Page 58 of Anchor

Then Cassie turned to look at me, and even though the bracelet was already in my pocket, I could have sworn she knew. I could have sworn she could tell what I’d done, and that’s the first time common sense reached me since I’d touched that bracelet, and I becameafraid.

My stomach fell.

“Gimme that,” Cassie said, pulling the box to her chest.

I froze.

“Freaking Mud,” she muttered with a sneaky grin, and turned around to walk away.

Joking.She was only joking.

The bracelet was still in the pocket of my jacket when I went back to my cubicle all alone.

I was morehyperthan I’d ever been in a long time. Asaliveas when I first met Taland and I was always running between classes to go meet him and make out. Yes, that’s what it felt like now as I drove my bike much faster than usual, having just left a Target on my way. I hadn’t even minded the reporters taking my picture, as I rushed out of Headquarters. They weren’t allowed close to the back gates anymore, but now they basically camped on the sidewalk of the street next to the fence that I drove through to leave every night.

They didn’t follow me, though, so that’s all that mattered. And Madeline’s guards didn’t let anybody put up signs or cameras near her estate, so it was perfectly okay because that’s where I planned to go just as soon as I did this one teeny-tiny little thing.

I know I promised to never go back to Taylor Maddison’s trailer—I know that.But it was almost midnight. Everybody was asleep, and nobody would even see me, not her family and not her neighbors. I was just going to drop my bike off a street down like last time, grab the paper bag I got at Target, and leave it outside the trailer where she’d see it as soon as she woke up.

That’s exactly what I did.

I put the paper bag in the basket that had been full of clothes the last time I was here, but now was empty. Nobody was going to see it there until Taylor woke up.

Except maybe her mom.

Regardless—she was going to find it and she was going to take it, and all would be well. She’d never know it was from me.

So, I turned around to leave, on my tiptoes, not making a single sound at all, and all the lights in the trailer were off, drapes drawn, so I was fairly certain that I was safe. Didn’t even suspect anybody saw me, until…

“What’s that?”

That my soul didn’t leave my body was a damn miracle.

Taylor’s head peeked out from the edge of the trailer, and she could most definitely see me.

“What-what-whyaren’t you asleep?!” I whisper-yelled, and all that adrenaline that I’d felt since I’d stolen—actuallystolen—from the Vault doubled within the second, and I was pretty sure my head was going to explode for real now.

“I was. Then I woke up.” She came out barefoot, wearing only her pajamas, her hair all over the place, and she reached for the paper bag I left in the basket.

“Why did you wake up—it’s midnight!”Calm down, calm down—it’s just the girl!

My hands were still shaking.

“I heard you,” Taylor said, then pulled out a small box and a book from the paper bag, holding them up with the tips of her fingers. The very tips, like she was afraid they’d bite her.

“Howdid you hear me? I was quiet.” And I knew how to be quiet, damn it. Had I lost my touch? Because I thought I made no sound at all, yet a little girl had somehow heard me.

Taylor turned to me, still holding the colors and the book in the air like that. “This is new.”

I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath in another attempt to get myself together. “Yes, it’s, uhm…it’s a coloring book.” She’s been coloring that day and the book had been all torn and she’d only had two colors, so I figured I’d just bring her new ones since she obviously liked to color.

“There’s ten of them,” she said. “Ten books and…three-four—six boxes of colors.”

Well, fuck, when she put it like that now it sounded stupid. Why would she need all those colors?!

Damn it, Rora…

“I, um…I didn’t know what you liked, okay? So, I got you a few just in case.” It had seemed like a good idea when I was at the store because really, what the hell did I know about coloring books? I wasn’t allowed to color since I was probably six years old!

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