Then…
Savannah
My heartbeat quickened as we drove deeper into the woods, and I heard the revving of various engines. It was almost pitch-black outside, save for a few lights from houses scattered in the distance and headlights from cars.
“Aren’t you going to get in trouble for being out this late?” Kate asked from behind the wheel of her old beat-up sedan.
“Yeah,” I mumbled. My grandmother would certainly have my ass if she found out that I’d snuck out. But I didn’t care right then. I knew Ace was out here somewhere.
He’d been avoiding me for a few days, which was highly unlike him. Ever since he got a call from Joel on his cell and he’d dropped me off early from our date at the movies, I hadn’t heard from him.
I knew something was wrong. Ace never avoided me. And we hadn’t gotten into a fight.
“Did you do the old clothes in the pillowcase under the sheets trick I taught you?” Kate asked, grinning.
She’d taught me the trick over a year ago when I complained about getting caught sneaking out to meet up with Ace the first time. She still worked late most nights and would sometimes stop by my room across from hers to check in on me.
But the clothes under the bedsheet had worked since that first time.
Either way, I didn’t care. I needed to see my boyfriend. After almost a year of dating and talking every day, I knew this wasn’t like him. He often said I was the first thought on his mind every morning and the last before bed.
I knew it was the truth because he called me every morning and every night before bed on the secret cell phone he’d bought for me nine months earlier.
I tightened my hold on the flip phone that he’d gifted me. The same one whose calls had remained unanswered when I called him for the past two days. He hadn’t shown up at school, either.
I found out from some friends of his that he planned on being out in the woods that night, along with a few other kids who were known troublemakers.
“There they are,” Kate said as we finally came to a clearing off the dirt road.
I squinted, almost blinded by the headlights of a few of the cars. I recognized Ace’s bloodred Nissan Skyline. His car was used, but he’d spent hours with Joel maintaining it and upgrading it.
I’d know that car anywhere, given the many times I’d spent in its backseat.
I got out of Kate’s car before she even put it in park. “Ace?” I yelled, running over to the driver’s side.
He looked up from his seat behind the wheel, his eyes bulging when he saw me. His reaction was immediate as he turned the car off and jumped out. “What are you doing here?”
“What the hell are you doing here?” I threw back at him. “Why haven’t you answered my calls?”
His lips turned downward. “I’ve been busy. You shouldn’t be here, Savannah.”
“Weshouldn’t be here.” I emphasized the first word of that comment. “Since when are you too busy to answer my phone calls?” My voice shook with hurt. I hated that my eyes started to sting with tears. It always pissed me off that I cried so damn easily. But the idea of Ace brushing me off hurt more than anything.
Like always, he reached up and wiped my tear away.
“You ready, Townsend?” A guy I knew by the name of Kevin interrupted us.
My stomach plummeted. Kevin was bad news. He was supposed to graduate two years earlier from our school but instead got kicked out when he got caught selling drugs to other students.
“Yeah, give me a sec,” Ace commented.
I grabbed Ace by the arm. “What are you doing with him?” I whispered. “You know he’s trouble. What’s going on?” I demanded.
Ace stared at the ground.
“Look at me,” I demanded.
He did. “You shouldn’t be here. Go home, Savannah. I’ll call you later.”
