“And she’s someone’s mother,” Brynn adds. “So you have to save her.” Raven turns to her and nods.
“I will.” Despite Raven’s promise, there’s a flash of worry in her expression.
“What is it?” Marcella asks. “What’s wrong?”
“Have any of you heard from Annalise?” Raven asks.
“No,” Brynn says. “We haven’t.”
“Do you think something happened?” Sydney asks.
“She’s not at the apartment,” Raven says. “And it looks like she took some of her stuff.”
The girls are at once frantic, and I close my eyes for a moment, steadying myself.
“I know where Annalise is,” I announce. “She didn’t … Shewanted me to wait to tell you until we finished this.”
“It’s finished,” Marcella says shortly. “Now tell.”
“She went back to Innovations Academy,” I say, and Brynn gasps out a cry. “She went to look for the other girls,” I explain. “And then she was going to burn the school to the ground. She didn’t want them to ever bring us back there.”
I’m met with silence. Raven’s mouth falls open. She seems hurt, abandoned, but then she quickly looks at Claire in the car again. It occurs to me that Raven is chasing the next tech, the old tech in this case, but new to her. Although she’s helped us, it’s clear that she’s hooked on our information. On our programming. I wonder if, deep down, she really sees us any differently than Mr. Goodwin does.
“I have to … ,” Raven says, motioning to the car. “I’m going to get started on Claire, okay? I’ll let you know when I have more info.”
Distracted, Brynn turns to her. “Wait, where are you taking her?”
“I have a workspace,” Raven says, waving it off. “I’ll be in touch soon.”
Raven gets in the car, saying something to Claire that makes her smile. We watch them drive off, and the second they’re gone, Sydney turns on me fiercely.
“And you just let Annalise go?” she demands. “And didn’t tell any of us?”
“She begged me,” I say. “She made me promise. She said she’d come back when it was done. I asked her to come back.”
But Sydney isn’t impressed. She turns away from me, walking back and forth on the sidewalk as if thinking.
“I’m so sorry,” I tell them. “I didn’t want to keep it from you.”
I go on to explain the entire conversation, relaying everything that Annalise told me, from her belief that she was dying to her saying that I had to let her go. When I’m done, I can see the girls debating whether they would have done the same as me. They must decide it doesn’t matter, because Marcella drops into a squatting position and covers her face to cry, while Brynn wraps her arms around her. Sydney squeezes her eyes closed, palm over her mouth as she holds back her sobs.
I don’t allow myself to cry, feeling at fault for their pain. But then Sydney comes over and grabs me into a hug, crying into my shoulder.
“Our Annalise is gone,” she murmurs. “She’s gone and I don’t think she’s ever coming back.”
I want to say that she will, say it until they believe it. But I’ve already lied to the girls enough tonight.
The girls and I arrive back at our apartment and stand there. Annalise’s absence is a silence we’ve never known. The air is thick and quiet without her.
We stand there and survey the space, knowing we wouldn’t stay here even if we could. Not without Annalise.
“What’s next?” Brynn asks, her voice raw from crying. “We found the investor, and he’s going to pull his money. Do we tell Leandra?”
“Yes,” I say.
“How do we find her?” Brynn replies. “Wait,” she says, her eyes getting wide. “Do you think Annalise is with her?” she asks.
“No,” I say. “I don’t.” She nods sadly and then goes to her room to begin packing. Marcella follows wordlessly, but Sydney comes to pause next to me, both of us looking at the living room.
