Page 51 of Giving In

“Drop it, Chris. I don’t need you to keep me safe from the twins, okay? I’m not scared of them. They have no right or justification to bother me. If they want to, I won’t go easy on them. You know what? I don’t even owe you any explanation. I didn’t take her stupid phone.”

I snatch back my arm violently, even though he’s holding it softly, and hurry to Emily’s car.

I close the door in anger and wait for her to start the car while watching Chris. He takes his phone out. Jake and his group are joining him but Chris stares at me.

My phone beeps and I look down at it on my lap. I don’t need to unlock it to see his short text.

Chris:I never said it was her phone.

My eyes snap back up at him. He shakes his head disappointedly and walks away with his friends. I can feel the blood draining from my face. It’s icy and goes straight back to my heart, making it beat too fast for me to handle. My eyes blink multiple times before my brain registers the situation fully.

No. No. No. No.How could I be so stupid?! I just snitched on myself. I just lied to his face and revealed it right after. What is wrong with me?

Emily reverses out of the spot while she talks to me. “Are you okay, baby? You’re really pale.”

“I-I’m not feeling well suddenly.”

“‘Me, come on you have a date tomorrow. Don’t get ill now!”

I stay silent for a few minutes as she drives toward my house. Fear creeps in, mixed with the uneasy feeling of knowing that Chris doesn’t have my back anymore. That any minute now he could be telling Rose I’m the one who stole her phone. That Jake will know I’m still looking into Samuel.

What will he do then? It doesn’t take much to trigger Jake. Chris was putting himself between me and him. He said it himself, he didn’t want me to get involved in his dark world. And what did I do? I jumped right into it.

“Em?”

“Mhm?” She replies, her gaze leaving the road. She seems lost in her own thoughts too.

“Can you stay with me tonight?”

This is the only thing I can think about right now. If I’m home with Em, nothing can happen, right? It’s a short-term solution but it’s a solution.

Your imagination is bigger than the threat. Calm down.

That’s true. What are they going to do? Break into my house? They don’t even know I’m on my own. Even if they did, they’re not going to cross that line. I know it.

But the uneasy feeling just won’t go away.

“I’m sorry, babes, I have a date tonight.” Emily’s light voice contrasts drastically with my dark thoughts.

“A date?” I ask surprised. “You never said anything.”

“Because it’s nothing really.” She waves her hand. “Luke came to talk to me about his little sister, Ella, because she missed cheer tryouts. He said it was his fault and he wanted to make it up to her. Apparently, she’s a great flyer.”

“And he talked to you about it?”

“He thought I was captain. How cute?” She laughs. “I said I’d talk to Beth about it and ended up getting Ella a tryout next week. Anyway, he said he’s taking me for dinner as a thank you.”

“Em! Why are you not more excited about this! You’ve been into Luke Baker for, like,ever!”

She shrugs. “Because I know it’s nothing. He just wants to say thank you.”

I notice the guilt in her eyes straight away and put a hand on her leg.

“Em...please. You know you’re allowed to date, right? It’s been almost three years. No one will judge you.”

Since Aaron disappeared, Emily hasn’t dated anyone. She used to be the popular girl at school. All the guys wanted to date her, all the girls were jealous she was with a senior when we were freshmen.

About a year after Aaron’s disappearance, guys considered she was back on the market, but she turned down everyone. Every. Single. Soul.

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