“No. My mom didn’t tell me Stick would be here,” he said, and I felt another wave of panic. Crap, what the hell was I supposed to do now? Call the cops? Demand we all wait until Andy’s mom could be notified?
A tiny bit of irritation crept in that I was being put in this position. I was a college freshman, alone for the first time. I was supposed to be the irresponsible one, out whooping it up.
And here I was wondering if I was caught up in a child abduction case.
“Lucas told me Stick would pick me up,” Andy said. “Not my mom. My mom is…she’s…gone away.”
I didn’t know what that meant in this kid’s vernacular. Heaven? Prison? With the kind of life these kids lived, it could be either.
“But she’s coming back,” he added with vehemence. “She’s coming back,” he said more quietly, as if convincing himself.
“I’m sure she is,” I said, though I wasn’t sure at all. “So, Lucas told you Stick would be picking you up? You’re sure?” He nodded, his wet hair sticking up in the back. I used my hand to tame the wild spot at the back of his head. “Okay, then, let’s get you back to Stick.”
Andy didn’t seem to remember that I had said I wanted to give him instructions, and Stick was still texting away. “All set,” I said to Stick as Andy started leading the way. Stick started following Andy, then turned back and looked over his shoulder at me.
“Thanks, Lily,” Stick said, then continued to follow Andy down the hall.
“No problem,” I said, though they were now beyond hearing range.
I turned back toward the locker room. As I was walking I realized that neither I nor Andy had mentioned my name to Stick, and yet he knew it.
That thought sent a small, sick thrill through me.
Chapter4
I swam hard,cutting through the water like it was silk, feeling my muscles stretch and burn, but in a good way.
And I took a long time in the steam room, savoring every moment, knowing it might be the last time I used it for several weeks.
Then I left the room. Okay, yes, I wrapped my towel very loosely around me. And yes, there were some strategic parts that I let the towel…accidentally…uncover. I left the room and turned to find…not Lucas. But somebody else.
“Jane? What are you doing here?”
She shrugged, like she hung out in locker rooms all the time, when I was willing to bet good money Jane had found a way to ace gym in high school without ever once seeing the inside of a locker room.
“I was on this side of campus and thought you might want to walk home together.”
I eyed her suspiciously. “What were you doing on this side of campus at night?” I made my way to my row and down to my locker, throwing my wet suit onto the bench in front of it.
Jane sat on the bench a few lockers down, looking around, almost in fascination. (Yeah, this girl had never been in a locker room, for sure.)
“Um…I was…” Then she shrugged, giving up all pretenses. “So, is he here? Is he still in the steam room, totally wiped out from all the sweaty sex?”
“Yeah, ‘walk home together’ my ass.”
She gave me one of her “so sue me” sigh and shoulder lift combinations, which I had come to know very well in the past month.
“He’s not here. Didn’t show at all. For Andy,” I added, but Jane’s smirk proved I didn’t fool her.
Funny, I had resented her my whole life, without even knowing her. I was prepared to dislike her on sight…and I did. But a month later, I could read her like a book, as much as anyone could ever read Jane.
She read me much better. But then, I was pretty much an open book, whereas Jane had lots of chapters written in foreign languages, where you might make out a word or two, but the whole was confusing.
“Well, shit. I came all the way over here for nothing. I thought even if I didn’t get a glimpse of Mr. Trouble, I’d at least get to see your afterglow.”
“Nope. Sorry to disappoint.”
Jane did stuff on her phone while I showered and changed. I didn’t bother drying my long hair, just toweled it well and brushed it out. It wasn’t cold enough yet to freeze it on the walk across campus. Plus, I had one of the ubiquitous beanies to wear if I needed it.
