home—before Mom became Mrs. Simon Fitch. But another part of me worried about upsetting him, hurting him more than he was already hurting.
In the end, the truth won out. I texted him about Simon and told him everything, explaining it as best I could in text-speak, mostly letting him know we were in a new house with Simon and that I didn’t trust him.
Why? he asked.
So many reasons. I’d have to tell you by phone.
I thought: And I need to hear your voice.
Is your mom happy? he wrote. Not the reaction I was expecting.
What does that matter?? He’s not you!
I’ve done things. Things I’m ashamed of.
I know what you did. The waitress. Don’t care.
No. You don’t know everything. Nobody does. And I can’t tell you. You just have to trust me.
Please tell Mom you’re alive. I have to tell her. I can’t keep this a secret.
MAGGIE, NO!!!!
All caps. Serious business.
IF SHE FINDS OUT IT WILL BE VERY BAD FOR ME.
All caps again.
Ok, I wrote, feeling really crappy about upsetting him and guilty for having told Ben.
I’m serious, Maggie. Mom will tell the police, and if you tell Connor, he’ll tell Mom. I can’t have that. OK? Wish I could explain but can’t. Trust me. Tell me about this new guy.
I typed as fast as my thumbs could move.
He’s SUPER creepy. He was OK for a bit. Got worse when we moved in together and Mom started working.
I added a bunch of grimacing-face emojis—a yellow face with clenched teeth—for emphasis.
I kept typing.
He has this hidden rage. Saw it once. Like a serial killer!! Tried to record it with my phone. Broke his gun to get him mad but he winked at me like he knew what I was doing. And he freaked out about some tree branches. Lied about a trip. And made fun of me in front of the whole school! Too much to type. But trust me. He is CRAZY CRAZY!!
Nothing came through for a bit. I held my breath and then …
OK. I’ll look into him. Promise.
I suddenly felt a whole heck of a lot better. Maybe my dad could dig up some dirt on Simon. Maybe with my father’s help, even from afar, there was a way we could rid ourselves of him once and for all. I wanted to talk to my dad for hours, but he had other plans.
I have to go, he wrote.
When can we talk by phone?
Not sure. Stay strong, Bunny. I love you.
And that’s when I burst into tears again.
The rest of the day passed in a blur. I read and reread our text exchange a hundred times, thinking about what he could have done that made it impossible for him to come home. I wondered what he might learn about Simon, almost hoping it was something bad, something serious, proof that we were in grave danger, and it would force Dad out of hiding. I didn’t pay much attention in my classes until I got to science. Our lab was due—the one on stress and body temperature—but when I went to hand it in, I couldn’t find it in my backpack.
I emptied my backpack, searched every folder and notebook, but it wasn’t there. That was impossible—I remembered putting it in my backpack the night before. But my teacher didn’t really care what I said I did. She only cared that it wasn’t on her desk with all the other labs.
A thought came to me: Simon had been in the library with us that day. He knew about the lab and how important it was for our grade. When I called Mom, my voice shaking with anger, to tell her what had happened to my homework, why my science grade was going to be a D, why Ben was going to stop being my friend, and who was responsible for the missing lab, I got her voice mail. That damn job! So far, I think it was the only thing Simon had been right about.
On top of the massive guilt I had over the secret I was keeping, I knew I’d soon have a different challenge to face: convincing my mom that Simon had intentionally taken my lab report. How much, I wondered, could I take before I snapped in half like I was one of those tree branches Simon obsessed over and he was the saw, slowly, methodically, cutting me down.
CHAPTER 31
Nina got the phone message from Maggie, followed up by another call that she was able to answer. Her daughter