Page 80 of Make Me Scream

“He might. It’s not like I ask for a lot of favors. Though if he knew we were an item… maybe not.”

Yeah, no kidding.

“Okay, that’s an idea. But, why bother? You didn’t do that when you were with other students.”

Lane pulls me into his chest and holds me tighter. He doesn’t answer right away.

“It’s complicated,” he says, his voice torn. “I made mistakes with them, and maybe if I’d done things differently… What we have is important, and I don’t want our future taken out of our hands.”

He lets me go, and I turn around to find his expression dark, his gaze focused somewhere far distant.

Whoa. I’ve never seen him like this.

“Did it end badly, or something?” I ask.

“No, not badly. Suddenly.”

“You didn’t get caught, did you?”

“No, it’s not like that. In the past, Mundell didn’t care. But he was mad about Chloe disappearing, so I told him I’d stop.”

A chill races through me, then swings back around, an icy echo.

“What do you mean, she disappeared?”

“Not literally. One day we were good, the next she was gone. She dropped out and moved back home, I guess. We texted for a few days after she left. I guess she couldn’t afford to stay. I don’t know. I was kinda pissed, to be honest, so I didn’t ask her for the details.”

Wow.

“Her name was Chloe?”

“Chloe Andreason. I’ve tried looking her up to apologize for how I handled things, but she’s not on social media. Her old number was disconnected, she doesn’t respond to e-mails… I don’t know what happened to her. I even tried looking up her family, but apparently she came up through the foster system, so it was a dead end.”

“That’s terrible…” I mumble, unable to stop shaking. “I’m sorry. I’m sure she just needed time to…”

To what, exactly? She must have left for a good reason.

He nods.

“Yeah, me too. I feel responsible. Like I should have tried harder to help her. That’s why all I care about is doing right by you, Gwen.”

“I know. I know you mean to help me, I really do.”

“Good.”

“Lane, I have to go,” I say, glancing around, trying to remember where I left my purse and clothes.

“Of course. We’ll talk later. I had an amazing night.”

“Me too,” I reply, half-forcing a smile. Then I’m in motion, finding my things, dressing and leaving.

I don’t know what came over me; Lane’s story was more sad than anything. I’d like to ask about it more, but clearly Lane still hurts. Maybe he cared for her more than he realizes.

Rush Mundell’s standing on the sidewalk as I exit the building. He gazes down the street at a passing taxi, not seeing me. I almost turn around and head back inside, but instead veer to my left, walking away with my purse against my chest.

Did he spot me? I don’t think so, but I’m not sure. He definitely would have if I’d turned to the right. That’s the direction I needed to go, but I don’t look back. I walk three blocks, thinkingChloe Andreason, Chloe Andreason, Chloe Andreason,before circling around and heading down into the subway.

Chapter 18

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