by Kayla Krantz
“Quit shoving,” Luna grumbled as she moved away, smacking his hand off. She cast a sideways glance in his direction. “And give me my backpack.”
“Then walk faster,” he replied, no emotion to his voice—only cold, clipped words.
She clenched her hands into fists and walked ahead of him, pushing her way out the front door. On the curb outside, she recognized his black truck as it sat waiting for them to get inside. Reluctantly, she walked toward it and climbed in the passenger seat. Chance got in the driver’s seat and thrust the backpack into her lap as hard as he could. He switched on the engine and neither of them spoke as he drove toward school. Luna sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. Chance glanced at her momentarily, smirking before his attention returned to the road.
She narrowed her eyes at him as he continued to drive, unaware—or uncaring—about the feelings of his prisoner. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
He shrugged and stretched his fingers out as he kept his palms on the steering wheel. “Let’s just say it’s different than what I’m used to.”
She frowned. “Just let me out here, I’ll walk the rest of the way, and we’ll both tell my dad you watched me all day.”
He shook his head slowly. “No way. I promised to watch you, and that’s what I’m gonna do.”
“Why? What makes you want to do this?” she demanded, eyes boring into the side of his face as she waited for his answer.
“There are a number of reasons.”
Luna squeezed her eyes shut, leaning her elbow against the door to prop her head up as she tried to stem the oncoming headache Chance would inevitably cause. “Name one.”
Chance shook his head again, harder this time. “Nope.”
She exhaled loudly in frustration and pressed her cheek to the window. Arguing with Chance would only speed up that headache; she could already feel a steady pulsing in her temples. She needed to save her sanity for Sarah. He didn’t talk to her the rest of the way there, and she was more than glad for it.
When the truck pulled to a stop in the school parking lot, she immediately pushed open the door and jumped out of her seat. She walked quickly between the parked cars and pushed her way through the kids. Part of her hoped to lose Chance while another part was excited at the thought of talking to Sarah. In a flash, he was at her side again.
“You weren’t trying to leave without me, were you?” he asked sweetly.
She pulled her lips tight to keep emotion off her face. “Of course not.” It would do no good to argue. “Why would I ever try to do that?”
She kept walking ahead of him. When they reached the building, he parted away from her to go to his first hour, even though they had the same class. Satisfied with the empty feeling his absence left, she headed to study hall, the entire time carefully scanning the people in the hallway for any sign of Sarah.
In study hall, she noticed Amy right away at her usual table toward the back of the room. Quietly, Luna crossed to her and sat down in the empty chair next to her.
“Hi.”
Amy glanced up at her and smiled. “Hello.”
“How are you today?”
“Good, can’t complain,” Amy said, blinking. “And you?”
“I’m good,” Luna replied, though it was a lie. She chewed her lip, wishing it could be true.
“Did you hear about what happened to Susan?”
A sardonic voice in Luna’s head seemed to mock Amy’s words. How could she not? She knew things that went far beneath Susan’s superficial disappearance. A twinge in her stomach reminded her she needed to find Sarah.
Luna nodded anyway, trying to act like a normal high school student…at least for a little while. “It’s horrible, I hope she’s okay,” she managed to say though inside she already knew Susan wasn’t.
“It’s just like Kate all over again. I can’t believe this is the second time something big is happening to our school,” Amy said in her tiny voice.
Luna nodded and tried to ignore the lump in her throat. If only she knew they weren’t a coincidence. “It is weird. I just hope they catch whoever it is that’s doing it.” At least she could say that honestly. She desperately wished they would take Chance away in shiny silver handcuffs—she would even take pictures.
“So, what’s all this talk that you were with Chance?” Amy wondered wide-eyed, changing the subject.
That snapped Luna from her thoughts. “What are you talking about? I wasn’t with Chance,” she said, a sinking feeling in her chest. She wondered what story had been spread around the school.
“I’m not sure, that’s why I asked you, but there are popular people that seem pretty talkative about it.”
