humiliation aside. Getting out of the room, away from Billy, was more important than her embarrassment.
Weaving in between tables, Savannah took rapid, determined steps, her eyes on her goal—the gym entrance. The temptation to run was strong but she resisted. She’d always done her best not to draw undue attention to herself; this would be no different. Blending into the background was something she was good at, and tonight she was glad for that. She hated the thought of people talking about her. There had been enough talk about the Wildes in her lifetime.
As she reached the door, she spotted one of Sammie’s friends. A pleasant smile fixed on her face, Savannah said, “Hey, Megan, have you seen Samantha or Sabrina around?”
Megan pulled away from the guy she was plastered against. “Haven’t seen Sabrina, but I think I saw Samantha and Toby going out to the parking lot a few minutes ago.”
With a nod of thanks, Savannah headed outside. If she couldn’t find either sister, she’d come back in and call her grandfather. How silly for her not to bring her cellphone with her. The sparkly little purse she’d been so excited about was only large enough for her lipstick, compact, and a small box of breath mints. She hadn’t even considered that she might need a phone.
Calling her grandfather would be her last option, though. She and her sisters did their best to handle these kinds of problems on their own. Daniel Wilde was super protective of those he loved, and when it came to his granddaughters, he would move heaven and earth to keep them safe.
Her parents’ deaths had occurred in early summer, and Savannah and her sisters had still been reeling with the grief when the new school year began. They had never anticipated the snide comments and cruel jokes of their classmates. Even at ten years old, Savannah had been mature enough to realize that most of the hurtful words were just being repeated from what kids had heard their parents say. That hadn’t prevented the hurt.
At the beginning, she would tell her grandfather everything, but had soon stopped when she’d seen his reaction. Daniel Wilde had been livid. He’d confronted the principal, the teachers, and had even faced down a couple of parents. Not only had it been embarrassing for her, she had been worried about his health. His face would get purple with rage, and Savannah spent sleepless nights worrying that she would lose him, too.
She learned to keep her mouth shut. Whenever comments were made, she pretended she hadn’t heard them. Eventually the kids stopped. By then, Savannah had become quiet and withdrawn. Getting lost in her studies or her favorite books was her way to cope.
No, calling her grandfather and telling him that Billy had been a skeevy creep would be her last resort.
Lost in thought, Savannah was in the middle of the overpacked parking lot when she realized that not only was her sister not around, coming out here by herself hadn’t been the wisest decision she could have made. A group of boys, some dressed for the dance, some not, were leaning up against the cars, drinking and smoking. She turned to walk away and zeroed in on a new goal—getting away before any of them noticed her.
“Hey, Blondie, where you going in such a hurry?”
Not looking back to see if she knew who’d called out, Savannah kept walking. Once again, she was tempted to run. This time she would have if her long dress and four-inch heels hadn’t impeded her speed. She thought about taking a moment to stop and step out of her shoes, but the sound of rapid, heavy footsteps behind her kicked her heart rate into high gear and forced her into a running panic. A bulky body stepped out from the shadows and stood in front of her; Savannah jerked, her high-heeled feet skidding against the pavement to avoid a collision.
A wobbling, obviously drunk Clark Dayton stood before her. Sober, he was one of the most obnoxious guys she knew. Judging by the belligerent smirk on his flushed, round face, being intoxicated hadn’t made him any nicer. After graduating last year, he had left Midnight for college. All three Wilde sisters had been glad to see him go. He had tried to date each of them, and when Savannah, the last one he asked, had turned him down, he had resorted to crude comments and behaving even more obnoxiously.
She stepped around him and said firmly,