It’s a lot to put on a person, especially without giving them the entire story.
But Claire and Rosie have something special. And because Rosie trusted Claire, and Claire trusted me, we built this circle of confidence in each other.
Plus, I really think having her friend somewhat know what’s going on has helped Claire overcome the extremes of everything that has happened. I can’t imagine how rattled Claire must have felt, given the insane things that have happened in the last six months of her life.
Not only did she have to move across the country to live with her estranged mother, in a completely foreign place, but she had to sever ties with an abusive ex, nearly get killed, get wrapped up in the mess of my life, only to moveagainwhile trying to protect my identity from a sick and twisted criminal mastermind. Plus, all the details in between, like the shit with Jared, thinking I died, and balancing her school life.
Claire is a freaking saint.
She slips her hand into mine and holds on tight.
“So, Theo,” Pax says.
I accidentally hesitate but end up looking at him. “Yeah?” I watch his freckled face and wait for whatever is about to come out of his mouth.
He’s easily a few inches taller than me, but I could probably take him if I had to.
I hate that things have resorted to me sizing other people up,just in case.This world has taught me that you can never be too sure about who will or won’t turn on you.
“You’re not starting classes this week with the rest of us?” Pax pushes up the sleeves to his navy shirt, revealing ink on both arms.
“Nope.”
“Why not?”
What’s with the twenty questions?
Claire speaks up. “He’s taking some time off.”
Pax takes a swig of his beer. “I think the man can speak for himself, right?” He tips the cup up, drinking the rest and then crushing it in his hand. He tosses it into the trash can a few feet to his left.
Is that supposed to somehow intimidate me?
“I’m taking some time off,” I repeat Claire’s words.
She tightens her grip on me.
Pax points to my stomach. “To recover.”
“Sure.” If that’s what he wants to tell himself, then so be it.
This dude has some keen intuition alerting him thatsomethingisn’t quite accurate in my story. It’s hard to be mad at him, but it could very well ruin everything if he uncovers the truth.
I can’t start school with Claire because I haven’t gotten my fake I.D. yet. And without it, I can’t exactly register for classes. Going about normal daily activities under an alias is difficult enough, but bypassing college registration is a whole other hurdle.
I’d give anything to be there, to continue my education, and most of all, keep an eye on Claire, especially with the new information that’s presented itself tonight. But I can’t. Not yet. Not until I have more pieces put in place.
And not while I’m trying to figure out how in the hell I’m going to end this thing with Franklin once and for all. I should have known that faking my death would be step one, not the final move. If I’m going to do this, I have to see everything through and find a way to sever ties completely.
Now that Claire’s location has been compromised, the matter becomes that much more pressing. I cannot allow him to use her as a pawn in his twisted game.
“I think it’s great,” Rosie chimes in. “I’m considering taking a semester off, too.”
Her lie is so good it even fools Claire.
“What?” Claire’s eyes go wide. “Bitch, you better not.”
Rosie winks at me and then shrugs nonchalantly. “People do it all the time.”