Page 194 of Positively Pricked
Chapter 66
A half-hour later, I was parked at a gas station just a few miles away from Zane's neighborhood. Already, Kayla – meaning the caller – was ten minutes late, which gave me far too much time to consider the foolishness of what I was doing.
And yet, on the phone, her request hadn't soundedtoounreasonable. Had it?
Even now, her words made a compelling case.
"I just want to look."
"It'll only take a few minutes."
"I'm really worried. Can't you help?"
But it wasn't until she started to cry that I crumbled like a stale cookie. So here I was, watching for a little red car and praying that I wasn't making a huge mistake.
I was still waiting when my cell phone rang. I lunged for it and took a look.
It was Charlotte.
Finally.
I skipped the hello and went straight to a frantic, "Hey, I've been trying to reach you."
"Uh, yeah. I got your messages."
I'd left at least a dozen, each more desperate than the last. "So about the house," I said, "Paisley said you knew, but she was lying, right?"
Charlotte hesitated. "Uh, well…"
"Oh, my God. She wasn't? So youdidknow?" My voice rose. "And you didn't bother to tell me?" I knew I was ranting, but I couldn’t seem to make myself stop. "Do you know what it's like to show up one morning and find your house squashed?"
"No, but…"
"But what?"
"Well…" Charlotte hesitated. "You were supposed to call me."
"What do you mean?"
"I kept asking you to call me before you came back. Remember? I even said it yesterday."
I squeezed my eyes shut.Yesterday.After the thing with Bob, and then my argument with Zane, I hadn't been in the mood to talk to anyone, especially Charlotte, with all her sunny storybook predictions for me and you-know-who.
When I made no reply, she asked, "So, why didn't you call?"
"I don't know," I snapped. "Why didn'tyoutell me about my house?"
After a long pause, she mumbled, "It isn'treallyyour house."
"What?"
"I mean, it's just a rental. And you told me that you already packed everything you care about." She hesitated. "You know, because of your fight with Paisley?"
As if I could forget.
I sighed. "But according to Paisley, the house was squasheddaysago. How long have you known?"
"I dunno," she said. "A few days?"
