guilty to a crime you didn't commit?"
I look the guy straight in the eye. "I plead the fifth."
"You can't plead the fifth, Caleb," Damon says. "You're not in court."
Yeah, and I don't want to end up there again. "I'm still not answering the question."
Damon turns to Maggie for answers, since I'm obviously no help at all. "Maggie, what do you know about all this?"
Maggie shrugs.
Damon shakes his finger at both of us. "You give me no choice. If you won't explain, I'll have to reopen your file and investigate on my own."
"I went to jail, Damon," I blurt out. "I paid for the crime. Case closed."
"If you really went to jail for a crime you didn't commit, the case is far from over. Ever hear of taking responsibility for your actions? You think you did someone a favor? Guess again. If it wasn't you who hit Maggie, who was it?"
I stay silent while Damon looks to Maggie for answers. She stares at the ground.
"I warned you. This isn't over," he tells us.
We trudge through the rest of the exercises. I'm sure as hell not saying a word, and I'm freaking out wondering exactly how much Maggie knows.
After dinner, Damon pulls Maggie and me aside. "Tomorrow morning the rest of the group is going to another school for a panel talk, and the two of you are coming with me."
At the dorm, I overhear Damon talking a bunch of times on his cell, and I get the distinct feeling that he's about to have me arrested and interrogated.
I can't do this. The rest of the night is a big blur to me. All I can think about is that I have to get away. I have to ditch the group and head out on my own again.
In the middle of the night, when everyone is asleep, I toss everything I own in my duffle. Getting away from Damon and his ties to the Illinois justice system is the only solution. If they can't find me, Damon might not have a case against Leah. I looked at some legal books in the juvie library. The statute of limitations on a felony is three years. In a year, Leah can no longer be charged with the crime.
I leave our dorm suite and trot down the stairs. As I start across the dark campus, I hear a familiar voice behind me.
"Caleb, wait."
"Maggie, what are you doing?"
She's wearing silky pants and a T-shirt. Her hair is back in a ponytail, and she looks so vulnerable right now. And sexy, but she doesn't know it. Before I went to jail, I never gave her a second glance. She was just our neighbor and my twin sister's best friend. I was only interested in Kendra Greene, with her big hair and layers of makeup. Maggie's beauty is more subtle ... it can be missed if you're blinded by other girls, or compare her to them.
She bites her bottom lip. "You're leaving, aren't you?"
"I can't stay here." I toss my duffle over my shoulder and start walking again.
"I'm going with you," she calls out.
"No, you're not." I glance back at her. She's limping behind me with a backpack on her shoulders. "Go back to the dorm."
No.
"Don't be stupid, Maggie. Go back to the group and move on with your life. Forget I ever existed."
"I can't do that," she says. "I wish the accident never happened, and that you hadn't gone to jail, and that you hadn't left Paradise, and that you didn't think getting involved with me was the biggest mistake of your life."
Shit. I hate having those words thrown back at me, especially when they were lies. I hurt her, even if I swore I'd never do it again. "Being with you wasn't a mistake."
She gazes up at me with those innocent, expressive eyes. "But you said-"
"Yeah, I know what I said. I lied. But you still can't come with me."
"You asked me to go with you the last time you left Paradise. Remember?"
I nod slowly.
"I'm not making that same mistake again. This time I'm coming with you."
SIXTEEN
Maggie
can't let Caleb go. Not now. Not until I can convince him to go home again and make everything right. If I let him leave, I may never see him again. He disappeared without a trace eight months ago and I won't let that happen again.
I look the guy straight in the eye. "I plead the fifth."
"You can't plead the fifth, Caleb," Damon says. "You're not in court."
Yeah, and I don't want to end up there again. "I'm still not answering the question."
Damon turns to Maggie for answers, since I'm obviously no help at all. "Maggie, what do you know about all this?"
Maggie shrugs.
Damon shakes his finger at both of us. "You give me no choice. If you won't explain, I'll have to reopen your file and investigate on my own."
"I went to jail, Damon," I blurt out. "I paid for the crime. Case closed."
"If you really went to jail for a crime you didn't commit, the case is far from over. Ever hear of taking responsibility for your actions? You think you did someone a favor? Guess again. If it wasn't you who hit Maggie, who was it?"
I stay silent while Damon looks to Maggie for answers. She stares at the ground.
"I warned you. This isn't over," he tells us.
We trudge through the rest of the exercises. I'm sure as hell not saying a word, and I'm freaking out wondering exactly how much Maggie knows.
After dinner, Damon pulls Maggie and me aside. "Tomorrow morning the rest of the group is going to another school for a panel talk, and the two of you are coming with me."
At the dorm, I overhear Damon talking a bunch of times on his cell, and I get the distinct feeling that he's about to have me arrested and interrogated.
I can't do this. The rest of the night is a big blur to me. All I can think about is that I have to get away. I have to ditch the group and head out on my own again.
In the middle of the night, when everyone is asleep, I toss everything I own in my duffle. Getting away from Damon and his ties to the Illinois justice system is the only solution. If they can't find me, Damon might not have a case against Leah. I looked at some legal books in the juvie library. The statute of limitations on a felony is three years. In a year, Leah can no longer be charged with the crime.
I leave our dorm suite and trot down the stairs. As I start across the dark campus, I hear a familiar voice behind me.
"Caleb, wait."
"Maggie, what are you doing?"
She's wearing silky pants and a T-shirt. Her hair is back in a ponytail, and she looks so vulnerable right now. And sexy, but she doesn't know it. Before I went to jail, I never gave her a second glance. She was just our neighbor and my twin sister's best friend. I was only interested in Kendra Greene, with her big hair and layers of makeup. Maggie's beauty is more subtle ... it can be missed if you're blinded by other girls, or compare her to them.
She bites her bottom lip. "You're leaving, aren't you?"
"I can't stay here." I toss my duffle over my shoulder and start walking again.
"I'm going with you," she calls out.
"No, you're not." I glance back at her. She's limping behind me with a backpack on her shoulders. "Go back to the dorm."
No.
"Don't be stupid, Maggie. Go back to the group and move on with your life. Forget I ever existed."
"I can't do that," she says. "I wish the accident never happened, and that you hadn't gone to jail, and that you hadn't left Paradise, and that you didn't think getting involved with me was the biggest mistake of your life."
Shit. I hate having those words thrown back at me, especially when they were lies. I hurt her, even if I swore I'd never do it again. "Being with you wasn't a mistake."
She gazes up at me with those innocent, expressive eyes. "But you said-"
"Yeah, I know what I said. I lied. But you still can't come with me."
"You asked me to go with you the last time you left Paradise. Remember?"
I nod slowly.
"I'm not making that same mistake again. This time I'm coming with you."
SIXTEEN
Maggie
can't let Caleb go. Not now. Not until I can convince him to go home again and make everything right. If I let him leave, I may never see him again. He disappeared without a trace eight months ago and I won't let that happen again.
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