I pushed open the door to find Rory typing in the same spot. He didn't look up as I took a seat beside him.
"I thought you'd be gone by now," I said in a quiet voice. I waited for Rory to yell – to tell me I was a rude and inconsiderate person. He kept his thoughts on school work. He knew I was in the room, but his thoughts made it clear that he intended to ignore me for as long as possible.
"I said I'd stay, so I stayed," he muttered.
"Look Rory, about earlier."
"You don't have to apologize, Bridget. You said what you wanted to say. And now I know what you really think of me."
"I didn't mean it, Rory," I responded. Rory and I had a unique friendship. He was the only one I could really talk to. No one else knew what I'd been through, or my secret. "I was upset and completely confused, and you were right. And I'm sorry. Did I say I was sorry?"
"I guess you could say it a few more times." Rory grinned for a brief moment. "And I know."
"Know?"
"That I was right. I'm always right."
"Rory, I don't know what I'm supposed to do anymore. I mean, how can you tell if someone is lying to you?" Rory raised his eyebrows and tried not to laugh.
"You're asking me? I'm not the expert here."
"Seriously," I insisted.
"Well, you could start with your standard thought-reading routine."
"Yeah, about that," I began. "I can't read Terrence's thoughts. I've tried but every time, I get nothing." Rory almost choked. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.
"I'm sorry I don't think I heard you correctly."
"No," I muttered. "It's true." Rory looked at me like I was insane.
"And you didn't think that was at all suspicious?" He stared in awe as I shrugged.
"It was nice to do things the old-fashioned way for a change. When we're together, I can focus on what he's saying instead of spending all of my energy trying to stay out of his head."
"Ok," Rory turned to look me directly in the eye. "How many people, besides Terrence, can you not pull thoughts from?" I bit my lip and forced a half smile. "Bridget, you should've told me this days ago!"
"I didn't think it mattered until tonight."
"At least you're still alive," he sighed. "For now."
"Fine, maybe you're right. Maybe Terrence is involved, but you don't have to jump straight to killer. Terrence would never!"
"Amazing," Rory muttered under his breath. "You're still defending him." I refused to believe that Terrence was a murderer. Yes, the evidence was starting to stack up but he deserved the chance to defend himself.
"Fine, I'll ask him." I jumped out of my seat. "I'll be direct and I'll ask him about it." Rory looked at me like I was insane again.
"That's your stupidest idea yet," he replied. I scowled. Rory turned back to his computer.
"How about we stalk him first?" He pushed a few keys and grinned. "Ah huh. I did it."
"Good job genius," I sarcastically replied. "You did what?"
"I hacked into the school's database." I leaned in closer to his computer screen. It was filled with lists and lists of student information.
"And who exactly is the criminal here?" I retorted. Rory brushed off my comment and scrolled the list until he came to Terrence's name.
"There it is," he proudly stated. "Terrence's address. Unpublished info from the yet-to-be released school directory. Every girl in school would love to get her hands on this."
"What am I supposed to do with it?" I started shaking my head. Rory just smiled. "No way. I'm not going to stalk his house like some sort of creep."
"You don't have to do that Bridget. Just pay him a visit. You know, when he's not expecting you." I read his address. Terrence had never mentioned he lived just a few streets away from me.
"And what'll that prove? That he correctly completed his school contact form?"
"Trust me. If this guy is hiding something, you'll know."
"Fine," I agreed. "But if there's nothing fishy, we take him off the suspect list. Got it?" Rory kept grinning. He nodded but his thoughts were unmistakably clear. Rory thought Terrence was somehow guilty. He was too perfect, plus he was connected to Stacy. But this time, I hoped Rory would be wrong.
Chapter Fourteen
Confronted
My mom was so impressed to find me in the science lab; she decided to ease up a bit. Saturday morning wasn't nearly as boring as it could've been. She liked Rory from the moment she met him. She thought he was a nice, honest boy. In other words, she approved, which is why she was more than happy to answer the door after breakfast.
"Mrs. Ferns," Rory said with a grin. "Thanks for letting me come over."
