"I knew it!" Celsie exclaims as she and Kristen burst through the front door. I look over at them to see Celsie smiling at me with a weird grin.
"Knew what?" I ask.
"You're an FBI agent," she says.
"What?!" I look over to see Thomas and Braiden in the kitchen.
"Damn it, Riley!" I scream.
"What the hell did I do?!" he shouts, coming up from the basement.
"Now Thomas and Braiden know. Explain it to them," I say. He tells them the story in the kitchen while Celsie and Kristen sit on the couch with me.
"How'd you know?" I ask.
"Well, the car and motorcycle gave it away. Even though some teens get what they want, nobody has a motorcycle AND a car like that. Also, the way that you were acting in the car was strange. Kristen told me about Aaron, who I'm guessing is your boss," she says.
"Supervisor, yes," I answer.
"I don't believe it one bit," Thomas says.
"Believe it. She saved my life," Connor says, appearing out of nowhere.
"Yeah, and I lost one in the process," I mutter.
"What do you mean?" Braiden asks us.
"Remember that bank that blew up a couple of weeks ago?" Connor asks. He nods. "Well, we were held hostage in there, and she shot the guy, letting everybody out."
"And when I left, one of my team members went in, and-" I can't finish. I run upstairs to my room, slamming my bedroom door shut and locking it. I open my window and go into my closet, hoping they'll fall for it.
"Emily!" Riley shouts, knocking on my door furiously. I hear the click of the lock,, and I cover my mouth with my hand to stifle my sobs. Many footsteps run into the bedroom.
"She's gone," Connor sighs.
"Well, she couldn't have gotten far," Kristen points out.
"I'll stay here while you guys search for her. If she comes back, somebody needs to make sure she's okay," Riley says. They all agree, and the door closes. "I know you're in the closet."
All of a sudden, the door opens, and he sits next to me, putting an arm around my shoulders.
"How'd you know?" I choke out.
"Toby used to do it all the time. Mom and Dad got so worried every time, but when I told them, they told me to go talk to him. Eventually, he would immediately find me and talk to me instead of pretending to run away," he explains.
I rest my head on his shoulder, and he rests his on top of mine. I sniffle as I cry, and he rubs my upper arm in a way to comfort me.
"I just miss him so much," I say, my voice cracking.
"I know. I wish I could bring him back just so that you could see him again," he tells me.
"Why him? Why not me? Why did he have to be killed?" I sob.
"I don't know." He kisses the top of my head, and I hear footsteps rush up the stairs.
"Riley, we can't find her anywhere!" Kristen exclaims, running in with Celsie and Connor. They see me and freeze.
"Where the hell have you been?!" Connor exclaims.
"I was in the closet," I mumble.
"Do you know how scared I was?! I was worried sick about you! I thought you were hurt!" he shouts. Riley slowly gets up and leaves with Kristen and Celsie. Connor sits next to me and hugs me tight.
"I thought I lost you," he mumbles into my hair.
"Why would you care?" I ask, pulling away. He cups my face with his hands and looks straight into my eyes.
"Even though I'm looking for that girl, you mean a lot to me. Losing you is like you losing Ethan. I almost had a panic attack because we couldn't find you." He kisses my forehead and cradles me while I start to cry again.
* * *
A few days later, I start to look for my mother's mask again. Like I said, it was custom made. Losing this will be one of the biggest mistakes of my life.
Somebody clearing their throat catches my attention. I turn to see Connor leaning in the doorway, his arms crossed. I cock an eyebrow, and he holds up something, between his fingers with his arms still crossed.
The mask.
He walks quickly towards me, tossing the mask onto my desk, and he cups my face, kissing me long and hard. The force of the kiss makes me stumble back, but I catch myself. He continues to kiss me, and that's when I realize it.
He means it.
I start to kiss him back, my knees growing weak. He holds me close, making sure that I can still stand. We eventually have to pull away to breathe. He rests his forehead against mine, his hot breathe fanning my face as he pants.
"How long have you known?" I ask.
"Since you dropped the mask downstairs after the party," he pants.
"So...What now?" He kisses me again, but it's softer. It's still full of passion, but he's not smushing his nose against mine time.
"Does that answer your question?" he asks.
"No, but you could try by telling me again."
