suicidal guy really laugh? Unless heâs already made up his mind to go through with it, and all this is just some sick psycho thing heâs doing.
âDo you really think this is funny?â I say.
His laugh cuts short. âNo.â
âGood,â I say. âBecause I donât either.â
âYouâre not really writing all this down, are you,â Andy says, kind of all of a sudden, and not like a question. âYouâre not typing when Iâm talking. . . . Are you chatting with someone? Is that it?â
âNo!â
Oh yeah, that sounded believable.
âWho is it, Tori? Donât screw around with me.â
The car engine revs.
âItâs no oneâI mean, Iâm not, no.â
Worst. Liar. Ever.
The engine sound dies down. âOh, I get it,â Andy says. âYou got a boyfriend? And now heâs all jealous over little old me?â
âHeâs not my boyfriend,â I say.
âAh,â Andy says. âSo who is he?â
âJust a friend. His nameâs Noah.â
âYeah? Is he hot?â
âWhy, you want me to hook you two up or what?â
Andy laughs. Itâs about the most genuine laugh Iâve heard from him thus far. âNo, thatâs okay,â he says.
âWhat about Kayla? Was she hot?â
âWhat?â
âYour girlfriend,â I say. âWas she hot?â
Andy goes silent for a few seconds. âI guess,â he says. âI didnât think of her that way, though. I mean, I didnât think of her exclusively in terms of how attractive she was. Thatâs not why I liked her.â
He hesitates.
âSo you and this Noah guy . . .â
âIâm not dating Noah.â
âWell, thatâs what you say, butââ
âNo, I mean, even if I wanted to, I wouldnât. Heâs my friend. It would be weird.â
âAh,â Andy says. âOkay. So then is there someone else?â
âWhy?â
âBecause the story Iâm going to tell you is a bit on the dark side,â Andy says, and I think, Surprise, surprise . âI want to know where you stand with relationships. Youâre not seeing someone now?â
I blow a hair out of my face. âNot for lack of trying, I guess.â
âYeah? So youâre crushing on someone?â
âI was.â I am , is more like the truth, but with each day passing that I donât get to see or talk to Lucas, I worry that any chance I might have had is slipping.
âWhat happened?â Andy asks.
âI thought you wanted to talk about your girlfriend.â
âI thought you said youâd do whatever it took to get me home safe.â
This is a mind game. Thereâs no doubt about it, as far as Iâm concerned, but, dammit, I canât figure out what it is, and I canât risk just hanging up. I feel like Iâm a teller at a bank robbery and the robber only has a note saying heâll kill a baby or something if I donât hand over the money.
Hostage. Thatâs what I am. A hostage.
âYes,â I say, rubbing my eyes. âThatâs true. Whatever it takes.â
âI appreciate that,â Andy says, and his voice sort of changes for a second, like heâs shifting his sitting position or something.âSo tell me about this guy you like. Whatâs his name?â
Great.
âLucas,â I say.
âUh- huh , and where do you know him from . . . ?â Andy sings, like heâs having a grand old time.
âSchool.â
âHe like you back?â
âI donât know.â
âAh, you havenât told him yet.â
âNot exactly. I was hoping to, but.â
âBut?â
âSome things came up.â Being charged with felonies has that effect, but I donât say it to Andy.
âWhat do you like about him?â
âHe plays baseball,â I say, trying hard not
Audrey Carlan
Lauren Dane
Thomas Hauser
Sophia Hampton
Sarah Mlynowski
Kata Čuić
Alan Dean Foster
E. V. Thompson
Cassandra Gannon
Milly Johnson