Page 47 of Broken Skulls

Anthony turns his attention to our president. “I’ve got guys working on his system now. We’ll be ready by ten.”

That’s all Jackson needs to hear. He whistles, ordering everyone to get the key to their room and get a little shut eye.

Dan wraps his big hand around the back of my neck. “So, is she the one?”

“I sure hope so, because I’ll never be able to let her go.” I throw my bag over my shoulder and head inside.

Once in my room, I lie on the bed, FaceTiming Lily.

“How did I know you’d be calling?” she asks before giving me a chance to say hello.

“Is she okay?”

“Why don’t you ask her yourself?” I hear a shuffle on the other end, and then it’s quiet.

It amazes me how different Elizabeth is compared to how everyone describes her. She’s my shy girl.

“Hey, baby.” I let her off the hook on speaking first.

“Hi,” she says quietly.

A shiver of satisfaction slides down my spine. Pretty sad that a woman greeting me over the phone affects me this much.

“You doing okay?”

“I’m good.”

We’re both quiet for several minutes. “Um, we made it,” I tell her, afraid to mention too much of what’s going on. It breaks my heart that all of this scares her. “Anthony and his team were already here.”

“What? They were already there?”

Why is she so shocked by this? She was the one who told us to call him. Oh yeah, I guess she doesn’t know that I called Danielle and asked about Mr. Baxter.

“I’m sorry. I may have given him a heads up by asking them about your teacher.”

Her voice rises. “You asked who?”

“Danielle.”

She’s quiet, and I know I fucked up.

“I’m sorry,” I say again, and I really am.

“They figured it out …” she rasps.

I realize she’s not upset with me. She’s trying to wrap her mind around the fact her friends finally put the pieces together, and they’re helping her.

“I’ve been lying here thinking about the past version of myself. The one who worried about future me. The me that would eventually hit the end of the road. I spent so many hours worrying.” Her voice cracks, and she sucks in a deep breath.

“Shh, baby. I’m here.”

She moans, “I arrived at the end of the road, not realizing I could turn back.”

I laugh. “Oh, you weren’t turning back. I had to forcefully spin you around.”

This makes her chuckle. “You’re right. I have you to blame for all of this.”

“Or thank. It’s all how you look at it.”

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