Collin and I had one more class together after lunch, and his assigned seat was near mine.
When he walked in, I quickly busied myself with flipping through my notebook to avoid any attempts at conversation. The last thing I needed was for Collin to draw more unwelcome attention to me.
Thankfully, he didn’t try. We both sat in silence until class started, then I focused on listening to the teacher and pretending Collin wasn’t there.
As soon as class ended, I scooted past Collin’s desk and hurried out into the hall. If he wanted to talk to me about what happened at lunch—which he probably didn’t anyway, the jerk—it would have to wait until after school.
I made it through the rest of the day, then headed straight to the media center for my radio show.
The show went perfectly, without a hitch. Mr. Pierce even chuckled at my commentary a few times, which was always a good sign.
“Great show today, Aubrey,” he said as I was packing up. “Looking forward to the Poe episode next week.”
I smiled at him and grabbed my backpack. “Thanks, Mr. Pierce. Have a good night!”
I headed out to the parking lot, wondering if Collin had actually stayed to drive me home or if I’d be calling my parents and waiting until they could come get me.
But Collin was leaning against the car, waiting for me.
His eyes locked on mine as I approached. For a moment, he looked like he wanted to say something… then he turned around and unlocked the car and got in.
I reached the car, and got in silently, too.
Collin didn’t say a thing as he drove, and seeing as I felt like he owed me an apology, I was too stubborn to broach the conversation myself. It seemed I was right about the awkward silence, but at least it wasn’t a long drive.
I stared out the window until Collin pulled up into my driveway to drop me off, then I glanced over at him. “Thanks for the ride.” I was mad, but I wasn’t rude.
Unlike some people.
Collin blinked at me. “Yeah. Sure.” His jaw ticked like he was thinking, then he just stared at me. Whatever he had in his head, he’d decided not to voice it.
I slid out before he could change his mind. “See ya.” I shut the car door and hurried up to my house.
My mom still wasn’t home, so I made a quick snack of cheese and apple slices, and settled down to do my homework.
I was wrapping up my algebra homework—and feeling ready for a nap—when I got a text from Chloe.
Devin was the Mr. Tall, Blonde, and Handsome of the ice cream shop—a guy about our age Chloe had a secret crush on, but whom we didn’t really know because he went to a different high school. I wasn’t sure she’d ever spoken to him, and he probably had no idea his role as ProScoop’s newest Scoop Boy was the reason for Chloe’s semester-long obsession with after-school ice cream two to three times a week… but he seemed nice, and the ice cream was pretty good, so I was usually happy to join her.
Today, however, even ice cream sounded exhausting. I just wanted a nap.
I texted her back.
I texted her back a thumbs up, then headed upstairs to my room.
I pulled back the covers and flopped into bed… and fell asleep almost as soon as I laid down.
I was right in the middle of one of the strangest dreams I’d ever had—Chloe was standing in the ice cream shop, smiling at Devin, who was holding two ice cream cones that were literally on fire while a screaming hawk flew circles around his feet—when the sound of the front door shutting woke me, and I heard my mom call up.
“Aubrey, are you here?”
I sat up, disoriented. The light coming in from the windows was dim, like it was dusk outside. How long had I slept?
I heard Mom drop her keys and purse on the counter, then her footsteps hurried up the stairs. “Aubrey?”
Only then did the tone of her voice hit me. Something wasn’t right.
I threw back the covers as she pushed open my bedroom door. “Mom, what’s wrong?”
As soon as she saw me, her hand flew to her chest and she heaved a breath of relief. “Oh, thank goodness. When you didn’t answer—” Her eyes were still wild and worried, though, and it sent my heart racing. She glanced around my room, and her face fell. “You’re here alone?”
“Yesss,” I said, confused. Why wouldn’t I be? My chest tightened. “What’s going on, Mom?”
The worry in her eyes deepened. “Did you just wake up? Have you heard from Chloe?”
Chloe? My heart rose into my throat. I grabbed my phone from my nightstand. The time was nearly 8PM. I had been asleep for a while—several hours. I tapped to open my messages, then shook my head. “Not since earlier, when she said she was going to the ice cream place.” I looked up at my Mom. “Why?”
She leveled a heartbroken gaze at me. “I got stuck at work late, but Mary called me as I was leaving.”
Mary was Chloe’s mom. I braced for something bad—I could feel it coming.
“Chloe’s car was found abandoned at the ice cream place a couple hours ago,” my mom continued. “Her phone and backpack were still in it, even the keys, but the employees said they never saw her come inside. We were hoping Chloe was here with you.”
I heard the words, but they wouldn’t process. “What?”
Mom moved toward me. “Chloe didn’t make it home, Sweetie. She’s missing.”
