Page 104 of Inception

“Get him before he gets you,” he noted, crossing his arms.

“Exactly. He’ll never see it coming.” Her mouth took on a diabolical curl. “I’ll lead him to an isolated location outside of town, make him think he’s got me cornered and that I’m out there all alone. He won’t be able to resist. He’ll show himself and we’ll be waiting to take him out when he does.”

Gabriel considered it. “That could work.”

“Itwillwork. It has to.” She took a step closer to him and raised her hand as though she were going to touch him but then decided against it. “I’m tired of running, Gabriel. This is my chance, my way out, but I need you. I need you in on this with me. Will you do it? Will you help me?”

“Yes.” He answered without the slightest hesitation or concern for his own well-being. “Whatever you need. Whatever you want. I’ll do it.”

31. DETAINED

“You’re late, Miss Blackburn,” croaked Mr. Gillman as I strolled into detention Tuesday afternoon. “Surely you appreciate the irony given your current circumstance.”

I glanced up at the wall clock. “Sorry,” I muttered, sitting down in the first seat by the door.

“As I was communicating erstwhile your interruption,” continued Mr. Gillman. “I have a prior engagement that requires my immediate attention, however, I will return periodically to check in on you. I expect silence in my absence and will not hesitate to further extend your punishment should any of you feel the need to leave the room without permission.” He picked up his briefcase and gave one final look around the near-empty room. “Questions?”

I shook my head and watched as he whisked out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

Curious, I glanced over my shoulder to get a better look at my cellmates and immediately spotted Trace in the back corner of the room. Our eyes met briefly, once again igniting those irritating butterflies in my abdomen. I straightened out, opting to lay my head on my desk and indulge in some much needed R&R rather than contend with the pesky swarm in my belly.

Less than a minute later, I heard a chair pull out behind me followed by a gentle poke on the back of my shoulder. I held my breath as I twisted around and found Trace sitting in the desk behind me. His dimples pressed in on both sides, though there was no real smile accompanying them.

“Hey,” he said, sounding weary.

“Look at you, breaking all your own rules again.”

The edge of his mouth curved up slightly.

It was no secret that Trace wanted to spend as little time with me as possible for reasons that were still unclear to me. The funny thing is, between work, school, our circle of friends, and the fact that he was increasingly finding reasons to come talk to me, we probably spent more time together than anyone else in our group.

“What are you in here for?” he asked, tapping his thumb against the desk as he openly examined me.

“Oh, you know, the usual. Started a gang, beat up a few kids from Easton. You?”

“Same.”

I laughed, thinking it probably wasn’t that far from the truth.

He shifted his attention to the other two guys sitting in detention with us. The dark-haired one was scribbling something down in his notebook, possibly sketching, and the other one had his earphones on and was bobbing his head back and forth listening to his music.

“Heard you’re going to the dance with Caleb.” His voice was quiet now, almost as though he were working hard to subdue it.

“As friends,” I clarified. I wasn’t sure why I felt the need to specify that part.

He leaned in towards me. “Does he know that?”

“Of course he does.”

His eyebrows dipped with doubt.

“I mean, Ithinkhe does. Why? Did he say something?”

“Not really.” He pushed back in his chair, rocking on its hind legs. “He just likes to get under my skin.”

“Underyourskin?”

“Yeah.”

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