“Oh,” said AJ.
“Hello to you too,” said Storm. “From the way your boyfriend sounded on the phone, it must have been quite a night.”
AJ gave a start. “Is he—”
“He’s out,” said Storm. “For the week. Something about a last-minute something or other.”
“What?” said AJ, startled. “Where—”
“Not my business,” said Storm, wafting back through the All-Seeing Eye.
AJ felt cold, as if a layer of her skin had just been peeled off. She sat staring at the metal folding chair in the corner. This wasn’t weird, she told herself. Noah knew she’d be busy in the morning and didn’t want to bother her. He’d call in a bit, when things slowed down.
By fourp.m., the phone still hadn’t rung, so AJ picked up the receiver and dialed Drew House.
Mrs. Gilroy answered.
“Is Noah—”
“Not available,” she said firmly.
AJ bit her lip. “Well, can you have him call me?”
She hung up feeling zero confidence that Noah would receive the message. Which is what she told herself the next day, Monday, when he still hadn’t called her back.
On Tuesday, AJ began her senior year. She was taking four AP courses, a yeoman’s load, but as she went to the introductory lesson for each subject, she could hardly concentrate.
Where was Noah? And why hadn’t he called?
There’s no reason to panic,she told herself. Just because they had kissed and he’d all but vanished didn’t mean the two occurrences were linked.
He’s busy,she told herself. He had a lot on his plate with his mom. Clearly, there was something else going on that had nothing to do with AJ. This was no time to start reading into everything like Libby would.
You know him,she told herself. Noah was a steady character; he always showed up. He’d shown up at her house to fix her laundry machine. He’d shown up for his mom when it meant stopping his whole life. If he wasn’t here, he had a good reason.
At work, AJ tried calling again. And again.
“Can I speak with Eudora?” she asked finally.
“She’s indisposed,” said Mrs. Gilroy. “Really, you two. Keeping her out to all hours.”
The days crawled by in silence. Finally, Saturday arrived again. At last—a full week. AJ felt jittery heading into her shift. She had no idea what to expect.
Every time the door opened, she looked up, expecting to see him. But it was just the Saturday rush. And as the hours slipped by like used Kleenex, AJ fell into a pit of anxiety. She tried to convince herself she had misunderstood, but as she locked up that night, she felt ill.
Where was he?
The next day she awoke determined to get answers.
Be calm,she told herself as she drove up to Drew House.He probably won’t even be there.
And he wasn’t. When AJ pulled in, his car was not in the driveway. She rang the bell once, twice, then admitted herself when no one answered.
“Hello?” she called into the palatial entrance.
Hortense trotted over to meet her, wagging her tail, nuzzling AJ’s shins. Bud, who was normally Hortense’s shadow, was nowhere to be seen.
The kitchen door whined, and Mrs. Gilroy emerged. She jumped when she saw AJ. “I’m afraid this isn’t a good time,” she said without her usual rancor.
