Page 91 of Pawn

“I thought she was with you!” Christian and Allie say at the same time before they look to Isaac.

“Nah, I thought she was with you, King,” he points his chin to me before I turn to Lea.

She shrugs. “Don’t look at me!”

Fuck.

Her eyes land on the flames, growing bigger and bigger, the room getting warmer as we all just stand there.

“This is fucked.” Lea backs away, reaching for Allie’s hand. “I’m getting out of here.”

“Yeah, this isn’t good,” Johnson laughs.

“Where the fuck is Jo?” I growl again.

“Maybe she’s with Nate,” Allie says, rushing with Lea towards the exit.

“Maybe who’s with Nate?” Quinfrey’s voice fills the air. “Is there a fucking bonfire in here?”

Christian rushes for the door. “I’ll get the alarm.”

My heart booms against my chest when I make it into the hall, smoke billowing out of the library. “Everyone get the fuck out!” Christian yells to the students in the front of the library. “Out!” he yells again before they all scurry.

My breaths pick up, scanning the halls for her. If no one’s with Jo, then where the fuck is she?

* * *

Jo

When I imagined myself at prom, Jameson wasn’t my date.

I had the sexiest guy in the school on my arm.

And I wasn’t trapped in a closet.

“Hello?”

Jiggling the doorknob again, it doesn’t budge and while I can pick a lock, there isn’t one.

“Fuck!” My boot slams against the door. Still nothing.

What kind of door locks from the outside?

I don’t even have my phone. Left it at the table when I saw Isaac heading for the halls. We ducked into the closet near the library so he could give me some weed. A couple of nugs to calm my nerves before I met Damien. To stay out of sight of chaperones, I stayed inside the closet to roll one up.

What I didn’t expect was Jordan Huang to peep his head in. It was the last thing I saw before the door closed.

And locked.

“Help!” I yell at the brown wood, banging my fists against it in hopes to get the attention of passersby. “Someone help!”

Wiggling the knob again, it still doesn’t budge. I’m not sure how long I’ve been in here at this point but I’ll be fucking pissed if everyone goes to the lake and leaves me here.

Not knowing the time makes me wonder if Damien’s waiting for me in the library. I spent the entire night staring at him, the events of the last school year playing over in my head. Every time I thought about my future without him it made that lump grow in my throat. Like I was closing a chapter on another thing I didn’t want to leave behind.

I want him to reassure me things will be okay with us. Together. I want to hear him say those three words again before I take the biggest risk of my life. Locking this thing down with Damien King doesn’t sound like the biggest move I’ve made, considering everything I’ve done up until now but believe me, it is.

I’m starting to think about lighting this joint anyway before the smell of smoke seeps into the room.

---