“That little shit just ignored your call!” Ruby snarls.
“He’s probably just busy,” Callie says, but she doesn’t sound too sure now.
“Busy being a shady little cunt.”
Callie spins, exasperated, and looks at me with pleading eyes, asking me to back her up. But I’m too busy swallowing the bile that’s crept up in my throat.
I didn’t know what to expect, but him not answering feels a lot worse.
Chapter Sixty-Nine
Sky
Cade is a ghost again, not showing up to classes and not eating in the dining hall. I’ve even excused myself to the bathroom during lecture and ran across the academics building to peek through the window of Rykes room, checking to see if he transferred again. But he wasn’t there either. It’s been a week, and I haven’t seen him once. It’s starting to feel a lot like fall semester all over again.
But this time I know where he hides.
I linger at the edge of the woods, toeing the line between the manicured campus and the untamed foliage. It’s a quiet afternoon, even though classes just ended and I have a headache. I readjust the strap of my bag as my pride and his words eat at me.
Stay the fuck away from me.
It’s such a cruel thing to say, and I shouldn’t want anything to do with him after talking to me like that, but…
He didn’t mean it. He couldn’t have.
A rustle sounds on my right, and I freeze, heart leaping into my throat. All I’ve wanted is to see Cade, but now I’m not sure what to say, how to fix it. I hold my breath, waiting to see him emerge. Every anxious hope I have tells me to run towards him,that if I could just wrap my arms around him, everything will be okay.
But it’s not Cade.
This person is not as graceful as he bats away a branch, watching his feet as he wobbles over a log. My heart deflates as I take a step back, cigarette smoke wafting towards me, and I spot the hot cherry between the security guard’s fingers right as he flicks it behind him. When he looks up, his eyes go wide for a moment, surprised to see me standing here.
“Uh.” He stops and rubs at the back of his neck, eyes darting around. “I was just…having, uh…” He flicks his sheepish gaze on me, taking in my uniform, and then, as if remembering his role, squares his shoulders. “Wait a minute. Are you supposed to be out here?”
“I was just going for a walk,” I lie smoothly.
“Well, not out here, you ain’t.” He stomps out of the roughage, gaining confidence. “There’s some sort of stalker on the loose, and you ain’t getting murdered on my watch.”
I don’t tell him that the skull-faced guy has been MIA for months now, or that if he wanted to kill me, he would have already, and let him shoo me back towards the main grounds.
I wander aimlessly, hoping the full bloom of spring will help my headache. But that’s not true, even though it’s what I would say if anyone asked what I’m doing. I’m actually wandering through the pain, hoping to spot Cade. And when I find myself in front of the administration building, I don’t lie to myself when I enter, knowing exactly why I’m here. I don’t really need to go to the infirmary. I don’t even think an aspirin will help with my headache, but that’s my excuse to be near the headmistress’s office.
It’s a desperate attempt, but I’m out of moves if I don’t have the courage to confront him on my own. The odds of him being here right now are slim, and I can feel the judgment from the fewother students roaming around. They’re judging even though they couldn’t possibly know why I’m really here, cringing at how pathetic I am.
I cringe as well as I tell Dorothy why I’m here, and then take a seat to wait for the nurse. But it quickly dissolves as I look up at the door across from me and hear murmurs beyond it.
I lean forward, careful to not look like I’m eavesdropping, but one of the voices is male, and my heart picks up. Could I get so lucky? Is my elusive demon here, in the building, with only a door between us?
The voices are muffled, faint, and I turn my chin, acting like I’m adjusting my neck to get my ear closer.
“….are they?….possibly need….”
It’s the headmistress. She sounds almost weary.
“He thinks that I…you to…says you….post office….”
A sudden bang behind the door causes me to jump, and Dorothy turns around. I quickly scoot back into my seat as she frowns, heart thumping as I pretend to pick at my nails, as if I didn’t even register the thunderous noise. But when she turns back, I scoot forward again and, oh my god, I hear him.Cade.
“…business. You’re business….keep them…”