Read Online And Then Everything Unraveled by Jennifer Sturman - Free Book Online Page A

spoke again, and when she did, she sounded even more aggravated than she had before.
    “As usual, you’re completely overreacting,” she said. “She hasn’t said a word about it since right after she got here. I knew I shouldn’t have told you. You’re blowing it all out of proportion. There’s no need to take such drastic measures.”
    There was yet another pause, and when Charley spoke next, it sounded like her teeth were clenched from the effort it took to control her temper.
    “I’ll tell you what. I’ll feel her out over the weekend. If she still seems to be having difficulty coming to terms with everything, then I’ll take her to see someone. Will that satisfy you?”
    Patience—and by now I was positive it was Patience, because who else could it be?—must have eventually agreed, because the topic changed to logistics for the weekend in Southampton. But I was no longer paying attention.
    I knew it was wrong to listen in on private conversations, but I was glad I’d heard what I’d heard. Because there was no way I could ask Charley for help now.
    In fact, I shouldn’t even have let her know I still thought T.K. was alive, and I definitely shouldn’t tell her anything about my search for her. It would only lead to daily sessions with a child psychiatrist or something like that. And it sounded like Patience was all ready to haul me off to whichever insane asylum was the mental institution of choice for the offspring of New York’s power and social elite.
    The truth was, if I were my aunts, I’d probably be thinking along the same lines. To them, I must seem as deluded as the alien abduction and polar pirate people.
    But I wasn’t deluded. I couldn’t explain it, not rationally, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t feel it. And I did feel it—with every atom in my body.
    I didn’t care what everyone else thought.
    T.K. was still alive. She had to be. And I knew I’d find her.
    But it looked like I was going to have to do it on my own.

Ten
    I opened and shut the door to the loft again, this time with a gentle slam, and Charley’s voice softened to a murmur. A moment later, she emerged from her bedroom, looking so worry-free that I almost wondered if I’d misunderstood her end of the conversation. But I didn’t know how else to interpret what I’d heard.
    Regardless of what she might be thinking about my mental state, Charley definitely approved of my taste in ice cream. She scooped big helpings into bowls for us both, and then she insisted on a detailed account of my day. So I tried to look as worry-free as she did as I told her all about Mr. Seton and Natalie and the welcome I’d received from the Flying Monkeys. And while I carefully excised any mention of static-filled messages from unknown numbers, epiphanies, or satellite photos, I did tell her about Quinn—not that there was much to tell.
    Charley still found it incredibly exciting, and she wanted to role-play what I should say when I saw him next. “Guys love talking about themselves,” she said, spooning out more java mocha fudge. “What is Quinn into?”
    “Did you miss the part where I completely choked in his presence? Besides, according to Natalie, he’s not into anything,” I said. And I explained about the Apathy Alliance.
    “He’s a teenage boy—they’re every bit as insecure as teenage girls, and usually more so. The apathy thing is probably just an act.”
    “Maybe,” I said, but I wasn’t so sure.
    Over the next few days, I did catch the occasional glimpse of Quinn at school, but I didn’t get a chance to try out any of Charley’s suggestions. Every time I saw him, he was holding court on the stairwell landing, and the Alliance minions around him functioned like a human force field.
    Meanwhile, I was spending every free moment scouring the Web for information about T.K. and the Polar Star, but I didn’t come up with anything new. I’d e-mailed the bloggers who’d posted the satellite photos, but I hadn’t