Page 118 of The Ruse

35

ASHER

Since I wasn’tsure what the journal held, and I didn’t want Owen asking me questions before I had answers, I tucked Bailee’s journal into my duffel bag and made myself wait until I was settled on the bus before I pulled it out again.

My fingers trembled as I held it in my hands. What had Bailee written in here? Had she spelled out her whole disappearing plan?

Elyse said it held clues that might help us find Bailee. That what she’d written had made her believe that Bailee was still alive.

I sighed and leaned back against my seat as a wave of emotion poured over me.

Bailee might be alive.

I pressed my eyes closed and wiped away the tears that came.

This nightmare might have a happy ending.

I wanted to open it up to the last page, to see if Bailee had written the exact address and directions to wherever she’d disappeared. But since Elyse suggested I start at the beginning, and I had a four-hour bus ride to Ridgewater, I opened up to the first entry she’d written instead. It was dated mid-August from the year before.

The last few weeks of the summer before our junior year.

I leaned back in my seat and settled in.

August 16

Welcome to my new journal. I finished my old one a couple weeks ago and found this at a cute little cart in Central Park and couldn’t pass it up. Summer’s been good. We went to Paris for a couple weeks last month and it was amazing as always. My dad was working on business most of the time so my mom, Alisha, and I did most of the exploring without him. I got some amazing clothes and shoes that I’m excited to take with me when I go back to school.

After Paris, we just spent most of the rest of the summer in Manhattan. I went to a few parties with Alisha and her college friends. My favorite being last night when they snuck me into one of the clubs with them. I was scared they wouldn’t let me through since I’m not even 17, but they let me through with the group.

We ended up dancing and talking with a group of guys they know from NYU.

They were all so hot and fun to hang out with. This is why I love older guys so much. They’re just more fun and exciting to talk to.

I ended up spending most of the night in the VIP lounge with this guy named Elijah. He just graduated from NYU in May and was so freaking hot. He had these amazing green eyes that I just wanted to get lost in. And he was tall. Like maybe 6’3” with the kind of body you’d find on a cover of a men’s magazine.

Seriously, his arms were as big as my thighs, he’s so buff.

I was so nervous when he first started talking to me because I thought for sure he’d be able to tell I was only in high school and had totally snuck in.

I mean, I’ll be 17 in a couple weeks tho. Everyone tells me I look like I could be in college—that Alisha and I look like twins. But the whole time I was just thinking he was going to notice something, or I was going to slip up and say something about being in high school and he’d realize I’m like 4 or 5 years younger than him.

But he didn’t. He just talked to me like I was his age.

Anyway, we ended up talking all night and it was kind of amazing. Like one of those rare moments when you just have an instant connection with someone.

When it was time to go, I gave him my number and told him to call me. I’ve never given my number to an older guy before, but I really hope that he calls me. I’ll be leaving for Eden Falls in a couple weeks so I know it can’t go anywhere. But I don’t know, it was just a magical night. I would love to see him again before I leave.

I furrowed my brow as I looked over the entry again. Was this what Elyse thought I should be reading? Was there some sort of clue in here that I needed to remember?

Bailee had told me about sneaking into clubs with her sister and her friends over the summer, and I’d told the police about it when they’d interviewed me. But I really didn’t think she’d run away to become a professional club hopper.

I shook my head. Maybe I was being too literal.

I turned the page to the next entry.

August 21

The past few days have been so amazing!! Elijah texted me the day after our night at the club and we went to a Yankee’s game a couple days later. Normally I hate baseball games because they’re so freaking long and boring, but it ended up being so fun. We just laughed the whole time because he was so hilarious. Anyway, I really wanted to kiss him because his lips are amazing. The universe must have heard my thoughts or something because during one of the timeouts near the end of the game, the kiss cam stopped on us and we were suddenly on the jumbotron.

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