"Thanks for helping Bridget with biology. You know, she's always hated that subject." She led Rory to the kitchen and offered him some cereal. The two of us were planning to sit around for a while, and then find an excuse to go to the grocery store. Rory was a little too happy to drive me to Terrence's house.
I was waiting at the table. I had my biology book out along with a notebook. Rory entered the kitchen. His thoughts greeted me before he said anything. You ready for this? I gave Rory a look. He knew I hated it when he did that, but he did it anyway. For some reason Rory thought it was amusing.
"Hello Rory," I said through my teeth. "Why don't you sit down?"
"Orange juice," my mom said as she looked in the fridge.
"He's fine Mom. Rory, sit."
"Bridget," Mom gasped. "Quit being so rude. Rory, orange juice?"
"I'd love some." Rory sat down next to me. He still had an enormous smile on his face. My mom pulled out a clear drinking glass.
"Mom, we are fine ok. You don't have to hover. I'm not going to escape out the back door." My mom frowned. But as soon as she poured the orange juice, she went upstairs.
"Your mom's nice," Rory said before chugging his juice.
"Yeah I guess," I replied. Rory and I looked at each other. We had time to kill. Rory started practicing thought blocking by focusing on his glass. "I couldn't sleep last night. Typical. You?" I immediately saw his answer. Rory paused for a minute, trying not to think about last night.
"Not really," he replied calmly. "How was that? Did you know what I was thinking?" I smirked. "Darn."
"Try keeping a clear head when someone talks. Sometimes key words or phrases trigger something in your memory."
"Right." Rory closed his eyes until his mind went blank. His only thought was – I'm sitting in a kitchen.
"Good. Real good. Ok, now I'm going to ask you a question. Try not to picture what I'm asking in your head. Ready?" Rory nodded. "Ok Rory. What did you have for breakfast this morning?" Rory kept his mind blank.
"How was that?" He asked keeping his eyes closed.
"Good," I answered. Rory up sat straighter. He'd always been a quick learner. "But you still need to answer the question."
"Uh, I had . . . uh." There was a quick flash of Rory running out the door with a growling stomach. "I didn't have anything." He opened an eye and I shook my head. "What?"
"It takes a lot of practice. Even my mom slips up once in a while, and she's been doing it since I was little," I said reassuringly. Rory was frustrated. He usually didn't have to try to hard to be above average.
"This is impossible," he exclaimed. "How the heck can anyone give answers without thinking of what to say first?"
"I don't know." I shrugged. "But Agent Squires, his brain is like Fort Knox. Although his thoughts are there, I can't get anything without his approval." Rory sighed.
"Fine, I'll keep practicing. In the meantime, how about a little privacy?"
"It doesn't always work that way," I giggled. "But just so you know, I usually don't try to read your thoughts. Your brain is impossible to catch up with. If I tried, I'd have nonstop headaches." Rory looked surprised. Then he felt proud again.
"Really? Hmmm." He stood up and put his empty glass in the sink. "So, how long should we wait before . . .ya know?" He tilted his head towards
the staircase.
"Honestly, no clue. Maybe I should let you handle this one? It seems like you're my mom's new favorite."
"Favorite huh? Your mom's not a member of the Terrence fan club? What a surprise." Rory looked pleased.
"Actually, my mom hasn't met Terrence," I quickly responded. "In fact, you and Emma are like the only friends she's officially met."
"Oh so I'm your friend now?" Rory was trying to be sarcastic but he was glad that I thought of him that way.
"Rory, you know my secret. You're a friend by default."
"You still said friend," Rory chuckled. There were footsteps on the staircase. I grabbed a pencil and started doodling in my notebook. My mom appeared again, still in a good mood.
"I was thinking," she said searching the family room for her cell phone. "Why don't the two of you grab us all some lunch later? That would be fun, right? I'm sure you could use the study break." I looked at Rory. His eyes were as wide as mine. This was perfect.
"Sure Mom. Anything you say."
