Page 86 of Seren

“I missed out on a lot of your childhood working here,” she admitted when she walked back out with an armful of my toiletries.

“But at least we had this time,” I said, on the verge of breaking down.

“Is Seren taking you to the airport or do you need me to?”

Her question knocked me off balance.Seren? I wouldn’t even get to see him before I left. And even if I did, I risked Martine misconstruing whatever I said to him. It was a lose-lose situation, and my heart was breaking with each moment that passed.

“No. I have a car taking me,” I said, hoping she didn’t ask any questions.

She didn’t, but only because she too was trying to hold it together.

“I’m gonna carry this up to the door and come back down to pack my backpack.”

“I can send anything you forget,” my mom offered. “Do you know where you’re staying?”

My chest tightened, and a knot swelled in my throat making it difficult to swallow. The truth was, I had no idea. Martine said his driver would give me the information. “I get all that info when I arrive,” I said before heading out of the apartment and dragging the suitcase up to the doorway.

That’s when it hit me. What if Martine planned to have me killed? What if this whole sending me to Tampa story was to get me alone so he could kill me? It wasn’t like he hadn’t been behind Mr. Grayson’s death. Would my life be over the second I got into the car? It wasn’t like I even had a choice. Stay and everything was pinned on Seren or my mother. Go and keep everyone safe.

I went back down to my room with a growing pit in my stomach. Every part of my body trembled. I dropped down onto the edge of my bed and prayed to God I was taken to the airport and not the middle of the woods to be executed.

My mom stepped into my doorway. “You okay?”

I jumped, trying to regain some semblance of composure. “Just a little nervous. This is a big thing I’m doing.”

“You’re gonna do great,” she assured me.

“I’ll call you the second I land in Tampa,” I said, deciding to use the fact that Martine would be listening to my advantage. “Martine arranged a ride for me to the airport. Wasn’t that so kind of him?” I said to my mom, hoping she didn’t say anything bad about him.

“He’s such a nice man,” she responded.

I breathed a sigh of relief. Now, he knew two things: my mom trusted him and she knew who arranged my travel. If I didn’t land in Tampa, he’d be the number one suspect.

I stood up, feeling a lot more at peace as I opened drawers and stuffed anything I thought I’d need into my backpack. I went to the closet, noting stacks of sweaters remained at the top and two items hung from hangers: my prom dress—my beautiful prom dress that Seren had bought for me—and my dad’s blue sweater. I slipped the sweater off the hanger and brought it to my nose. His scent had begun to fade, but it still lingered enough that I could still smell him. I folded the sweater and slipped it into my backpack.

“You ready?” my mom asked.

I nodded, needing to stay strong. “Can we say goodbye right here? I think I may cry if you walk me outside.”

She moved to me and wrapped her arms around me. “I’m gonna cry right here and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

Tears trailed down my own cheeks and onto her shoulder. “I love you.”

“Oh, Grace. I love you too.”

“Call me every day and fill me in on everything here,” I said.

“You bet I will.”

I stepped out of her arms, and we both wiped away at our damp cheeks.

“All right,” I said, knowing I needed to go. I grabbed my backpack and slipped it on. I gave my mom and my room one last look, making sure I committed both to memory since I had no idea when I’d be back—ifI’d be back. I forced one last smile for my mom’s benefit then turned away and left the apartment. I climbed the stairs and grabbed the handle on my suitcase, pulling it outside with me.

“Hey.”

I froze.

Seren stood in the driveway. His eyes moved to my suitcase. “Goin’ somewhere?”

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