Part 5 (1/2)

Surprise quickly gave way to irritation. Unbelievable. How had I been friends with Emily for so long without strangling her? Please, if George wanted to kill her, he was going to have to get in line. ”Where's Annabeth?”

She slammed her locker shut with a flick of her hand. ”Who knows and who cares. In my opinion, she's just as sick as him...”

I spun around and started down the hall, leaving Emily behind. She didn't need me anyway, she had her ego and the entire school to hang on her every word.

As I pushed past students hurrying to get to cla.s.s, I couldn't help but notice people giving me sidelong glances, their whispers ringing through my mind. They all knew I was friends with Annabeth and they wondered if I had realized her boyfriend was a murderer. Wonderful, guilt by a.s.sociation. I pushed aside the hurtful feelings, determined not to care. I had to find Annabeth. I had to make sure she was okay. How could Lewis do something so dramatic and not tell me? When had he gone to the cops?

Tara was walking toward me, another girl who worked at Lakeside. ”Tara,” I latched onto her arm. ”Have you seen Annabeth?”

She frowned, tucking a black curl behind her ear. ”My G.o.d, Cam, did you hear?”

I nodded, wis.h.i.+ng she'd skip the pleasantries and answer my question.

”Can you imagine what could have happened to Annabeth?”

Finally someone who actually cared about Annabeth. ”Have you seen her?”

”She's in the bathroom, but...”

”Thanks.”

I had five minutes before school started, but I'd be late if I had to. So much for that perfect attendance record. I pushed the door wide and burst into the girl's restroom, a white s.p.a.ce smelling of lemons that had provided more than one student with solitude. The place was surprisingly empty, as if the female population could sense the depressing aura and was purposefully keeping away. ”Annabeth?”

No response, but I heard her thoughts whispering from behind one of the closed stall doors.

Why is she here? It's her fault. G.o.d, I hate her. She did this on purpose...

I cringed, feeling her words like a knife to the gut. ”Annabeth.” I paused outside the middle stall, resting my hands on the cold steel door. ”Come on, please, come out.”

Why does she care? She wanted to humiliate me. She did it. I know she turned him in. She's just like Emily.

”I'm not,” I cried out, tears burning my eyes. ”I swear I'm not like Emily.”

There was a stunned moment of silence and then, Oh my G.o.d, how'd she know...

I realized my mistake and at the same time, I didn't care. I was tired of hiding. Tired of being alone with my secrets. Meeting Lewis had taught me that I didn't have to hide. I felt more in control of my life than I'd ever felt before. ”Annabeth? Please, come out.”

The bolt screeched back and the door pulled inward. Her round face was splotchy, her eyes wide and bloodshot from crying. The dress she wore was a wrinkled mess. In our shallow school where fas.h.i.+on mattered, her state of disarray wouldn't help her cause.

”Did you turn him in?” she demanded.

”No, of course not.” Resisting the urge to tell her the truth, I bit back Lewis' name.

Her brown eyes narrowed. ”You're lying.”

”I'm not! I didn't, I swear.”

She looked reluctant to believe me. I wanted her to believe me, but at the same time, wondered why she cared. Shouldn't she be happier that her life had been saved? Or was it merely embarra.s.sment that had her crying?

I grabbed some toilet paper and handed her the wad of tissue. ”Annabeth, I'm just so relieved you're okay.”

She ignored my offer. ”He didn't do it.” She moved to the sinks lining the wall and turned on the water. ”I know everyone thinks he did, but he didn't.”

She splashed water on her face and I stared at her, horrified, the toilet paper forgotten in my hand. Wonderful, she was going to be one of those women who stood by her man, even when he went to prison. She'd marry him and write to him every day, proclaiming his innocence on Oprah. I sank back against the wall, sick. They'd write a movie about her and it would be on Lifetime, that channel Grandma liked to watch.

”Annabeth, he did it.”

She spun around, her face furious and red. ”He didn't. They don't have any legitimate proof.”

”I know he did it.”

She snorted. ”How? How can you possibly know?” She turned her back to me and grabbed a paper towel. How dare she think she knows my boyfriend better than I do.

”I do know him better.”

She stiffened and I could see her face go pale in the mirror. Oh my G.o.d. How'd she know what I was thinking? There was a moment's silence. What else does she know? Can she read my mind? What the heck's going on?

It was my opportunity. Prime opportunity to tell her the truth. My heart slammed wildly against my chest, knowing once I admitted it, I couldn't go back. ”Yes,” I whispered and touched her gently on the shoulder. ”I can read your mind.”

She spun around and flattened herself against the edge of the sink, her eyes wide with terror...afraid of me. It wasn't the first time I'd seen that look. My heart sank.

”I've never told anyone. My grandma told me not to, but I don't care,” I blurted out, hoping she'd understand, praying she wouldn't judge me. ”We're friends. I have to tell you.”

She shook her head, her face pale. Obviously I hadn't gotten through to her. Perhaps she didn't understand. I started to reach for her, but thought better of it when she flinched. ”Annabeth, I can read minds, I've pretty much always been able to.”

”No.” She's crazy.

I stiffened. The word hurt more than she could understand. Crazy. What Mom had called me the day she'd dropped my off at Grandma's. G.o.d, I hated that word. Hot tears stung my eyes.

”I'm not crazy.” I stepped closer to her. She shrank back. ”I can read minds and I heard George's thoughts. He killed Savannah.”

She shook her head. ”You're crazy.” She released a harsh laugh. ”They say George is crazy? And all this time I stood up for you when people whispered behind your back.” She moved away from me, scurrying toward the door. Outside the bell rang.

”Annabeth, please! Wait!” I latched onto her arm before she could escape. If I didn't make her believe me...

She jerked away. The expression of disgust upon her face was like a punch to the gut. ”Don't touch me. Don't talk to me, nothing.” She's a freak.

Annabeth rushed out the door, into the empty hall.

I raced after her, no longer worried about making her understand, but worried about keeping her quiet. But she was already running toward her next cla.s.s. Chasing after her would only cause a scene. How long before she told someone else? Oh G.o.d, what had I done?

”Stupid move, Cameron,” Lewis said from behind me.

I spun around, furious. ”Excuse me?”

His blue-eyed gaze had turned icy hard. He was angry. I'd never seen him angry. ”You never tell your secret to people who aren't like us.” He raked his hands through his hair; his fingers were trembling. ”s.h.i.+t, you have so much to learn.”

Incompetence and sorrow dug deep into my body like a bur. I wrapped my arms around my waist as tears slipped from my eyes. I'd told her my secret and she hadn't believed me. She was my friend, why hadn't she believed me? ”This is your fault!”