Chance. Luna looked down at the table, feeling her face go red. She didn’t know what had happened, but Chance had seemed to invent an interesting story. In the dream, when he had told her he would tell the whole school a lie about them, he wasn’t kidding—he lived by his word.
He did what he said.
“Are you okay, Luna? You look tense,” Amy piped up, reminding her she was still there.
Luna swallowed back the bile that had formed in her throat as her gaze focused back on the scene around her. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.”
“Oh...okay,” Amy’s voice peeped before returning her attention to her book and reading again.
Luna watched her for a moment before her eyes darted around study hall. She had only five minutes to get to class before she would be late. She stood up and said goodbye to Amy then crossed the room. When she hit the door, she almost crashed into someone. Looking up to apologize, her gaze locked with Sarah’s.
Chapter Thirty-Five
SARAH’S BRIGHT EYES widened in surprise. She barely stopped walking in time to avoid crashing into Luna. Luna studied her, noticing the swollen, puffy bags under her eyes. She had obviously been crying.
Sarah dipped her head to Luna politely. “Hi, Luna.”
Luna almost couldn’t respond. She hadn’t thought it’d be so easy to find her. In all the times she had come to study hall, she hadn’t remembered ever seeing her there.
“Hi, Sarah. I haven’t talked to you in a while.”
“Likewise,” Sarah murmured, squeezing through the space in the doorframe.
Sarah paused, her eyes darting around the room, but after Luna didn’t say anything, she walked away. Luna watched her as she shuffled across the room, feeling torn. She thought she would’ve had at least another hour to try to plan things out, but the opportunity to question Sarah seemed to have presented itself. She glanced up at the clock on the wall and saw she had four minutes left until class started.
Luna could talk to Sarah, but that would mean skipping some of first hour. Not having to deal with Chance sounded like Heaven, but if she didn’t show up, he would certainly be suspicious. What if he decided to search for her and saw her talking to Sarah?
Glancing back at Sarah again, she took a seat at one of the nearest tables and rummaged through her bag for a notebook. She was there, and she was alone…Luna couldn’t have stumbled across a more perfect moment. She had to talk to her, she had to take the chance. Luna walked over to the table and cautiously pulled out the chair across from Sarah. A gentle smile touched her lips, filling Luna with relief, and she smiled back.
“So…Susan…” she whispered as she sat down.
Sarah nodded. A sad look covered her face and darkened her bright eyes. “Yeah, I was the one who reported her missing. On top of that, everyone in school is talking about it. As if that’s not bad enough, the cops were at my house yesterday questioning me for hours about her because it seems they’re stuck without any leads in the case.”
“Really? I’m sorry about that…” Luna said uncertainly, worried she was messing around with a subject too sensitive to get out the information she needed. “I thought they would’ve had some kind of idea after what happened to Kate.”
“They think whoever took Kate is responsible for Susan as well,” she whispered,
not seeming offended by her questions like Luna feared. “I guess that means Susan is as good as dead.” She sniffled, and a tear ran down her pale cheek. “That’s the way the cops questioned me anyway.”
“Hey, we don’t know that for sure,” Luna offered, curling her lips slightly downward at the corners as she set a hand to Sarah’s shoulder in her best attempt to comfort her. The movement came across as awkward, and Luna quickly pulled her hand away, but somehow, she felt glad she did it. She had a gut feeling that if the same person was responsible for both Kate and Susan, she was done for.
“Nobody’s too optimistic about it.” Sarah sighed sadly, running her finger down the spiral spine of her notebook. “A lot of them don’t really even care—they’re acting like Susan’s already been buried, which I can’t understand at all.”
Luna looked at her with a sympathetic gaze though she couldn’t think of a thing to say. She knew why they were all being so cold. Because Chance put off an air of disinterest. They followed him without question; whatever he felt, they felt. He didn’t care, so of course none of them would.
