Page 46 of Stop and Seek
No more boring life in a dead-end town.
Noah could go die in a ditch. He didn’t matter.
The entire point of Stop and Seek was not getting caught.
If Theo played the game right, he’dneverhave to see that stupid fucking face again.
He still hadn’t removed the blue bracelet. He didn’t plan to until he was the only hider left at the end.
They’d have to take it off his cold, rotting corpse.
Alyssa swore—up and down—the weed would relax him.
She was fuckingwrong.
All that did was making him antsy.
And hungry.
Again.
He couldn’t keep pacing his apartment.
They arrived at the school earlier than Theo would’ve wanted, but at least they weren’t the only ones. The gym looked even more crowded than it did yesterday. Some of these people weren’t the right age to have gone to school with him. Were they there to—what? Support someone else? Watch? How boring would that be? Sitting there. Twiddling your thumbs. Waiting for someone else to get done playing a game. Therewasn’tanything to watch—
Unless someone was recording it.
Theo shivered, rubbing his hands up and down his arms.
No.
No fucking thank you.
If he ended up on social media, that’d be it. Game over, call it a day, tap out—whatever.
The thought of his face plastered across some random For You pageagainmade his anxiety flare so hot he thought he might vomit.
Don’t think about it.
Forget it happened.
Alyssa was saying something. Theo saw her mouth moving a mile a second, but he was only half-listening.
His mind drifted. Eyes wandering over the nasty green brick.
Don’t think about it.
Do not.
But he couldn’t shake the warmth in his skin or the prickle at the back of his neck.
No one was watching him here.
No one.
Maybe it was the weed or the after-effects of whatever Alyssa had given him last night.
That had to be it.
