“Sure,” I say. I look sideways and notice that Jackson is tense, his knuckles wrapped tightly around the steering wheel. He must be anticipating what I need to tell the girls and what it impliesabout him. I believe him when he says he had no idea his father was an investor, but I don’t think he’s quite ready to defend himself again so soon.
“We’re on our way to the investor’s house now,” I tell the girls. I’m aware that I’m lying to them by omission, but we’re in a dangerous business. Another distraction could get us killed. “Have you heard from Sydney?” I ask Marcella.
“Just hung up with her,” she replies. “Brynn,” she calls out again, “follow the sign for beach cities. Anyway,” she tells me, “it didn’t take her long to drive to Albany. It’s later there, so she’s grabbed a hotel for the night. She said she’ll email from the shared account before bed. We should ditch our phones by end of day and get new ones in the morning.”
“I will,” I say, noticing the way Jackson is slowing the car. I’m surprised when he takes the turn toward the mountain. Toward the academy.
None of us have heard from Annalise. I stare at Jackson, and he glances at me momentarily before looking back out the windshield.
“I’ll email you tonight,” I tell Marcella. “Talk soon.” I hang up before she can ask any follow-up questions, and I turn to Jackson.
“What are you doing?” I ask him. “Where are we going?”
He’s quiet for a moment, then, “I need Quentin,” he says. “I’m scared, Mena. I want him to come with us to my father’s house. We have to find him.”
“You think he might be at the academy?” I ask. “That seems unlikely.”
Jackson sniffs a laugh, looking sideways at me. “Unlikely seems to be our normal, for the record.”
Okay, he has a point. He reaches out to pat my hand, something reassuring, but instead, he leaves it there a bit longer. I press my fingers between his and watch when his lips part in a rush of surprise at my touch. But then he calms and brushes his thumb along my skin. I forgot how nice kindness and comfort can feel, especially when we’re all terrified.
My nerves continue to ratchet up the closer we get. I pull my hand away, placing it near my throat, the Guardian’s ghostly fingers still resting there. Innovations Academy created me, built me up and took me apart on a regular basis. The idea of seeing it again is almost enough to unwind me.
“Last time Quentin was at the school, he didn’t see any professors, right?” I ask.
“Just Leandra and the girls leaving,” Jackson assures me. “But that doesn’t mean those men didn’t return. So we have to be careful. No running in there to save anyone.”
I look out the window again. “If the girls are all gone,” I say, “then there’s no one there worth saving.”
7
It’sgone. I stand there wide-eyed, my hands gripping the iron gates as I stare at the smoking rubble that used to be my home. Ash is still in the air, coating everything in flakes of gray and black, smoke seeming to have charred the air. Jackson comes over to join me.
“What do you think happened?” he asks.
“I don’t know. I…” And I wonder if this was Annalise. If she’d literally burned it all to the ground the way she wanted. There will be no more girls made at this academy. There is no lab, no classrooms nor analyst’s office. It’s all gone.
“You think it was Annalise?” he asks.
“It had to be,” I say. “But… how did she do this?” I turn to Jackson. “I’m assuming it’s not easy to burn down an entire building.”
“I would assume the same,” he says, looking back at the building. “She could have had help.” He thinks on it. “Maybe Q was with her.Either that, or the corporation came here after trashing my place.”
“Why would they destroy their own building?” I ask. “It doesn’t make sense. It had to be Annalise. But… why hasn’t she called us? Why didn’t she come home?” I turn to him, fear burning brightly in my chest. “What if they caught her?” I ask. “What if… What if she was inside?” My heart surges, and I’m ready to run right toward the rubble and dig around for my friend. But Jackson takes my arm gently.
“Not a chance,” he says. “She wasn’t in there. Don’t even think like that.” He moves to wrap himself around me, pulling me into a hug. But his hold is weak. He’s falling apart, human and fragile.
We both turn back to what used to be Innovations Academy, my head tucked up under his chin.
“Do you need to check it out?” he asks quietly.
I look at the piles of smoking ash, the stone steps that didn’t disintegrate like much of the rest of the building. The foundation is still visible, but the space that was the basement has collapsed, char all around it.
“No, you’re right,” I say. “Annalise isn’t in there. I would feel it. I think I’ve seen enough now,” I add. “We should go.”
Jackson hesitates for a moment longer, then slowly disentangles himself from me. He casts one more look at the remains of the building. “Fuck this place,” he says. “I’m glad it’s gone. I just wish it had burned down before it killed my mother.”
He turns away, head lowered, and limps back to the car as the last bits of daylight fade into a dark, starless sky.
