14
The morning after Aiden’s interview is Friday, and I waste no time calling Agent Dylan as soon as I wake up. I pace my room as the phone rings, nerves making me jittery. What if he’s mad at me? He puts so much effort into keeping me safe, and here I am, getting on video within a few weeks of moving here. Plus, there’s the whole I hid the video from him when it was first posted before the breakthing. Maybe I won’t tell him that part.I have no idea what time zone he’s in, but he picks up on the fourth ring.
“Amelia? Is everything all right?” His voice is deep and oddly comforting even though I really only talk to him when bad things happen.
“No, not really.” My voice sounds small, and he waits for me to continue. “There’s a video of me online. It was taken a few weeks after I arrived here in King City. I’m not sure how long it’s been up, but our school mural is in the background. It doesn’t say the name of the school in it though, just Go Lions in the corner.”
He’s silent for a moment, and I shift my weight from one foot to another.
“Hmm.” Is what he finally settles on.
Hmm?What’s “Hmm”?
“So . . .” I hesitate. “What now?’
“Well, we’re already in the process of relocating you anyway. Just sit tight.”
The wind is knocked out of my sails. I feel empty, and stumped. That’s all? Sit tight? I had a whole fit of terror and yelled at Aiden for “Hmm. Sit tight,”?
I sit on my bed and stare at myself in the mirror. My face is blank, my hair in a messy bun on top of my head. “Okay. Do you have a date for when I’m officially leaving?”
I hear papers shuffle from his side of the phone. “Not yet. We’re still finalizing everything, sorting out the paperwork, that sort of stuff. Can you send me the video so I can assess the situation better?”
“Oh, okay.” That doesn’t really answer my question. How long do I have left with Aiden? With my friends? I put him on speaker and text the video to him.
“Maybe two weeks? Or three?” I push on for answers.
“Probably,” he replies. I’m silent as the video plays in the background. I hear my voice, then Kaitlyn’s. More paper sounds in the background. “We’re doing everything we can to find him, Amelia. This isn’t the end of the world. Focus on your schoolwork. Try not to get caught on camera again, okay? We’re keeping your mom updated with anything pertaining to your relocation.”
His lack of concern confuses me. I guess everything is fine and I overreacted? If anything, I feel like he’s underreacting.
“All right, then.” What else is there to say?
“Thank you for telling me about the video,” he says, almost as an afterthought. “Is there anything else you need from me, Amelia?”
For a second, I consider telling him about the file I found in Luke’s apartment, the one with information about Tony in it, but for some reason I hesitate. I’m not sure why, but something in the vagueness of his responses today has me holding back.
“Nope,” I say. “Have a great day.”
“You too. Call me if you need anything.”
The phone call ends, leaving me staring at myself in the mirror, the phone still pressed against my ear. That whole conversation left a funny taste in my mouth, but I’m not even sure why.
I’m still replaying my conversation with Agent Dylan in my head at school when Aiden appears beside my locker, making me jump.
“Didn’t mean to scare you,” Aiden says as I finish packing my books into my bag. “How did the call go?”
Weird is what I want to say, but instead I reply, “Okay, I guess. He wasn’t specific about when I’m leaving. I think two or three weeks.”
Aiden purses his lips thoughtfully. “I can work with that.”
I can’t. I need more time. I’ll always need more time, but it’ll have to do. I close my locker and fully face Aiden.
“Tomorrow’s Saturday,” he says as we walk through the hall. “Are you still okay with going to visit Luke and getting to the bottom of the file he had?”
I want to know why Luke had information about Tony in his house, but I also don’t want to know. I have suspicions, but I don’t want to be right. Or what if it’s actually worse than I originally thought.
“Yeah. Let’s not tell anyone what we’re doing, though.”
The warning bell rings, and we approach my homeroom class.
“Right,” he says. “We’ll talk later. Don’t stress out about it too much.”
He gives me a quick kiss on the lips and disappears down the hall to his own class. Try not to stress? I’ve been nothing but stress.
I make it to history before Charlotte, Mason, or Noah, so I sit in my normal spot, trying not to think about Luke, Tony, or Agent Dylan.
“Hey, k-bear,” Mason says, sliding into the seat beside mine.
My heart twinges at the nickname. “Hey.” We’re still in the don’t talk about the beach housephase of our relationship, and that’s fine with me.
“I feel like we haven’t seen much of each other this week,” he continues, and I can’t deny the truth behind his statement. After Aiden’s birthday party last Friday, then the visit to the jail on Saturday, and Luke’s apartment visit Sunday, I had to use the rest of the week to catch up on homework, so I haven’t had time to hang out with everyone after school. Aiden’s interview last night was the first time I went out after school, which sucks because I really should be making the most of my time here while I still can.
“I know, I’m sorry. Maybe we’ll do something this weekend,” I tell him, ignoring the way his brown eyes shine because it’s like a punch in the gut.
“Our parents are involved! It might be more than just an affair!” I want to shout, but instead I just bite my lip and nod at him as he continues talking.
“I’m helping my mom with some stuff tonight, but we should hang out tomorrow,” he says, “Let’s go play mini-golf. See if anyone else wants to come too.”
I’ve distanced myself from Mason ever since I found out about our parents because I can’t stand the pit that forms in my stomach when I see him, but then again, I also hate that we haven’t hung out that much and I’m going to leave soon. Who knows when I’m going to see him again? When I’ll be able to enjoy his stupid jokes and cocky grin and easygoing attitude.
I’m about to say yes, but then I remember what I’m doing with Aiden tomorrow.
“Sorry, Mason, I’m busy tomorrow, I’m hanging out with Aiden. Maybe after?” I can barely meet his eyes.
“Oh, yeah.” He visibly deflates. “No problem.”
Charlotte enters the classroom just as the final bell rings, and Noah a few moments later. Mason stands from the seat beside me as Charlotte approaches so she can sit.
“We’ll talk later,” he says with a tight smile and moves to the seat behind us that he shares with Noah, who immediately launches into a story about his morning donuts.
“What was that about?” Charlotte asks as she slides into the seat beside me.
“Nothing,” I lie, grabbing my books from my bag and ignoring the tightening in my chest. He doesn’t have the problem; I’m the one with the problem. Mason thinks I’m avoiding him, and even though I am kind of, I hate it.