The observation lands. I hold his gaze and don't flinch. "Then let me start now."
He's quiet for a long moment. "You'll need a job. A curfew. No parties."
"Done."
"Even the job?"
"Yes."
He shakes his head slowly, like he's revising something. "Fine. Start packing. I'll make the call and pull the strings."
“Thank you.”
I leave his office feeling like someone lifted a weight off my chest.
I call Penelope instead of Maeve.
"My dad's getting me into the dorms at UW," I tell her. "I can be closer to campus. Closer to Cody."
She pauses. "We're never going to see you," she says.
"I know." I push open my bedroom door. "It's the right move, though."
I reach for the pink Swarovski pendant at my throat out of habit — my anchor since Cody went under.
My fingers meet bare skin.
Ice floods through me. "Oh, my god."
"What's wrong?" Penelope's voice sharpens.
"My necklace." I'm already moving to the mirror, hands searching my collarbone, my neck, my shoulders. Nothing. "The pendant Cody gave me. It's gone."
"I'm sure it'll turn—"
"I never take it off, Pen." I tear the sheets from my mattress, throw the pillows, check the nightstand, the floor, and the space between the frame and the wall. "It's not here."
"Adela—"
"I have to go."
I end the call and sink to the floor.
Cody isn't waking up. Someone sent me threats. There's a man in a mask on his laptop. And now the one tangible piece of him I had left is gone.
I press my palms to my eyes and let the sobs come.
When I finally lift my head, my reflection stares back — red eyes, mascara tracks, blotchy cheeks. But underneath the wreckage, I feel something else.
I'm moving into those dorms. And I'm going to find out what happened to him.
Whoever did this isn't done.
My mom appears in the doorway an hour later, takes one look at me, and crosses the room.
"The pendant Cody gave me is missing," I tell her before she can ask.
She doesn’t say anything, just searches. She checks the blankets, mattress, behind the nightstand, and under the bedframe. Every place I've already checked. Each time she comes up empty, the tears threaten again.