Her gaze locked on mine, and I saw in her eyes the reflection of the same memory I felt lancing my chest: Emery didn’t make it home last night. Those were the words my dad had said, when I got up that first morning to find him and Mom sitting at the bar in the kitchen, clutching their undrunk mugs of coffee with red-rimmed eyes and puffy faces.
“Chloe.” The word escaped me in a breath.
Chloe didn’t make it home.
Suddenly my mom’s arms were around me. “It’s only been a few hours. She’s not even officially missing yet. Mary went up there when she couldn’t get ahold of Chloe, and found her car. She’s been talking to the employees, trying to figure out what might have happened, but the police don’t seem very worried yet. I’m sure they’ll find her, Aubrey. She probably went for a walk or something.”
That made no sense. Chloe went for a random walk downtown without her keys? Without even going inside ProScoop to see—
“Devin,” I said, pulling back. “That’s why Chloe went there. Maybe he—”
The front door opened and shut downstairs. “I’m home!”
“Dad!” I jumped up and ran downstairs to meet him.
He was standing there in the kitchen, still wearing his dark blue business suit and the lucky-clover necktie he sometimes wore when he was closing an important deal and knew the clients would have a sense of humor about it, though now it looked rumpled from travel.
He set his briefcase down and grabbed me up in a huge hug that enveloped me with Sauvage cologne and comfort, but it was brief. “Aubrey, listen…” He pulled back to look at me.
I interrupted. “Dad, Chloe—”
“I heard,” he said, pulling me tight again. “Your mom caught me on my cell as I was getting off the plane.” He looked up at Mom, who had caught up to me after my sprint downstairs. “Any news?”
She shook her head. “No.”
For a moment, we all just looked at each other… Then my dad pulled us both into a tight hug, one under each arm. “This is going to be okay. We’ll find her.” He kissed my head, kissed my mom on the cheek, then pulled back. “I’m going to head over and see what I can do to help.”
He had just gotten home, and I was sure he was exhausted—but this was who he was. When someone needed help, he went.
“I want to come, too,” I said.
He looked at me. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“But there’s this guy, Devin—Chloe’s really into him, and what if—I mean, what if she did go inside to see him, and he—” I sucked a breath. “ProScoop doesn’t close until ten. I need to go see if he’s there.”
He and my mom shared a glance, and I knew right away the answer was no.
Dad shook his head. “Let me handle this, Aubrey. I’ll make sure the police know about Chloe’s interest in Devin, and I’ll see if he was working when she showed up. But we still don’t know what’s going on, and you—” He put his hands on my shoulders and looked deep into my eyes. “I need you here, where I know you’re safe. Okay?” He pulled me back into a hug.
I knew there was nothing I could do to argue. I didn’t have my own car, and after what we’d been through with Emery, I knew Dad would never budge on a decision if he thought my safety was at stake.
My mom looked up at him. “I should go be with Mary.” Mom and Chloe’s mom were close, because Chloe and I were close.
“So you’re just going to leave me here?” My voice climbed. “You can both help look for my best friend, but I can’t?”
Dad sighed. “You won’t be here alone. I’ve asked Lockley to come over to be here with you.”
“You arranged a babysitter for me?”
“Aubrey—” Dad’s eyes were full of genuine concern. “Of course she’s not a babysitter. I just… I thought it might not be good for you to be alone right now.”
“Then let me come with you!”
Dad sighed. “I’m sorry, but no. We need you to stay here until we know more about what’s going on. You understand that, right?”
“No,” I said, not caring that I was being stubborn. “No, I don’t understand.”
Mom and Dad exchanged a wary glance.
“Please don’t fight us on this, Aubrey,” Dad said. “We’re just trying to do what we think is best. I love you.”
He pressed another kiss to the top of my head while I stood there glaring at him, then pulled off his tie and threw it on the kitchen table.
Mom grabbed her keys and purse from the counter. “Lockley will be here any minute. We’ll text you to check in. Call us right away if you hear from Chloe, okay?”
Lockley’s signature knock sounded on the front door.
I heaved a deep sigh. “Fine.”
Mom and Dad hurried toward the front door to let Lockley in, but when they pulled it open… it was Lockley and Collin.
I gaped at him.
“We’ll call soon,” Dad shouted back to me, then he and Mom hurried out.
The front door shut, leaving Lockley and Collin standing awkwardly on our entry rug.
“Hey,” Lockley’s gentle voice said as my gaze found hers. “You okay?”
Collin shifted beside her, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else. Why had he even come?
Not only was I stuck here doing nothing while my best friend was missing, but now Collin was here to help babysit me.
“Sure. I’m fine. Fantastic,” I said, stomping toward the stairs. “I’ll be in my room.”
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