Not Just Another Number

Sarah's Back In School

Sarah's POV

Meanwhile~

I park the car behind a bush near Ms. Kelley's house. I look back at Max, who's staring up at the house. "In and out, alright Max?" I tell her. She nods as she unbuckles before climbing out of the car.

She walks up to the front door and after a few seconds, the door opens and Max walks inside. "She's in." Steve says from my right.

"I'm missing collarbones, not eyes." Dustin tells him, not moving his eyes from the house. Steve rolls his eyes and the car falls silent.

A weird feeling start to settle in my gut the longer we wait for Max. I cross my arms and lean back in my seat. The feeling spreads to my head, forming into a small headache at the base of my skull. I wince to myself and bring a hand to rub at where the pain is.

Steve looks at me, eyebrows furrowing in concern. "You okay?" He asks, resting a hand on my thigh. I nod and turn away from the house. "Yeah, just a small headache is all."

My answer doesn't get rid of his concern. "You've been having a lot of headaches recently. Is everything okay?" He asks again. His tone holds concern and a little bit of fear. I look over his expression as I grasp what he's trying to insinuate.

I place my hand on the one on my thigh and squeeze it lightly. "Everything's okay, I promise. I know shit's getting crazy, but I highly doubt anything crazy is going on with me. No black outs or anything have happened."

He seems to be slowly becoming convinced, but a voice behind us catches our attention. "Are you really sure, Sarah? I mean, your nose was bleeding yesterday, and now a headache." Dustin asks, poking his head in between the seats.

I give him a smile to try to calm him down. "I'm sure Dustin. Look, I would tell you guys if I thought something was going on with me, okay?" I tell them, looking at them both. They don't seem fully convinced. I sigh and shake my head. My boys are always going to worry about me, aren't they?

I turn to look out the window, facing back at the house. The front door to the house swings open and Max rushes out. "Here she comes." I tell the two.

Max jogs up to my car and pulls the door open. She slides in next to Dustin and slams the door shut. "What'd she say?" Dustin asks as Max buckles up.

"Nothing. Just drive." Max says, not looking at any of us.

"Nothing?"

"Sarah, just drive!" She yells at me.

Without another word, I pull away from the curb and leave the neighborhood. I turn the corner, picking up speed a little. I look at Max in the rear view mirror. "Where are we heading?"

"The school."

The school? What kind of idea does Max have? I look back at the road as I make our way to the high school. "Why are we going there, what's at the school?"

"Ms. Kelley didn't tell me shit, but I'm sure her files can tell me what we need to know."

Before I can question her motives, suddenly, Dustin's radio comes to life. Christine? Instead of Christine's feminine voice, an unexpected voice comes through. "Dustin, do you copy? Dustin?" Lucas asks.

Dustin picks up his radio and presses the button on the side, answering. "Lucas? Where the hell have you been?"

"Just listen," Lucas says instead of answering Dustin's question. "Are you guys looking for Eddie?"

Dustin rolls his eyes before answering. "Yeah, we found him, no thanks to you."

"You found him?"

"We found a boathouse on Coal Mill Road. Don't worry, he's safe."