imagining all of this.
Mr. Whitman grabs my shoulders and puts some space between us. “Why are you soaking wet?”
I study his shirt and realize I’ve left it pretty damp. “Long story,” I reply.
“Uh-huh, whatever you say,” he states with another questioning look. “I think you might need to get some rest, young lady. You’ve been through a lot lately, and I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s starting to get to you.”
“I think you may be right,” I say with a tired laugh.
“And don’t worry about tomorrow’s issue. I finished up what we had left to do and got it ready for print in the morning. That’s actually where I just was,” he explains, grabbing my messenger bag from in front of my desk and handing it to me.
“Sorry I bailed on you.”
“No, you didn’t. We were working on this together. It was a team effort, and you definitely pulled your weight,” he says, placing a hand on my arm. “Now, I think you should head on home and get a good night’s rest. Hopefully you don’t catch pneumonia.”
I nod. “Hey, do you think you could walk me to my car?”
“Of course,” he replies. “I’m heading out too.”
The entire time I’m talking with Mr. Whitman, I can’t help but wonder how Rory’s doing. No one in my life is safe, and it’s taking every fiber in my body right now not to fall to pieces. But if I do that, then Unknown wins.
Just as we’re about to step outside, I hear the blaring siren of an ambulance. My mind is put somewhat at ease when I see it speeding away from the school down the road toward the hospital. That will be my next destination, no matter what my dad says. I need to make sure Rory’s all right. There’s also a chance he might remember something that will help me get to the bottom of all this.
“I never enjoy seeing ambulances with their lights and siren going,” Mr. Whitman states somberly.
“Yeah, me neither. It always makes me wonder what’s going on inside,” I reply, not taking my eyes off the vehicle.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Mr. Whitman asks when we reach his car first.
“Yeah. Just a little preoccupied at the moment, I guess.”
“Are you going to be all right going home? You seem a little bit more than just preoccupied.”
I smile halfheartedly. “I’ll be fine, no worries.”
What’s another lie in the grand scheme of things, right?
Chapter Twenty
The drive to school the next day seems like it takes forever. I’ve driven this way so many times, but never has it seemed this long before. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I can’t stop thinking about how fragile my life has become, and it’s all thanks to one individual. At any moment, things could come crashing down around me, more than they already have. Trying to muster the courage and strength to prepare for that is beyond exhausting. It doesn’t help that the one person who can do something about it won’t because he doesn’t believe me and thinks I’m making all of this up to get attention. My dad actually asked me again if I was doing this in retaliation for Mom leaving. Seriously?
To say the least, breakfast (if you could call what I had “breakfast”) this morning was a quiet affair, with both of us trying to start sentences, but then letting them trail off. I don’t even know what to say to him anymore, which is sad because we used to talk all the time.
The only high point last night was seeing Rory at the hospital. He was still shaken up by the whole thing, but that was understandable. So was I. I fought with myself to tell him what really happened, but even I didn’t truly know. Sure, I could’ve told him about the unknown stalker, but if that was to get out, who knows what else this sicko would do to the ones I love?
The even suckier part was that Rory still didn’t have any recollection of what happened. He said that he felt drugged after I rescued him, but thought it was because he almost drowned. It wasn’t until the feeling still lingered well after he was at the hospital that he began to question it.
After he told me this, I made the connection to when I woke up the morning after the party in Parker’s dorm after passing out. I asked Rory if the hospital did any kind of test