“I miss you too.”
“You think you’ll make it back here anytime soon? Like next week?”
I smile. “I wish I could. Maybe Thanksgiving. Think your mom would let me come over?”
“You know she would. She loves you. But I don’t think I can wait until Thanksgiving. You sure you can’t fly out here next month? Even for just a weekend?”
“Maybe. My uncle will tell me I can’t but he’s never around. I’ll just wait until he goes back to LA, then get a ticket.”
I hear a noise coming from behind me. It sounds like someone trying to unlock the door.
“Axl, I need to go. Can I call you later?”
“I’m going to bed. I know it’s early, but I feel like shit after everything that happened today.”
“Okay, we’ll talk tomorrow. Love you!”
“Love you too.”
As I’m heading to the door, it swings open, and a girl walks in. She’s really beautiful with wavy blonde hair and a face like a model with high cheekbones and bright blue eyes. She’s short and petite but has big breasts.
“Hi,” I say, going up to her. “Are you here to see Jackson?”
She eyes me suspiciously. “Who are you?”
“Rumor. I live down the street.”
She glances at my body, then up to my face. “Jackson didn’t tell me about you.”
“We just met. It was kind of by accident. Are you his girlfriend?”
She looks to the side, toward Jackson’s room, then back at me. “I’m Kristen.” She extends her hand to me.
“Rumor,” I say, shaking her hand.
“And who are you again?”
“A neighbor. I live in that big white house near the corner.”
“Braden’s house?”
“You know my cousin?”
“Cousin?” she asks, sounding surprised. “You’re Braden’s cousin?”
“Yeah. How do you know him?”
“He goes to my school.”
“You go to Twisted Pine?”
“Yeah, I’ll be a senior this year.”
“Me too, and I really need someone who can tell me the truth about the place. All I get from Braden and Trystan are these cryptic warnings about following the rules, but then they don’t tell me what these rules are. Knowing them, they’re just making it all up.”
“I’ll come back later,” she says, turning and walking out the door.
“Wait!” I run after her. “I didn’t mean to scare you off. You’re obviously here to see Jackson. I’ll just leave.”