* * *
Terrence's place was a standard two-story brick house that resembled the rest of the houses on his street. The front lawn had been raked recently. The garage was open and two cars were parked inside.
"He might not be home," I whispered. Rory had parked his truck a few houses down. "I don't see his car."
"Someone could've borrowed it. Come on Bridget, we won't get many more chances." His thoughts reminded me of our agreement. I would learn more about Terrence, and we could cross him off the killer list. Sadly, Terrence was the only person on that list at the moment. He was the only lead we had found, well that Rory had found. He was all too happy to investigate Terrence. I didn't exactly share his enthusiasm.
"Whatever," I muttered. "Let's just get this over with." I opened the car door. A strong breeze pushed a pile of leaves towards my face. I fixed my hair while Rory laughed. Hair was tangled around my face. "Just wait. There's nothing wrong with Terrence, and I'm gonna prove it to you."
"I'm not stopping you," Rory commented. He already had an I-told-you-so look on his face. I slammed the car door and walked closer to Terrence's front yard. The butterflies were back. Terrence and I had ended our date on a strange note. I was determined to fix things. I wanted the excitement back. I hated feeling suspicious.
What was I supposed to say if he answered the door? I was in the neighborhood? Oh, and I got your address from the school directory even though the updated version hasn't been published yet?
My feet moved closer until his front door was in sight. I was starting to regret my agreement with Rory. I didn't want to do this. Terrence was already frustrated with me. Why would he give me a second chance? I was flaky, disorganized, and at the moment I was very, very hard to get a hold of.
The front door had a wreath with miniature pumpkins on it. I looked at the porch and squinted to make sure I was seeing correctly. The concrete porch had chalk drawings of houses, bugs, frogs, hearts – you name it. All freshly drawn in a child's hand. I firmly knocked on the door. The butterflies in my stomach went crazy when I heard noises inside. I prepared for the worst, for a disappointed look or a "Go away Bridget." The door opened. The aroma of baked apples escaped. The woman at the door looked young, in her early thirties. She had short brown hair and was wearing an apron.
"Yes," she said looking me up and down. "Do I know you?" I shook my head.
"Uh, no we've never met," I said. The woman nodded. She waited, and then gave me a strange look when I didn't speak.
"Is there something I can help you with?" Her thoughts filled my head. I had interrupted a deep concentration. Now the woman would have to review her party checklist again, just to make sure she wasn't forgetting anything.
"Sorry, I was just looking for Terrence. Is he home?" The woman kept her confused look.
"Terrence? I'm sorry. You must have the wrong house." The name Terrence floated around in her head but she couldn't make any connections. She had never met anyone named Terrence.
"Are you sure? I mean, is there a new family around here that just moved in? Maybe next door?" I desperately wanted her to answer yes. The woman looked impatient, like my lack of direction was inconveniencing her. She had a dinner to prepare. Tonight was a big night for her and her husband. She'd spent weeks planning this get together. She even got a sitter.
"Nope, I'm sorry." She shut the door before I could hound her any further. I stood at her doorstep speechless. Maybe Rory wrote down the wrong house number? But I could see the address in my head. It was the right house. Maybe Terrence's parents made a mistake? Hey, it happens.
I kept my head down as I walked back to Rory's truck. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of being right just yet. He was waiting anxiously when I opened the car door.
"So? Was he home?" Rory questioned. I shook my head. "Did you meet his parents or anything?" I shook my head again. "Well then what happened?"
"We have the wrong house," I said in a soft voice. I pointed to Rory. "And cue the laughs and rude comments."
"You know what I'm thinking so why should I say it?" He grinned. His gut had told him that something would go wrong and it had.
"Just say it," I sighed. "I know you want to."
"I'm telling you Bridget, Terrence knows something." Rory thought a lot of other things about Terrence too but he didn't want to say them out loud.
"I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation for all this," I protested.
"Come on Bridget," Rory snapped. "Terrence is involved and you know it. He's a fake." I rolled my eyes. I still refused t believe it without solid proof.
"Call Agent Squires," I responded.
