Fine, yeah,” I agree distractedly, not giving him a chance to reply before I break away, meeting Valen. Thankfully, he doesn’t follow this time.
“What was that about?” she asks, linking her arm with mine. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.” I shake my head dismissively, still confused about the whole thing and not entirely convinced that his motives are pure. “He apologized.”
“As he should.”
I glance over my shoulder to find him standing in the same spot, staring right at me, except now, Taylor, Alexis, and the rest of their group are gathered around him with various expressions of contempt and confusion plastered to their faces.
“I guess.”
The leaves crunch beneath my feet, telling me that summer is soon coming to an end as I make my way toward the barn, and this time, I’m prepared. After school, I made a quick pit stop at home to pack a bag, stuffing it full of things I might need. A battery-operated lantern, an extra flashlight just in case, a bottle of water, a peanut butter sandwich, and, of course, my notebook. I feel like an ill-equipped toddler who’s run away from home.
I pull one earbud from my ear, letting it hang freely so I can better pay attention to my surroundings. The last thing I need is Thayer to pull another one of his stunts. I stayed away for a few days just to play it safe, but after today, I felt an overwhelming need to purge my thoughts, and with any luck, clear my head. As if Holden apologizing wasn’t weird enough, lunchtime was even more baffling. Valen had something to do for cheer, so I grabbed a water from the cafeteria before heading out, opting to hang out in my car instead. Holden called out my name from the other end of the cafeteria, and naturally, everyone’s eyes were on me. He waved me over, gesturing for me to sit with them despite the dirty looks from Taylor, but I shook my head in answer, brows pinched together in confusion, wondering why he was so adamant.
Once I get to the barn, I pause the podcast I’m listening to about a teenage girl who killed her own parents, ball my earbuds up, and stuff them into the front pocket of my backpack. Taking one last glance around to make sure I’m alone, I reach beneath my shirt, plucking out the necklace I tied the key to the other day. Except when I go to unlock it, I realize that the door’s not locked at all. The barn door is closed, but the lock hangs from the rusted hook, the latch open.
I must not have realized it in my haste to get home last time.
I pull the door open, letting a sliver of sunlight in that illuminates a path to the couch. I’ll leave it open to take advantage of the sun until it gets dark. I shrug the strap of my bag down my arm, taking a seat on top of the blanket I left on the couch last time, then pull my backpack onto my lap. Unzipping it, I pull out the lantern, my notebook, and a pen. Once I’m situated, my phone buzzes, and my mom’s picture flashes across the screen.
“Hey,” I answer, bringing the phone to my ear.
“Where are you? I just got home and your car’s here, but you’re not.”
“Yeah, I dropped it off after school. I’m at Valen’s house, working on a project.”
“Okay. So, I’m assuming you won’t be home for dinner then?”
“They invited me to eat here if that’s okay.”
“Sure,” she says after a pause. “Just have Valen bring you home by ten.”