I pretended not to hear that last part because otherwise I would’ve asked him twenty questions, and something told me William wouldn’t like that.
“Why couldn’t they go? Why do you have to go, Will?”
“It’s something I have to deal with.”
I bit my lower lip. I felt uneasy but William seemed more preoccupied than me. My eyes widened when he suddenly put on the turn signal and pulled over. He slammed the brakes, and I jumped in my seat.
My heart was pounding and my throat was dry when I suddenly heard him turn the car off.
“Will? What’s going on?”
His eyes were glued to the windshield. The dark enveloped us, and I started to shake.
I was with a guy I barely knew, in a car that wasn’t his, and he was driving without a license. Not to mention it was late at night and we were going to rescue an asshole I hated.
I looked at the dashboard. The clock said eleven thirty. Fantastic. My mom was going to lock me up at home for life.
“Maybe I should just take you home.”
The evening’s umpteenth change of plans didn’t bother me; in fact, I’d expected it.
“I thought about it more. It’s not safe to bring you with me.”
William’s eyes locked with mine, and I sensed the mix of contrasting fear and excitement that he was feeling.
“What’s happened to James?”
I waited for William to answer me. He was reluctant to respond.
“He got jumped,” he answered after a moment.
I was horrified but I tried not to show it. “You’re joking, right?”
“He knew, and he still went anyway. Gimme your address, I’ll put it in the GPS and take you home.”
William turned the car on with a rumble, and I vaguely sensed adrenaline rushing through my veins. I suddenly felt drunk, like I was on a roller coaster. I knew getting out of there and having him drive me back was the right thing to do, but suddenly I didn’t want to go home anymore. And what if something bad happened to William too?
“No. I wanna come with you.” I was being impulsive, maybe even reckless. “You seem really worried about him, and I don’t want to leave you alone.”
William smiled. “Okay, we’ll go. Otherwise, who’s gonna listen to him?”
“I bet,” I grumbled.
After driving down dark dirt roads for a few minutes, we finally reached what looked like an abandoned theme park.
“What kinda place is this?” I asked quietly, anxiety eating at my stomach. I didn’t regret coming with him, but I hadn’t expected to end up in such a creepy place.
“An old go-kart park. They’ve turned it into a nightclub.”
I stuck my head out the window. A large, sketchy building stood out in the night. A broken neon sign sputtered on the edge of the façade with another metal sign dangling above.
As soon as we parked, I saw a figure on the ground.
“Oh Jesus.” I heard William start to sound stressed.
“How’d James get all the way out here? Why didn’t he take his car?” The situation was really bizarre.
“I think they brought him here,” he said before getting out of the car.
