No,I thought.I would’ve gotten back in my car and driven straight to school.
“Right.” Grace folded her arms over her chest. “Exactly.”
“Not everything has to do with Everett,” I snapped, heat at the back of my neck. “You’re so blinded by him that you don’t see anything else, even when it’s right in front of you.”
Grace’s face twisted in confusion. “Then will you tell me?” she asked, trying to blink away her tears. “What am I missing?”
James,I thought.James, James, James.
We stared at each other for a few moments. “You said today was for old times’ sake, Grace,” I said, heart beating so fast. “And it has felt that way, like old times. It’s felt like a Saturdaywith Mr.Adler, who tookfourkids into the city.” I took a breath. “But I’ve only seenthree.So where’s your brother?”
Grace hardly had time to consider the question before something sounded nearby. She and I grabbed hands and got ready to run, but then Everett appeared like a bull in a china shop. His dark hair was disheveled under his Mets hat and his breathing heavy, but now that he was here, Anthropologie’s salesgirl no longer seemed to care that Grace and I still hadn’t paid for our fedoras. Her heart-eyes for him were immediate. “Hey,” Grace said, so clearly wanting to throw her arms around him. Everything else aside, it was sweet. “Are you okay? Did Principal Unger spot you?”
“No,” Everett exhaled deeply, then looked at us head-on. He was flushed. “But I think James did.”
Chapter 29
Grace
James? Rittenhouse Square?Philadelphia?No, I still couldn’t believe it. School was over for the day, but driving into the city would’ve meant he’d left early—or, knowing James,walked outearly. “Are you sure it was him?” I asked Ev as our latest Uber stopped at a red light. All three of us were in the backseat.
“I only caught a glimpse,” he answered, squashed between Isa and me, “but yeah, I’m pretty sure. He wasn’t wearing the same shirt he had on when he picked me up this morning, but it looked really familiar.”
I gave Ev a quizzical look. “Wait, why did he pick you up? Did your battery die again?”
“Yep, and the jumper cables are in my mom’s car, which is in the shop.” He rubbed his forehead. “All we have is theBronco….”
I resisted the urge to run my hand through his hair. Today was the day Ev’s dad had been diagnosed with brain cancer—I wished he’d told me. Ireallywished he’d told me. Had I done the right thing by pulling him out of school and making him face Philadelphia? Or was it a mistake?
You’re so blinded by him, Isa’s words floated through my head.You don’t see what’s right in front of you….
Well, right in front of me now was a Find My Friends map, with James nowhere to be seen. “The Invisible Man” we sometimes called him, because he almost always had his location settings switched off. Isa, Ev, and I, however, were very muchnotinvisible. “He found us through this,” I told the others, holding up my phone and groaning. “I’m so stupid.”
Isa didn’t say anything, perfectly happy to stare out the window.She’s still upset with me,I thought, heart twisting.What am I missing?
“I don’t think it was just Find My Friends,” Ev said. “He genuinely thought you were sick today. Can I see your phone?”
He unlocked it himself, already knowing the passcode. I watched him tap and scroll, searching for something until he stopped and pointed at the screen. It was my chat with James. I looked and reread its most recent messages—me asking him to bring home my missed assignments, me making a joke about our mom repainting the house, and then him writing:Isa’s absent too, FYI.
And, lo and behold, I had sent back:
I know. I’m going to take a nap now. Thanks for getting my stuff. XOXO.
My stomach squirmed. Everything about that text was normal…except for the last part.XOXO.
Shit,I thought. My brother wasn’t one for missing the little details in life. He knew this message didn’t sound like me.
But it soundedexactlylike someone else.
I favored heart emojis, but for years, Isa’s sign-off had beenXOXO.Day or night, happy or sad, home or on vacation:XOXO.Ev was right; this text had been the major tip-off. It had blown Isa’s and my cover. It told James that she and I were together. “Has Isa sent her nightly hugs and kisses?” he liked teasing while we brushed our teeth before bed.
“Isa,” I said lightly, willing myself to stay calm. “Do you have any idea how James figured out we were in Philly? Assuming he didn’t just see us on Find My Friends?”
Her spine straightened in her seat. Isa was my best friend, but when pressed, she wasn’t the best liar. This time, she didn’t even try. “Because of me,” she said with a shallow sigh. I saw her lace her fingers together. “I kinda told him.”
“Yeah.” I held up my phone. “With your XOXO mistake.”
“Well,” she said, reaching back to redo her ponytail, “it’s a little more complicated than that.”