"What? Why?"
"Because he should know more about the case by now. Maybe he even has the killer in custody?"
"Uh, that kind of information would be all over the news." Rory turned the truck around and drove towards the grocery store.
"Fine then I'll call him. Hand me your phone." Rory hesitated. By calling him, I'd be breaking the rules. I'd be going against my mom's wishes. Rory's thoughts weirdly aligned with Emma's when it came to rule breaking – he wasn't a fan. He had a good relationship with his mom. It made no sense to him why I completely disregarded every rule given to me. "Yes, I know. I'm not allowed to contact him. But aren't you curious?"
"If there's anything to tell, he'll call you." He moved his cell phone to his other pocket, out of reach.
Rory's engine made a loud noise as we pulled into a parking space. It was Saturday and the local grocery store was pretty packed. I rubbed my head and cleared away my thoughts. I could tell that a headache was coming. I hated grocery stores. Everyone was always so whiny.
"I hate this place," I whispered.
"Just try to act normal."
"You don't get it. People in grocery stores are weirdoes, and they can never make up their minds."
"Try acting like you can't read minds then." Rory grinned and chuckled to himself. "Well, at least I think I'm funny." He locked the car and grabbed a basket. "What were we supposed to get again? Milk, eggs, and something for lunch?"
"Maybe I'll wait in the car," I muttered. Rory grabbed my arm and pulled me inside.
"You'll have to shop on your own someday," he whispered. "It might as well be now." We walked past a mom with three kids in her cart. Her brain was full of checklist after checklist. A single guy standing near the fruit couldn't decide what brand of apple to buy, and practically everyone close the bakery craved sugar but was afraid to act on that craving.
"This place is ridiculous," I muttered again. Rory wheeled our cart to the refrigerated aisle. He chose a gallon of milk while I looked around suspiciously. "Like half the people in this aisle hate themselves. This is depressing. Can we go yet?"
"Yeah we can go, after we buy our food." Rory checked a carton of eggs before wheeling our cart to the next aisle. "What do you want?" I gave him a dirty look. "Ok, I'll pick." He grabbed a bag of chips and some grape soda.
"
Chips and Coke? Real healthy."
"Then you decide, smarty." Rory waited for me to make a decision. I didn't really care what we ate for lunch so long as it wasn't broccoli. I'd pretty much stopped eating since the night I almost got killed.
"What you pick is fine," I sighed. Rory grabbed a few more things then dragged me to the front of the store to wait in line. I kept rubbing my head. I couldn't keep an entire store's worth of thoughts out of my head. I was all right in small groups but this was painful.
A group of girls giggled. I could hear my name in their heads and I snuck a glance. I didn't recognize all of them, but I knew that were cheerleaders. I'd seen a few of them with Emma before. Rory noticed I was annoyed, and he found it interesting that for once my annoyance wasn't directed at him.
"What's their problem," he asked in a quiet voice.
"They think I'm a b-i-t-c-h." I spelled the word out instead of saying it. Rory looked upset.
"Do you even know them?" He glared at them like they were trespassers on his neatly manicured lawn.
"Nope, but they know me. I'm the girl that stole Terrence before Stacy was even buried." One of the girls looked at me. I knew she was waiting for eye contact, and a reason to walk over and tell me off. Don't look at her, I thought to myself. Just forget them. They're jealous. That's all it is. I glanced at the cheerleader who wanted to pick a fight. She was still staring, and she saw me look at her. A smile came across her face as she walked over. She had on really tight jeans and a bright pink top. Her hair was done up like she'd spent hours in front of the mirror. Her posse followed, excited to see me get yelled at.
"Is there something you want?" I said in a stern voice.
"Yeah," the girl smiled. "Stacy was a good friend of mine, and it makes me sick what you did." Rory looked shocked. He thought the girl somehow knew about the janitor's closet. But she was referring to Terrence. I squeezed Rory's arm so he wouldn't tense up. "You're a slutty whore!" She was proud of herself but a little pissed that I didn't give her the reaction she wanted.
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