Page 41 of Lock Me Out

Somebody has been here.

And they know what I did.

19

COLT

“Hey! How was your weekend?”

I have to consciously put on a happy face for one of the guys from my calculus class as we pass on the quad on Monday morning. “You know, nothing big. Kept it quiet. You?”

I shouldn’t have bothered asking since Leni’s anxious, choked noise next to me steals my focus. She’s remembering Friday night. How things were the opposite of quiet.

After telling him I’ll see him later, we keep moving, hand in hand, down the wide path. It’s a gorgeous day, with the sun’s rays dancing through the tree branches and painting shadows on the ground. Who am I turning into, noticing things like that?

“Are you honestly in such a good mood, or are you pretending?” Leni’s tight whisper reminds me not everybody shares my opinion about the way life is right now.

Looking down at her is like looking at a ghost. The makeup she put on today isn’t enough to cover the dark circles under her eyes—eyes that are wide and full of fear as they shift back and forth while we walk.

“I know it’s easy for me to say,” I murmur through a smile, “but you really need to calm down. Everything is fine.”

“How can you say that?” she whispers, gripping my hand tighter. Her palm is damp with sweat. “How can anything be fine?”

It was probably a bad idea to bring her to school today. It’s not like she couldn’t make up any missed work, and I wouldn’t be leaving her alone. Nix is there at the apartment, keeping an eye on the news in case there’s any mention of a pair of dead bodies or missing people who happen to be named Deborah and Dennis.

Because there hasn’t been anything about them anywhere. Considering Leni spent all of Saturday and Sunday scouring the internet like she’s Sherlock Holmes trying to solve the case but found nothing, I think we’re in the clear. I don’t know what happened to the bodies—and I’m not going to pretend it didn’t freak me the fuck out to get there and find them gone—but there is nothing connecting us to them.

“What if I left evidence in the back of that car?” she asks now, and her chin trembles.

Obviously, I need to pull her aside, so I stop before we get to the library and sit on a bench under a massive oak tree whose branches give us a little shade and privacy. “I already told you. That’s why we broke the window on the driver’s side—so if anybody wanted to use the car for shelter, they could. By now, there’s plenty of DNA all over the inside of that car, I bet.”

“Do you think that’s enough, though? If anything happened to you…” Her face crumples before she stares at the ground. “Whatwould I have? I can’t lose you. I’ve already lost everything else. I can’t lose you, too.”

Fuck.“I didn’t think about it that way. I shouldn’t have brushed off your worries. But I’m telling you, everything’s going to be fine.”

I’m not worried, but that doesn’t mean we can be careless. I want to show our faces around here, to keep things normal, just in case rumors do start going around about those two assholes going missing.

I don’t think it’s wrong to think of them as assholes now that they’re dead—I never did get that whole don’t-talk-ill-of-the-dead thing. Especially for people who went out of their way to make others miserable when they were alive. Like my dad. He fits that description, too.

So even though I know Leni won’t pay any attention in class, and I’m going to spend all my time wondering and worrying about her, we go through the motions like any other Monday. I keep my eyes and ears open for anybody talking about Deborah and Dennis disappearing, but it never happens. There hasn’t been enough time for rumors to blow up. Right now, they could be on a long weekend somewhere together.

Only we—and whoever moved the bodies—know the truth.

I don’t want to think about that now. There are too many good things in my life to focus on the shit. I’m looking forward to taking Nix to see Mom when she’s feeling a little stronger—his face is a lot to get used to. I’m still working on it, and I didn’t spend years in a coma.

No matterhow determined I am to focus on the good things, I’m still tired and a little irritable by the time we approach the apartment door. Spending the day trying to be normal was more draining than I would’ve imagined.

Leni is feeling the same way. “This was one of the longest days of my life. Which is saying something.”

“But like I told you, everything was fine.” It’s going to take a little time, but eventually, she has to figure out that we are in the clear. There is not a damn thing to worry about.

Not until we get inside the apartment, at least.

“Thank fuck. I’ve been going out of my mind.”

Nix turns on his heel and walks the length of the living room in long, quick strides. “I can’t fucking stand this. I can’t stay here. This is a mistake.”

Leni makes a move like she wants to go to him—I don’t know if it’s reflex, like she feels sorry and wants to do something, or if she actually thinks she’ll make a difference. It doesn’t matter. I have to put an arm out across her chest to keep her still. She looks up at me, eyes filled with confusion.

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