“But I do get that they have no real reason to be optimistic,” Sarah continued on anyway, unaware of Luna’s thoughts. “Oh! I hope she’ll be okay. I mean, she’s my only sister. Maddie doesn’t think too positive of it, but like I said, nobody does really. I’m trying my best to keep up the hope that she’ll be found okay anyway. I mean, people go missing all the time and turn up days later okay, right?”
“Yeah, I’ve heard of that happening before,” Luna tried to say, admiring Sarah for holding on to her tiny bit of hope even though it would prove pointless. “She could turn up at any time.”
Sarah nodded and a bit of light seemed to sparkle in her eyes. “That’s what I’m hoping will happen. I’m hoping she won’t end up like Kate.”
“I think she’ll be okay. She’s a strong girl. If something bad happened, she’ll figure out a way to get out of it and come back to us,” Luna said, running her nails across her thigh in her best attempt to keep the fake optimism in her voice.
Sarah sniffled again but didn’t speak. Luna couldn’t tell if her hopeful words had cheered her up or not. The bell announcing the start of first hour rang, and Luna knew Chance would notice her absence. She couldn’t turn back now. She was in the moment, and she would stay until she could get what she needed.
“Can I ask you something?” Luna inquired, partially wondering how she’d react.
“Yes, of course,” Sarah replied, leafing through the pages of her notebook.
“Do you know where she was before she disappeared?” Luna tilted her head to the side as she watched the flash of paper.
“Ugh. You sound like the cops.”
“I’m sorry,” Luna said, stretching her eyes wide as she stared down at the table, her face going strangely pale.
She should’ve guessed Sarah wouldn’t answer that so easily…at least not when her grief already consumed her. In the back of her mind, Luna wondered if she should’ve gone to class and kept her mouth shut.
“No, it’s okay to wonder. You were her friend too, it’s fair of you to be curious.” She sighed again as if she didn’t believe the words she had said. “She was really withdrawn for the few days before she disappeared. She stopped talking to anyone, and when I asked her what was wrong, she said Kate’s death, but I think it was something else. I don’t know for sure where she went before she disappeared, but the last time I saw her, she left to go hang with Chance Welfrey.”
Luna sat there, staring at her without a single thought of what to say. She wasn’t surprised, but her heart seemed to sink into her chest anyway. Sarah’s words were a confirmation of what she already knew.
“Have you asked him about it?”
Sarah nodded. “Of course. That was the first thing I did—the police too—he swears up and down she left his house. They have no proof either way.”
“No one’s looked deeper into it?” Luna asked, feeling her jaw slacken.
Sarah shrugged and looked away, clearly done with the conversation.
Luna could only stare with the new information swimming in her brain. Chance had taken Kate and Susan, just like Max and Luna had suspected.
Chance was behind the trail of missing girls and nobody else even had a clue.
***
LUNA TALKED TO Sarah for about ten more minutes, trying to make small talk so Sarah wouldn’t see the horror in her eyes. Luna didn’t want her to think anything of it so she racked her brains for something trivial to keep a normal conversation in place. She finally decided to go to class. Maybe Chance wouldn’t notice how late she was. Luna politely ended the conversation with Sarah, and she seemed glad to get rid of her. Luna stood up from the table and left her alone to study as she crossed the room.
As Luna neared the door, Amy looked up at her from her book and cast a glance toward Sarah but didn’t say anything. Her attention turned back to her book, and Luna shrugged off her curiosity as she continued her journey out the door. She walked down the silent halls and into her classroom.
It bustled with activity. Kids paced about and chattered wildly like a bunch of squirrels. Mr. Katerwall looked up at her from his desk; his lips sat in a straight line in the middle of his blank face.
“How nice of you to join us, Miss Ketz,” he said. “We’re in the middle of a group activity right now, take your seat and find out from someone what you’re supposed to be doing. You’re already well late.”
She glanced at the class again, already bundled up in their groups. Only one desk remained unoccupied, one lone desk in the middle of the room which appeared to be forgotten. As she walked toward it, she let her eyes drift to the desk behind it, knowing who she’d see.
