way down the path, eying Lila and Beau suspiciously before moving on. "It's the middle of the night and you're roaming around San Jose by yourself--you, who have nightmares after watching total y not scary movies. Real y awesome,
Coop."
"We're not in San Jose," Cooper told her, giggling. The unmistakable sound of Tyler's laughter could be heard in the background, egging him on. Beau leaned in even closer. Lila fought the urge to elbow him. Hard. "I told you, we thought you might catch up with us. So when we saw you get on the train, we jumped off. And then the last train of the night came through like ten minutes later! Ha!"
"Ha-ha," Lila said, miserably. "Please tel me you're on the last train of the night heading back to L.A."
"Nope." Cooper laughed again. "Oh, and Mom cal ed." Lila froze.
"What did she say?" Lila asked, trying to sound calm. She felt Beau shift beside her.
"I told her you were in the shower," Cooper said blithely. "She said they were having fun with Aunt Lucy, and Phoenix is real y hot, and she'd see us Sunday night."
Sunday night. The words echoed in Lila's head like a death sentence. "Great," Lila said, pressing her free hand against her forehead and the sudden headache that bloomed there. "And
119
what do you think she's going to do when she gets home and discovers you're on your way to the North Pole, Cooper?"
"Oh, she loves Santa too," Cooper said happily, reminding Lila that no matter how annoying he was, he was stil only eight years old. And clearly living in a fantasy world. A fantasy world Lila could shatter with the simple truth about Santa Claus. But something held her back from saying it. Perhaps it was the vision of being grounded for the next seventeen years.
"To me, Cooper!" she cried, frustrated. "What do you think she's going to do to me?"
But Cooper only giggled some more.
"Sleep tight!" Tyler cal ed in the background, and then the line went dead.
For a moment Lila stood, the phone stil to her ear, as if mid-conversation with a reality check. Her party had blown up in her face. Her mission to
recover Cooper had failed. Her relationship with Erik was nothing but a lie. And every tick of her watch brought her closer to doom.
Which left her with what, exactly?
"Um, Lila." Beau snapped his fingers in front of her eyes. "You okay?"
"Oh, I'm great," she said, glaring at Beau for al kinds of reasons, starting with the fact that he was right there. "Fan-fricking-tastic."
Beau sighed, and the sound ignited something in Lila.
120
"Tel you what," she threw at him, so mad her teeth snapped together. "You stay right here and keep sighing like that. It's so helpful. I'm going to take a cab to San Jose and get your stupid piece-of-crap Escort. Then I'm going to keep driving after the Santa stalkers."
"Fine," Beau said, his blue eyes narrow. "I can--"
"Alone!" Lila yel ed at him. "I'm going alone! How about you just go back home and sit in your basement and be as judgy and nasty and angry at the whole world as you want!"
Beau was staring at her like her head had just exploded. She knew she was too loud, and bordering on hysterical.
"Whoa," he said, with infuriating calmness, holding his hands up in surrender.
The gesture made her want to curl into a bal , watch real y depressing movies like Titanic, and cry for the next three weeks.
Which she couldn't do even if she wanted to, because she had less than twenty-four hours to find Cooper and drag his behind back to L.A. Less than
twenty-four hours, if she was realistic. Her parents would likely come home before midnight on Christmas Eve.
"Give me your keys," she snapped at Beau.
"You can't be serious."
She let out a loud groan of frustration. "Beau!"
He reached into his pocket, and pul ed out his keys. His eyes
121
searched her face, like there was something he was looking for. Like there was something obvious she was missing.
Lila snatched the keys from his hand. Then she turned away and started marching across the campus.
Coop."
"We're not in San Jose," Cooper told her, giggling. The unmistakable sound of Tyler's laughter could be heard in the background, egging him on. Beau leaned in even closer. Lila fought the urge to elbow him. Hard. "I told you, we thought you might catch up with us. So when we saw you get on the train, we jumped off. And then the last train of the night came through like ten minutes later! Ha!"
"Ha-ha," Lila said, miserably. "Please tel me you're on the last train of the night heading back to L.A."
"Nope." Cooper laughed again. "Oh, and Mom cal ed." Lila froze.
"What did she say?" Lila asked, trying to sound calm. She felt Beau shift beside her.
"I told her you were in the shower," Cooper said blithely. "She said they were having fun with Aunt Lucy, and Phoenix is real y hot, and she'd see us Sunday night."
Sunday night. The words echoed in Lila's head like a death sentence. "Great," Lila said, pressing her free hand against her forehead and the sudden headache that bloomed there. "And
119
what do you think she's going to do when she gets home and discovers you're on your way to the North Pole, Cooper?"
"Oh, she loves Santa too," Cooper said happily, reminding Lila that no matter how annoying he was, he was stil only eight years old. And clearly living in a fantasy world. A fantasy world Lila could shatter with the simple truth about Santa Claus. But something held her back from saying it. Perhaps it was the vision of being grounded for the next seventeen years.
"To me, Cooper!" she cried, frustrated. "What do you think she's going to do to me?"
But Cooper only giggled some more.
"Sleep tight!" Tyler cal ed in the background, and then the line went dead.
For a moment Lila stood, the phone stil to her ear, as if mid-conversation with a reality check. Her party had blown up in her face. Her mission to
recover Cooper had failed. Her relationship with Erik was nothing but a lie. And every tick of her watch brought her closer to doom.
Which left her with what, exactly?
"Um, Lila." Beau snapped his fingers in front of her eyes. "You okay?"
"Oh, I'm great," she said, glaring at Beau for al kinds of reasons, starting with the fact that he was right there. "Fan-fricking-tastic."
Beau sighed, and the sound ignited something in Lila.
120
"Tel you what," she threw at him, so mad her teeth snapped together. "You stay right here and keep sighing like that. It's so helpful. I'm going to take a cab to San Jose and get your stupid piece-of-crap Escort. Then I'm going to keep driving after the Santa stalkers."
"Fine," Beau said, his blue eyes narrow. "I can--"
"Alone!" Lila yel ed at him. "I'm going alone! How about you just go back home and sit in your basement and be as judgy and nasty and angry at the whole world as you want!"
Beau was staring at her like her head had just exploded. She knew she was too loud, and bordering on hysterical.
"Whoa," he said, with infuriating calmness, holding his hands up in surrender.
The gesture made her want to curl into a bal , watch real y depressing movies like Titanic, and cry for the next three weeks.
Which she couldn't do even if she wanted to, because she had less than twenty-four hours to find Cooper and drag his behind back to L.A. Less than
twenty-four hours, if she was realistic. Her parents would likely come home before midnight on Christmas Eve.
"Give me your keys," she snapped at Beau.
"You can't be serious."
She let out a loud groan of frustration. "Beau!"
He reached into his pocket, and pul ed out his keys. His eyes
121
searched her face, like there was something he was looking for. Like there was something obvious she was missing.
Lila snatched the keys from his hand. Then she turned away and started marching across the campus.
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