evidence. But the skin was its usual shade of pinky-beige; a couple of torn cuticles but nothing else. I was the one who got us out, me, scared little Jennifer Harris. The memory of how it felt to escape and Cameron himself were the only evidence I had. woke up after midnight, thinking I heard footsteps outside my window. It's not the kind of neighborhood where you should be hearing footsteps anywhere near your house after dark. Usually it ends up being a cat or raccoon, but you never know. I listened, ready to run into Mom and Alan's room if necessary, but heard nothing more and fell back asleep. CHAPTER 15 "LAST CHANCE FOR COFFEE," ALAN SAID, POKING HIS HEAD into the bathroom while I finished up my morning routine. "Save me a cup. Ill get it in a sec." My hair would not do anything I wanted it to. There were dark circles under my eyes and my skin looked dull and PMS-y. I had some hair pomade in my gym bag, which I'd left in the car. I scurried out into the chill. When I put the key in the car door, I gasped. The passenger seat was tilted all the way back, Cameron's long legs stretching under the dashboard. With his jeans jacket tucked around his shoulders and eyes closed, he looked so much like his childhood self. I opened the door carefully and crouched next to him. "Cameron?" I said softly. "Cam?" He opened his eyes, blinking at the morning sun. "Hi." "What are you doing?" "Sleeping in your car." "I see that." I glanced back at the house. "Do you want to come in? And have some breakfast?" He nodded and got out of the car. I led him up the walk, through the front door, and into the kitchen where Mom was making her lunch. She looked up, surprise only crossing her face for a second. "Well. Good morning, Cameron," she said. "I think there's a cup of coffee left if Jenna doesn't mind sharing." "You can have it," I said to him. "HI get some on the way to school." "Thanks." Mom got a mug down for him and pointed to the half-and-half. "I'm off," she said, putting her lunch stuff into a paper bag. "Nice to see you, Cameron. Tell your mom I'd love to catch up with her." She gave me a kiss. "Be good." "I will." We hadn't had any follow-up conversations since Sunday and I knew she was waiting for me to give some sign that I wasn't mad. I kissed her back, which made her smile. "When are you ever not good?" Cameron asked, after Mom had gone. "She says that to me every morning. For her it's synonymous with 'good-bye.' How did you get into my car?" "You left it unlocked." "Oh." The more obvious question was why did he get into my car, but that could wait. We heard the jingling of Alan's keys. He leaned into the kitchen. "Bye, Jenna." His eyebrows went up when he saw Cameron. "Oh, hi there." "Hi," Cameron said. "Good to see you again." "You, too." "Well," Alan said. A long, awkward pause followed, during which we all glanced at one another and smiled politely. "See you tonight, Jen?" "See you." He left, and I turned to Cameron. "So." "You didn't call me last night." "Was I supposed to?" He looked down. "Just figured now that you had my number... Kept my phone on all night, just in case." He laughed. "I started to worry that it didn't work. Actually went out to a pay phone to test it." "You could have called me. The way you left me after lunch on Saturday, I figured ..." I ended there and shrugged, not wanting to be mad at him or get into any kind of argument. "Anyway, after auditions I went to the gym with Steph, and I'm so behind in my homework it's not even funny." Of course I'd punched in his number about eighteen times without actually ever calling him. I wasn't sure what I'd say, and worried about how I'd feel if he didn't answer. "I shouldn't have left like that on Saturday." "Yeah, well." I waved my hands. "Don't worry about it. I have to finish getting ready. There's cereal and stuff... just make yourself at home." "I saw him walking to school," I told Ethan, "and I pulled over and offered him a ride. Like I would for anyone I
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