I take a second to look around the RV park and our dingy camper. Charlie’s eyes widen. “No. Not like that. That’s not what I meant.” His forehead winkles. “Honestly, if anyone from school called I’d offer the same.” His hands hang at his sides with his shoulders rounded forward. The words still sting, I have no way of knowing if he’s telling the truth or not. I jut my chin up and offer, “Let me give you a couple bucks for your time and the gas you used coming out here, you can grab a burger or something.”
Charlie drops his eyes to the ground but nods his head. “Yeah okay, if that’s what you want.” I think he’s trying to appease me. I rush over to the driver’s door and crawl in over the seat. I hustle back to my room and dig through my sock drawer to find the small roll of bills tucked away, unraveling a twenty-dollar bill.
He’s still waiting for me near his truck when I step out the side entrance. I bite the inside of my cheek and shuffle over to him with the money extended out. Charlie’s eyes go from me to the bill, then back up to my eyes. He hesitates for a brief second then takes the money from my hand, tucking it in his front pocket.
“It’s not much,” I hedge with a small shrug.
“It’s more than enough, everybody else would assume I’d do it for free.” He glances over his shoulder, then cracks his knuckles. “Maybe we could get that burger together?” He’s stiff but smiling.
My mouth falls open, and I feel a tight knot in my stomach, is he asking me out? When I don’t immediately answer Charlie looks away and brings his palm up to the back of his neck.
“Maybe?” I respond hesitantly, hoping he’s just asking to be polite. His eyes squint at the corners when he smiles at me.
With a quick hop he turns around, heading for his truck. Over his shoulder he calls, “See you at school tomorrow Laura.” I’m still standing there dumbfounded when his tail lights turn around the corner. I give into the brief second of panic that I’ll see him at school tomorrow. It doesn’t last though; I have way too many bigger issues to worry about.
In the RV I rummage through the fridge and cupboards for anything that doesn’t make me want to vomit on sight. I settle on a cup of ramen noodles. While I’m waiting for the water to heat in the microwave, I strip off my jeans and grab the first pair of sleep shorts I see crumpled on the end of my bed.
I manage to eat half the cup before I’m ready to fall asleep. I feel like I might be coming down with a cold. My body is achy and sore, and I’ve been fighting off a headache for days. Leaning back on the couch I close my eyes. Images of Dante, Ollie, and Milo come to me the moment I do. Dante standing right in front of me looking down, his lips slightly parted, his light eyes holding me captive. The heat of Milo and Ollie closed in around me.
I rub my shaking hand over my face, trying to dispel the images. I don’t have time to worry about my crush, and these boys’ crazy tricks. Now that I’m alone, away from their overwhelming presence, I can think more clearly. They’re playing games with me, trying to freak out the new girl. Half the school probably knows by now that I fell for it.
I need to focus my attention on my mom. I need to figure out where she is. I can’t make a police report; I’m a few months shy of eighteen. If they knew I was living here on my own, they’d probably try to put me into the system. I could have asked Mike, the camp host, if he’d seen her or anyone else but now it would seem suspicious.
I can’t wrap my head around her deciding to leave and not take me with her. She’s never done anything close to this before. I think over the last few days before she disappeared. Is there something I’m missing? Some clue she was leaving? The only thing out of the ordinary was how much she was sleeping, and the night I woke up hearing her voice. The same thoughts circle around in my mind over and over, until eventually I fall asleep on