Dear Diary

24. SEARCH PARTY

J E R O M E

"You were right," I say to Kelly over the phone as I lie on the bed in Ma's guest room. "Pops confirmed it. Me and Chace are brothers."

"I can't imagine what's going through that head of yours," she says. "Does he know Chace liked you?"

"I doubt it, but I didn't bring it up. There was already enough weirdness for one day. But I told Ma everything a couple hours ago and haven't seen her since. I don't think she's taking it well."

"Then, that leaves one question: are you going to tell Chace the truth?"

I sit up in bed. "Yeah, I kinda have to, right? I told Pops that Chace deserves to know and I meant it."

"So you forgive him for the Diana thing?"

"I guess."

"And the off chance that he's D.T.?"

"I don't know."

"Well, whatever you decide, I'm backing you."

"Thanks. You're a queen." I glance at the time on the alarm clock resting on the nightstand. "It's late. Talk to you tomorrow?"

"Okay, babes. Love you."

"Love you too, Kell."

I hang up, now alone with my thoughts and wondering what to do next. When is the right time to tell Chace? I could call him now. Why put it off? Then again, he might ignore me and I probably would ignore me too because, God, I was an ass.

Nah, if Chace is going to find out the truth, he'll be hearing it from both me and Pops. I grab my phone again with the intention of setting up a meeting with the three of us, but just then a text message comes through.

When I read it my heart does a backflip.

I stuff the phone into my pocket and make a dash out of the apartment building.

***

It only takes a few minutes after I arrive for everyone to show up at the school parking lot. I'm a ball of nerves as Gio, Samara, Kelly, and Brandan exit their vehicles.

"Okay, what are we doing here at ten o'clock at night, and why did you stress urgency?" Gio asks, stopping in front of me.

"It's my pops. D.T. sent a message. Look." I handed him my phone after pulling up the text  I received.

He reads the message out loud. "Head's up, Rome. Tori's killer is holding your father hostage inside the school. The doors are open. No police. Fail to oblige and he dies."

"Jesus," Samara breathes.

"I stopped by my pops' house before coming here and he's not there. His phone's off, too," I say.

"So D.T. isn't Tori's killer?" Kelly asks, looking confused.

I shake my head. "We assumed he was involved because it made sense, but from the sound of the message I'm not sure."

"This smells like a trap," says Brandan.

Kelly nods. "Ditto."

"Trap or not, we have to see if Pops is in there," I say.

"What if he isn't?' Gio says. "What if it's a ploy to lure us here for whatever evil ass reason this guy has cooked up?"

"You're welcome to go if you want," I say with resolve. "I'm going in."

Kelly hugs herself, looking spooked. "So we're just going right in? No protection? No weapons?"

"Actually, I snuck off with my dad's truck," Brandan says. "He happens to have some stuff in the back." He leads the way to the black SUV he pulled up in, popping the trunk. Inside are a couple metal bats and a crowbar. "We played some baseball a while back."