Page 27 of Stop and Seek
Glasses weren’t helping shit.
Yanking them off, he wiped the lenses against his sleeve.
Twenty-five thousand dollars.
He had to keep repeating it like a goddamn mantra. Or prayer.
Because if he didn’t, he was going to run straight into the woods and scream until somethingatehim.
Next time? Find a better hiding spot.
The bleacherssoundedlike a terrific idea. No one was around when he nestled into his quiet little corner. He’d even started keeping time, counting the seconds… everything had been going so damn well until Noah showed up and—
Theo shook his head so hard that something snapped in his neck.
Nope.
Not going down that route again.
He’d wrestled the panic into a dull buzz instead of the alarm it had been. It was progress. Shitty, temporary progress. But still.
Decker’s voice sounded over the PA system.
“That’s time, kiddos!”
Theo smeared the sweat down his face and slid his glasses back on.
Hitting the power on his phone, he grabbed the fence to help him stand.
When the screen finally blinked back to life—bright andblinding as shit—the time didn’t register.
11:35p.m.
Only fifteen minutes had passed.
The longest fifteen minutes of hisentire life.
Twenty-five thousand.
Hehadto keep playing.
Two more days and this whole shitshow would be worth it.
Every second of terror. The heat. The people—it would all pay off.
But what hereallywanted was a bottle of vodka, and something stronger to shut off the part of his brain still screaming.
“Did we all have fun?” Decker asked.
God, Theo could have slapped that shit-eating grin off his face.
He stuffed his hands into his pockets, shoulders curled up to his ears.
Everyone had gathered in the parking lot, people talking over each other. Their voices melted into one long, high-pitched drone, like bees buzzing inside his skull.
Ethan and Rachel were nowhere when Theo scanned the crowd. Maybe they’d left early—probably for the best, especially for poor Ethan. The guy looked like he was ready to drop dead the last time Theo saw him.
Alyssa, though. She was still there. And sheowedhim. Big time.
