Page 39 of Giving In

She laughs and pops a grape in her mouth.

“Hey, Em?”

“Mmh?”

“Please don’t tell anyone my mom’s not here.”

She turns to me, raising an eyebrow as she swallows her grape, asking a silent question.

“I don’t really want anyone to know I’m on my own. I know Stoneview is super safe but...we never know.”

She nods. “‘Course, ‘Me. And you know you can come to mine anytime, really. Mom’s getting another key cut today.”

“You guys are amazing.”

“Are you okay? Does you not wanting anyone to know have anything to do with your disappearance on Friday?”

I shrug. “I drank too much on Friday. Your drink was an absolute killer. I left early and spent Saturday with my first hangover ever. Not cool.”

I lied to my best friend for the first time in my life. Jake’s arctic eyes flash in my mind and I shiver. I can’t. I can’t tell her what happened. Because it makes it real. It makes the fear he put in me real. It makes my body’s reaction real. The tingling in my lower belly and the shuddering coldness in my chest both opposite but very real.

Emily laughs and takes a few seconds settling back. “Alright, well next time make sure you text me. I was worried.”

“I learned something though.” I take a moment before I keep going. “About Samuel Thomas and the twins.”

Emily straightens up and turns fully to me. “What did you learn?”

I run her through what I overheard Sam telling Rose and her eyes get wider at each sentence.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” she drops.

“Em!”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Oh my Gosh, ‘Me, this is huge! So, the Diaz brothersdowork for Volkov. The rumors were true.”

“At least until today apparently.”

“Do you think the Whites used to be part of Sam’s gang?”

I look away thinking. “I don’t know...I guess. And now that he wants to take Stoneview from Volkov he’s turning to them. You never really leave a gang, do you?”

“But they were so young,” Emily pops another grape in her mouth.

“Yeah, that doesn’t make sense,” I agree.

“I guess they could have been put in a foster family that was involved in shady stuff and, you know, fall into it too. These things happen.”

“Yeah,” I confirm. “That’s a possibility. No matter what happened, that’s not my focus,” I say trying to avoid talking about Jake. “My focus is knowing more about Aaron and so finding out more about Volkov. If Sam is stealing the Diaz brothers from the Wolves, then he must knowa lotabout them.”

“Of course he knows about them, baby, you know what they say.” She wiggles her eyebrows at me. “Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer.”

I don’t reply as I look at the familiar G-Wagon parking in the school parking lot.

“We need to get our hands on that burner phone. How is the plan ‘becoming friends with the Whites’ going?” Emily asks as she looks in the same direction as me.

A chill runs down my spine at the thought of Friday night. “Not good. We’re putting this plan in the trash.”

“So, we’re fully going behind their backs now? I know you, ‘Me, you’re going to get that phone one way or another.”

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