When Tag finally spoke, my body quaked. “I think we should hide the cart here,” he said, pointing to the upcoming gap between two rocky, sandy dunes. “Get back on foot.”
“Okay.” I nodded. Better in the dunes than in my backyard, and the boardwalk was a favorite campus running route, so it would be reported and returned to Buildings and Grounds within a day. “You really think of everything,” I said after Tag wiped the steering wheel and seats down with Clorox disinfecting wipes from his backpack.
“It would be better if they were bleach,” he said as my phone vibrated, and an invisible snake slithered up my spine when I saw a new message from Zoe. For some reason, I had a bad feeling about this one.
The rest of your clues better be brutal, Swell, she’d texted.Because thanks to Daniel FREAKING Rivera, I just broke my ankle.
“Oh, no,” I said, shaking my head. “No, no, absolutely not…”
Zoe already taped her ankles before basketball games; she didn’t need anything serious jeopardizing her career. With four years at Duke ahead of her, she was only getting started.
You didn’t break your ankle, Zoe, Alex wrote, even though they were undoubtedly right next to each other.You twisted it.
Since when do you have a medical degree, Alex?she fired back.Ligaments have been torn!
Tag sighed and typed:What happened?
Then he looked at me as if to say,We need to keep moving.
Our speed walking jumped into a jog, and by the time we neared my house, Zoe had explained that she and Alex never made it to our planned rally point at the ropes course because Daniel and Manik had gotten too close to them in the woods. They’d decided to run, which had set Daniel off like a German shepherd.He chased us until Manik called him off, she’d written.He told Daniel it was probably Tag and Blair messing around since we were near the sculpture sanctuary. He heard they got back together tonight…
I glanced up from my phone and over at Tag, heart heaving. He and Blair had gotten back together? Earlier he’d told Bunker that he and Blair had said “farewell” for the final time.
Was he lying?I wondered.To keep up our lovers-in-the-moonlight charade?
“No,” he said before I could ask for the truth. “No, we’re not back together. No way. Don’t listen toPeoplemagazine.”
“But…?” I whispered, hearing the word in his voice.
Tag slowed to a walk. “But we did sit together at dinner,” he said, “and she propositioned me for prom.”
“Oh,” I said, feeling clueless. I’d eaten dinner at home insteadof in the dining hall, so I hadn’t heard. Zoe and Pravika probably had, but maybe they’d wanted to spare me. The corners of my eyes needled. Our stolen moment at the boathouse meant nothing.
I wanted to crawl under my covers and cry. Yes, Tag had said I’d always been good enough for him, but it was too late now. I had dumped him and he’d moved on; the best we could be was friends.
But we couldn’t be friends.Icouldn’t be friends.
“Lily?” Tag said, but I ignored him, scanning the rest of the text to read that Zoe had tripped over a fallen tree branch and now could barely walk. Alex was slowly sneaking her back to her dorm as well as concocting a convincing story of how she’d managed to injure her ankle while in her room.
I didn’t speak until we’d reached my backyard. The cottage was dark, my mom hopefully asleep. “Alright, let’s make this snappy,” I told Tag, hurrying across the lawn. He was several steps behind me. “Clue in the envelope, tape at the ready.”
“You…um, don’t want to read it?” Tag asked.
“Nope,” I answered as we passed under the back stoop’s dusk-to-dawn light. “Alex said he’s going to Admissions after helping Zoe, so I assume it leads there.” I paused. “That’s the last one, right?”
“Yeah, lucky number seven,” Tag said softly.
We moved like two spies across the driveway, and Tag had the envelope sealed and strips of tape ripped once we made itto my mailbox. I couldn’t help but glance back at the house as Tag pulled open the mailbox’s small door; my mom’s bedroom overlooked the front lawn. “Try taping it up top,” I suggested, not taking my eyes off the windows. “Mom and I never have stuff to send, but the mailman’s a busybody, and Josh collects the daily take because he has his mail delivered to our house now.”
“When’s the wedding?” Tag inquired.
“This fall,” I said excitedly. “October.”
Then I gasped, horrified. My mom and Josh hadn’t announced their engagement yet. Only Bunker and Penny Bickford knew because they were like family.
Tag chuckled. “Relax, I’ve known for months. Josh is terrible at keeping secrets. I had dinner at his place one night—” He dropped off and let out a frustrated sigh, and I turned to see him shuddering. “My hands won’t stay steady,” he said. “Can you please do it?”
“Only if you eat more fruit snacks,” I replied with a sour stomach. “Right now, Tag.”