Chance. Of course. One hand propped his face up as he leaned his elbow on the desk. He sat there completely disconnected from the activity in the room. He had obviously been waiting for her to arrive—which meant he had been keeping careful count of the minutes she had been absent. He watched her, his narrowed brow casting an angry shadow over his cold blue eyes, burning with hatred.
Luna tossed her backpack beneath the desk and sat down slowly in the chair as she prepared herself to hear him ask where she had been. She sat sideways so that from the corner of her eye she could see Chance, and out of her other, she could see Mr. Katerwall at his desk. Chance stared at her, unreadable emotions in his eyes and on his face. Luna guessed he waited for her to acknowledge him. Finally, she brought herself to look at him.
“Where were you?” he demanded, instantly dropping his hand off of his face. She recognized the tone in his strained whisper. He wasn’t in the mood to be a “good boy.” He was upset and not good at hiding it.
“I was in study hall, and I guess I just lost track of time,” Luna said, shrugging. “It’s no big deal. I’m not that late anyway.”
“You’re never late,” he pointed out, tapping his fingers on his desk. “Don’t play me. Last time I checked, your grades and attendance were always a big deal. What were you up to?”
Luna looked down at her hands and picked at the skin on her fingers nervously. Though she had prepared for this moment, knowing he’d ask, she didn’t know how to respond.
His desk creaked as he leaned toward her. “I know you’re lying to me, Luna,” he whispered in her ear.
She whipped her head up and locked her gaze onto his. “I’m not lying.”
“Uh-huh. I guess I’m gonna have to tell David you aren’t being very cooperative with his punishment then, huh?” he said. “That’s fine. Who knows? He might even make your punishment longer since it seems that’s what you want.”
She gritted her teeth. He was playing hardball. Most likely, he would win; he always won.
“All right, fine, you got me.” She scoffed in exasperation. Sometimes the best solution was the easiest.
He raised his chin, and his eyes glittered in triumph, but for once he didn’t say a word as he waited for her to continue.
�
��I was in study hall, but not just to study. I was also talking to Sarah.”
“Sarah Cross?”
“A girl I talk to sometimes. We haven’t talked in a while so I thought I’d say hi, and I kind of lost track of time,” Luna slurred the words quickly, hoping he wouldn’t pick up the importance in them.
He narrowed his eyes at her. He knew she wasn’t telling him the whole truth, but he had nothing to call her out on. He had no choice but to accept it…for the moment anyway.
“All right, fine. But this is exactly why I don’t leave your side. You can’t be trusted on your own.” He twisted a small yellow pencil between his fingers.
“I do just fine,” Luna said curtly, turning back toward her own desk. “It’s when you harass me that bad stuff happens.”
“Without me, there’s no one to keep you in line. I leave you alone one time, and you manage to be twenty minutes late to class,” he snorted.
She didn’t turn to look at him. “Things happen. I can’t control everything.”
She felt the sharp point of the pencil in the middle of her back. She spun around in time to see him clench his teeth, and his cheeks flushed with different shades of red as anger filled him. She stood up, glad to get the pencil tip out of her back, but Chance kept his hate-filled eyes focused on her.
She picked up her backpack and walked away from him to a group on the other side of the room before he had a chance to say another word.
***
CHANCE WATCHED LUNA cross the room; he couldn’t believe what she had told him. Even under his surveillance, his watchful eye, she had found a way to slip away long enough to get in contact with Sarah. He knew the two weren’t friends, no matter what lies Luna said.
They only had one thing to talk about and that connection could be his undoing.
Chapter Thirty-Six
LUNA DISCOVERED THAT crossing the room in first hour proved to be a big mistake. When Chance got angry, he was more likely to act out. She found that out the hard way. She patiently waited for the bell to ring, for it to be lunch, but time didn’t seem to be on her side. She sat staring at the clock, nearly willing time to move, but it wouldn’t. It never moved when Chance lurked nearby.