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When 17-year-old Arbor Hayes' best friend turns up alive after a mysterious six-month disappearance, she must piece together the fragments of her story to make sense of what happened. But as clues e...
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When Smith pulls into the school parking lot, I barely notice Lance say goodbye. Too many thoughts are bouncing around inside my skull, making it difficult to think straight.
I need to get home. Take something to help me sleep and shut off my brain. I lean over, plant a kiss on Smith's cheek, and hop out of the car, into the murky haze of a nearby bonfire. The heavy scent of smoke curls my nostrils.
Smith unrolls his window, his breath a white mist on the late September air. "Hey, you. Not so fast," he says as I head toward my SUV. Before I know it, he's at my side, his hands reaching for me, bringing me close. "You've been way too quiet. What's wrong?"
I lean into him, my nose squished against his chest. "I told you. I had a fight with my mom."
"Is that all?" When I glance up, his hands find the small of my back, bringing us closer. "Something else is going on. Isn't it?"
I stare into his eyes. They're warm, like caramelized sugar, beneath the overhead lights.
Another lie works its way up my throat but I swallow it back before it rolls off my tongue. I can't take more dishonesty. It's going to gnaw away at me until there's nothing left.
"Is this about Jordan?" He brings a hand up, his fingers caressing my chilled cheek as he tucks a lock of hair behind my ear.
Something spirals in my chest. He knows about Jordan. How the hell does he know?
I search for an explanation that doesn't sound too off the wall, but come up blank. There are not many ways to suggest that Jordan is hiding something big. Something Emma doesn't want us to know. Either she knows who took Emma in the first place, or that maybe Emma left on her own free will. I open my mouth, pray the right words find their way out, and hope they won't make it look like I'm losing my mind.
But he beats me to it. "Even if Jordan does like girls, you can still invite her to hang out with us. It wouldn't be a triple date, exactly, but it could still be fun."
Wait. Is he serious? That's the conclusion he's come up with in regard to my silence?
Smith's expression confirms my question, and an audible breath escapes my lips. "You don't think they'd mind? I doubt they've even spoken to her before."
Laughter spills from his mouth, working the tendons along his neck. "I don't think we're an unfriendly bunch, do you? Every one of you welcomed me when my family moved to town."
I cock my head to the side. "You moved here in kindergarten. We weren't jaded back then."
"And we are now?"
I almost laugh out loud, though it's not particularly funny. "More than you realize."
"Well, I think our friends are more accepting than you give them credit for." He hesitates, like he wants to say more, but isn't sure if he should. And then, "I didn't realize you and Jordan were close."
