Convergence - The Last Science #2.1 - In Plain Sight

B2: Chapter 18 - Old Friends, Forgotten Friends - III

  It took them a day and a half of hard flying. Hailey wondered if there was a way she could keep going while sleeping, but she didn't want to risk it, so they spent a night in a small forest somewhere halfway across the country. She wasn't even sure which state they were in, and her phone was too low on battery to check. She had to save it for their destination. They huddled together in a small tent on a sleeping bag, Jessica keeping the area warm while Hailey had exhaustion-fueled visions of bears suddenly ripping apart the nylon walls.

  When morning came, she remembered her promise and explained to Jessica exactly what had happened at Ian's. They had a good, briefly cathartic moment getting angry at Hugo together before setting off for the day. The landscape became much more boring, full of cornfields and farms instead of the sweeping vistas or towering Rockies in their first day of flight. Hailey tried to speed up, but wind resistance was simply too much, and she could tell that trying to force even more out of her already tired wings would only just force them down to the ground sooner.

  Still, they made good time. They'd set out from Kent on Monday, made it to Norwalk in the evening on Tuesday, and were now cruising over Ohio on Thursday morning. They ate breakfast in midair, as Hailey pulled out a few wrapped up pastries from her bag and Jessica heated them. She wished they had something nicer to drink than water, but it was better than nothing. They flew into Galloway without growling stomachs, at least.

  Weston's house was easier to find, since Hailey had actually been there before. She'd visited during their first summer break after freshman year, the year before the Gods found the Grimoire in the library. Everything past that year, she couldn't quite trust, since Beverly had wiped out so many memories.

  Beverly... She knew that at some point, they'd become close friends and roommates, maybe even as close as she had been with Jessica, but it was all gone. The only remnant were photos Beverly had kept in her room, before it had all burned down.

  Hailey told Beverly she was forgiven, but she hadn't really decided that. She wanted to forgive her. Beverly seemed like exactly the sort of friend she used to make all the time, the quiet and reserved type that balanced her out. Not totally unlike Jessica, in many ways. Jess wouldn't ever do something like that though... Not even if she was desperate. So maybe they aren't really alike at all.

  More than anything, Hailey valued friendship and loyalty, and Beverly's actions betrayed them both. They hadn't spoken in weeks now. Hailey wouldn't be quick to forgive that, just as she couldn't easily forgive the man she blamed for last summer's events just as much as she did herself.

  Spotting Weston wasn't hard. This early on a Thursday, he was just getting up and making breakfast. His parents were in the room, but from the last time she was there, she knew they'd be heading out soon. She wondered what he'd been up to since she left. Ian looked like he'd been attending a community college from the papers and textbooks scattered around his room, and she could assume Hugo was doing the same.

  Weston, though? After his chosen school had vanished off the map? What would he be up to?

  His parents were both driving away. Time to find out, I guess.

  Hailey tugged on Jessica's arm to warn her, and they broke into a dive. Just as Weston was getting up to put away his cereal bowl, they landed on the back porch. Hailey didn't waste any time with him, knocking on the back door immediately.

  His reaction was so... Weston.

  "Hm," he murmured, as soon as he'd opened the door. "You changed your hair."