A hoax? Who would do such a terrible thing? I kept trying to contact Bailey and Ryder. If I’d had Lily’s number, I’d have called her too.
The freeway was jammed because the exit to the convention center was closed off. Not surprising, really.
“Maybe if we take the next exit and circle back we can get close.”
We got off the freeway and were going down Pacific Drive and I could see some building burning in the distance. The sky was filled with helicopters—probably both news and police. The air smelled like burning rubber.
The inside of the truck lit up from an incoming call. It was my mother. As much as I didn’t want to talk to her, I knew she’d probably heard the news and was worried. I had to take the call.
“Hi Mom.”
“Oh my god, Paige. I’m so glad you both are all right. What’s going on? Did you and Bailey see anything?”
“Hey. Yeah. There’s something I need to tell you…”
Twenty-Seven
Ryder
We were all standing outside in the parking lot. We’d helped get everyone out of the convention center and then the LPPD took over, working with venue security. Our night here was over.
“Did they ever catch the shooter?” Chalupa asked.
“There’s not even evidence that there WAS a shooter. Witnesses said they heard three loud pops that sounded like gunfire and then everyone started screaming and running.” Hawk lit up a cigarette.
“So, no victims with gunshot wounds?” Trainer asked.
Hawk shook his head. “I can’t say for sure, but it doesn’t seem like it.”
I was listening, but I wasn’t. I needed to get to the Starbucks to meet up with Lily. “Look, guys. I need to take off. I’m supposed to meet my sister at that Starbucks.”
“Oh my god, that’s right. Your sister was here!” Swole said. “Have you seen her?”
“No. And her phone is going straight to voicemail.” I’d tried so many times that I killed my own battery.
“No worries, Ryder. See you back at the shop. Take care of Lily.” Chalupa said.
Padre was strangely silent and for a minute I remembered the conversation I’d overheard. But I didn’t have time to worry about that. I needed to find my sister.
* * *
Not for thefirst time tonight, I was regretting that I had the car instead of my bike. If I’d had the bike, I would have already been parked and inside Starbucks. But, because of everything that had gone down tonight and the streets being blocked off around the convention center, it took me half an hour to find a spot four blocks away.
The clock in the car said it was 11:30 pm. I hoped the Starbucks would still be open and that the girls knew to stay safely inside until I got there.
Judging from the number of people milling about outside, it was a good chance that the place was still open. Hopefully, I could find the girls, get back to the car, and be at Paige’s place within the hour.
Paige… I wondered if she had heard the news. If so, she must have been so worried. There were tons of helicopters still overhead and news vans everywhere. Plus, given the number of rumors flying around, who knows what she thought happened?
It was a terrible time for my phone to be dead, for sure.
As I approached the Starbucks, I had my eyes out for Bailey. She was tall and blonde like Paige and would be easier to spot than my dark-haired sister.
“Bailey!” I said, as I walked up to a blonde waiting outside the front door. But when she turned around, I saw that it wasn’t her. “Sorry.”
“No worries. Everyone’s looking for someone tonight.”
I scanned the crowd outside and didn’t see them so I figured I’d go inside. They were probably sitting there having a Frappuccino and tweeting about their adventure.
