The Wrong Path - By Vivian Marie Aubin du Paris Page 0,20

scowled at him. “You pulled me out of the tree!” she argued angrily. “You tried to kill me! What if I had fallen on my head?”

“You’d get dirt in your hair and then go home?” he suggested. “Can’t be seen at school with dirt in your hair, you know. Your friends might not talk to you.”

She frowned. “You don’t know my friends,” she argued, though he was right… If she’d gotten dirt in her hair, she would have gone home. Dirt in the hair would have been unforgivable by Claire’s standards.

“I know enough,” he assured her. He stood and brushed himself off, then held out a hand to her to help her to her feet. Hesitantly, she took it, allowing him to pull her up with strong, slender fingers.

She couldn’t resist a smile when she saw a leaf in his silky dark hair. Before she could think twice, she reached up and pulled it out, holding it up with a laugh for him to see.

His eyes studied hers.

She felt her smile die as their eyes held, heat rushing up around her. She couldn’t make herself look away, no matter how hard she tried, but again, she tried to tell herself it was just the adrenaline pumping through her veins.

Sirens in the distance finally broke their stare. She frowned as they got closer, to the school, then looked up at Will, who had tensed. Wordlessly, he headed toward the front of the school, and after a moment of deliberation, she followed him. She couldn’t go to class without a late slip, so she would have to wait until the next period started before she could go in. And until then, she didn’t know where else to go. So she went with Will.

He seemed surprised to see her behind him as he stood behind the bricks jutting out from the school building, giving them a perfect view of the cop cars that had gathered in front of the school. He glanced back at her, then returned his attention to the assembled cop cars.

“What’s going on?” she whispered, leaning past his shoulder to see. She held on to him, afraid that if she didn’t, she would fall off balance and give away their presence. Her heart pounded nervously in her chest. She had never spied on anything before, and certainly not while cutting class. Would they get suspended if they were caught?

Will’s body suddenly jerked forward, and then he was out from behind the bricks, stalking toward the front of the school. Annabelle started to protest, bewildered. For a moment she struggled internally, trying to decide if she should follow or remain hidden. Finally, feeling slightly ashamed of herself, she remained where she was, peering around the bricks to see what Will was doing.

And then in an instant she understood. Her heart ached as she saw the cops leading Ebony and a few of Will’s other friends out of the school.

“Step back, son,” one of the officers ordered, holding Will at bay as he tried to get to his friends.

“No. What the hell is going on?” he demanded.

The officer, clearly not appreciating being sworn at, paused and straightened to his full height. He was taller than Will, and much more menacing. The handle of his gun gleamed in its holster in the sunlight. Annabelle could barely take her eyes off of it.

“These kids friends of yours?”

“Yes.”

“Were you involved in the illegal drug usage today?”

Will was silent. Annabelle’s heart raced as she waited for his answer. When he continued to give none, to just stare down the cop, her fear and anxiety twisted inside of her and she abandoned all thoughts of self-preservation. Her mind whirled desperately to come up with a believable story as she hurried forward.

“Will!” she cried, rushing toward him and the officer, who broke their stare to look at her. Will’s eyes flashed. “What’s going on?” She turned to the cop, deliberately making her eyes wide and full of tears. She didn’t need to fake fear—that was real enough. “Are we in trouble for skipping class? I’m sorry, it’s just that as soon as I discovered it was missing, I had to find it, and Will offered to help me, and—“

The cop frowned, holding up his hand. “Miss, calm down, please. We received some reports today regarding some students and illegal narcotics. This has nothing to do with skipping class.”

She clung to Will’s arm, looking up at the officer with what she prayed were innocent, shocked eyes. “Illegal narcotics?” she