should have graded me higher than a D.
A faint rustling disrupts the quiet.
Nothing is behind me except a plastic bag blowing end over end down the street with the wind. Was that the cause of the noise? Or was it a nocturnal animal moving through the night? No, wait. A street light casts a glow over a tree-lined yard. At the edge of the light is the shadow of a person, perhaps lurking behind a tree.
Telling myself it’s someone out for a walk or possibly even my mother making sure I’m okay, I pick up my pace. After a few moments, I look back over my shoulder to make sure I’m not being followed. The shadowy form moves quickly through the yards, staying just out of the light, closing the distance between us. No way could Mom move that fast.
Run! my mind screams. I pump my arms and churn my legs. My heartbeat reverberates in my ears. How could I have put myself in a position for history to repeat itself? I’m worse than the brain-dead girls in the horror movies.
I really am Too Stupid To Live. But I want to live. Desperately.
I was never the fastest girl on my high school soccer team, but I have decent speed. I risk another glance over my shoulder to see if I’m gaining ground. While I’m directly under a street light, whoever chases me is doing a great job of staying out of sight. I can barely make out the dark shape of—
Bam! I collide with something solid. Not something. Someone. The air whooshes out of my lungs. I gasp for breath as I look up into the shadowy face of a human barricade.
It’s the guy calling himself Max Harper.
A terrible theory grips me. It was impossible to tell if the person chasing me is male or female, but it must be Adair. She and Max are in this together, plotting to recapture me and take me back to that clown.
My heart squeezes with panic.
“It’s okay, Jade.” His hands are still wrapped around my upper arms. “It’s me. Max.”
I wrench away from him, stumbling and almost falling to the sidewalk. I need something—anything—to defend myself. I reach into my shorts pocket and pull out my only weapon.
“Really?” Max balances his hands on his lean hips. “The keys again?”
I need to buy a pocket knife, at the very least.
“C’mon, Jade. I thought we were past this. Put the keys down.”
“Not on your life,” I choke out past my clogged windpipe. I’m not sure of my next move. Becky’s car is behind me, but so is Adair. If I don’t do something fast, though, Max and Adair will have me cornered. “I won’t let you and Adair get away with this.”
“Adair? What are you talking about?”
“She’s chasing me.” I check the dark expanse of sidewalk and street behind us. There’s no sign of Adair, no sign of a shadowy figure, no sign of life.
“She can’t be. I dropped her off at her house five minutes ago, and that’s miles from here.” He sounds like the epitome of reason. Like Becky. And Roxy. And everybody else who doesn’t believe I vanished back in February.
“If you’re trying to make me think I’m crazy, it won’t work.” My breaths are ragged. “Somebody was chasing me!”
“Calm down.” Max waves the air with his palm. “I believe you.”
He’s trying to win my trust by agreeing with me. But I can’t trust him. I can’t trust anybody. My heart feels like it’s going to pound through my rib cage. “Don’t pretend you’re my friend.”
“Friendship has never been what I want from you.” He quirks an eyebrow and takes a step forward.
Really? He’s flirting with me now ? I back up as heat that I want to attribute to anger flashes through me. “Stay away from me.”
“Relax. I’m on your side.”
“You’re a liar.” It’s probably not the smartest thing to say, considering the street remains dark and empty of life, but I won’t continue playing this game with him. If he tries anything, I’ll put my keys through his eyes. Reaching into the back pocket of my shorts with my left hand, I take out the missing person
A faint rustling disrupts the quiet.
Nothing is behind me except a plastic bag blowing end over end down the street with the wind. Was that the cause of the noise? Or was it a nocturnal animal moving through the night? No, wait. A street light casts a glow over a tree-lined yard. At the edge of the light is the shadow of a person, perhaps lurking behind a tree.
Telling myself it’s someone out for a walk or possibly even my mother making sure I’m okay, I pick up my pace. After a few moments, I look back over my shoulder to make sure I’m not being followed. The shadowy form moves quickly through the yards, staying just out of the light, closing the distance between us. No way could Mom move that fast.
Run! my mind screams. I pump my arms and churn my legs. My heartbeat reverberates in my ears. How could I have put myself in a position for history to repeat itself? I’m worse than the brain-dead girls in the horror movies.
I really am Too Stupid To Live. But I want to live. Desperately.
I was never the fastest girl on my high school soccer team, but I have decent speed. I risk another glance over my shoulder to see if I’m gaining ground. While I’m directly under a street light, whoever chases me is doing a great job of staying out of sight. I can barely make out the dark shape of—
Bam! I collide with something solid. Not something. Someone. The air whooshes out of my lungs. I gasp for breath as I look up into the shadowy face of a human barricade.
It’s the guy calling himself Max Harper.
A terrible theory grips me. It was impossible to tell if the person chasing me is male or female, but it must be Adair. She and Max are in this together, plotting to recapture me and take me back to that clown.
My heart squeezes with panic.
“It’s okay, Jade.” His hands are still wrapped around my upper arms. “It’s me. Max.”
I wrench away from him, stumbling and almost falling to the sidewalk. I need something—anything—to defend myself. I reach into my shorts pocket and pull out my only weapon.
“Really?” Max balances his hands on his lean hips. “The keys again?”
I need to buy a pocket knife, at the very least.
“C’mon, Jade. I thought we were past this. Put the keys down.”
“Not on your life,” I choke out past my clogged windpipe. I’m not sure of my next move. Becky’s car is behind me, but so is Adair. If I don’t do something fast, though, Max and Adair will have me cornered. “I won’t let you and Adair get away with this.”
“Adair? What are you talking about?”
“She’s chasing me.” I check the dark expanse of sidewalk and street behind us. There’s no sign of Adair, no sign of a shadowy figure, no sign of life.
“She can’t be. I dropped her off at her house five minutes ago, and that’s miles from here.” He sounds like the epitome of reason. Like Becky. And Roxy. And everybody else who doesn’t believe I vanished back in February.
“If you’re trying to make me think I’m crazy, it won’t work.” My breaths are ragged. “Somebody was chasing me!”
“Calm down.” Max waves the air with his palm. “I believe you.”
He’s trying to win my trust by agreeing with me. But I can’t trust him. I can’t trust anybody. My heart feels like it’s going to pound through my rib cage. “Don’t pretend you’re my friend.”
“Friendship has never been what I want from you.” He quirks an eyebrow and takes a step forward.
Really? He’s flirting with me now ? I back up as heat that I want to attribute to anger flashes through me. “Stay away from me.”
“Relax. I’m on your side.”
“You’re a liar.” It’s probably not the smartest thing to say, considering the street remains dark and empty of life, but I won’t continue playing this game with him. If he tries anything, I’ll put my keys through his eyes. Reaching into the back pocket of my shorts with my left hand, I take out the missing person
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