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When 17-year-old Arbor Hayes' best friend turns up alive after a mysterious six-month disappearance, she must piece together the fragments of her story to make sense of what happened. But as clues e...
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Before the morning bell, I navigate the school hallways, searching for Jordan's locker, but when I pass the general vicinity, she's not there. Trying to be inconspicuous, I pause at a nearby water fountain and pretend to rummage through my bag, keeping a lookout for her auburn hair.
Jordan knows what's going on. Emma's strange behavior last night proves it, and Jordan all but admitted it when she suggested I don't know my best friend as well as I think. I'm starting to feel like that's an understatement.
But then, I'm starting to feel different about a lot of things.
Like after all this time, why haven't the police found any clues as to where Emma was or who took her in the first place? Or how Mr. Navarro claimed all their leads have turned into dead ends?
There's more going on than what Emma's admitting, and I'm going to find out what it is.
Still no sign of Jordan.
Stalling for extra time, I tuck my hair behind my ear and bend toward the water fountain, letting the arc of cool water splash over my lips.
Just as I'm about to give up, a russet-colored head weaves through the crowd. When Jordan veers toward her locker, I wipe the corner of my sleeve across my mouth.
This is my chance to ask her what she meant. Except now that she's in front of me, the thought of approaching her makes me want to throw up my breakfast. So instead, I keep my eye on her throughout the day; in the hallway with her friends, at lunch in the cafeteria. Once again, I try to gather my courage and approach her after soccer, but I still can't get myself to go through with it.
After I crawled through my window last night, I called Smith first thing. Now that Emma has her phone back, there's nothing stopping her from contacting him. In fact, she's already tried, and I needed to make sure I got to him first. I needed to confess what I'd done; how I told Emma we're dating. He wasn't upset but he wasn't thrilled either.
Yet there was something in his voice that almost sounded like relief.
As far as I'm concerned, confessing was the easy part. Now I need to piece together what few clues I have about her disappearance and hope they lead me to the truth.
There's something bigger going on.
That day back in March, when Emma disappeared, was like any other. She was in a good mood—no, she was in a great mood. But that wasn't out of the ordinary. Emma's known for her bubbly personality. Her quick wit, and easy-going demeanor.
Maybe there was more going on beneath the surface? Something she didn't want me to see? There's always been a restless energy about her, but that day she seemed almost—peaceful. Her face more relaxed, her smile a little wider, eyes brighter. When I asked if she wanted to hang out after school, she told me she had to study for a test. Emma doesn't settle for less than perfect grades, so I didn't think anything of it.
