What She Left Behind

Chapter 3

I started at school, questioning people. I said Hanna was trying to get to know people better so they wouldn't ask me about it and think i was a weirdo. Well, even more than some do. Being Hanna's best friend didn't make me a instant "popular". Nobody I asked really knew who he was, where he came from, or what connection he had with Hanna. Finally, I got lucky. A girl in his math class, Jill, knew him. She said his name was Dylan O'Donnell, he was from California- he moved to Pennsylvania 3 years ago, and he and Hanna used to date, in like 11th grade (we were just about to graduate high school). I couldn't believe that Hanna didn't tell me! Jill also said that he was extremely quiet and spent his time alone or with his one friend, Cody.

I thanked Jill when she finished, then while I was walking to my next class, thought about it. They must have dated from the end of 11th grade and broken up right before school. Hanna and I didn't see each other much- our families were both traveling, and were only at home at the same time for a week. Something must have happened during that time that made him look at Hanna like that.

I was determined to find out what happened between the two before the next week. First, I would talk to Dylan about it, figuring he would talk more since Hanna was so tight-lipped about it the other day.

At the end of the day, I saw Dylan walking out of the school. Deciding it was now or never, I walked up to him.

"Dylan?" I began, sounding like an investigator. "Can I ask you a few questions about your relationship with a girl named Hanna, possibly from last summer?"