Date Me (19 page)

I stand outside the school office, trying to think.

“Earth to Keatyn.”

“What?” Riley is standing in front of me. Big, strong Riley. The boy who said I’d need protecting.

“Did you get in trouble?”

“What? Oh, uh, no.”

He wraps his arm around me. “Then what's wrong? You're shaking. Is your family okay?”

My eyes get tears in them. I don't know what to do.

Riley sees that I'm about to start crying.

“Come on, let's go talk.” He tries to drag me down the hall.

“No! Wait!” I yell.

“Why? Tell me what's got you so upset.”

“Just give me a minute!”

Think, Keatyn. Don't stay in this building. Don't go to dorm. Your car is out.
Lots of people
.

But then I think about the crazy people that come into classrooms with guns. No classrooms. I need to hide.

I remember Garrett telling me that Hawthorne House was next to my dorm. That it housed most of the school’s athletes. That I should go there if I was ever in trouble.

“Can we go to your room?”

Riley grins and raises an eyebrow at me sexily. “Baby, I thought you'd never ask.”

I don’t laugh at his joke. “I, uh, don’t want anyone to know. Can we sneak down there? Go the back way or something?”

“It’s gonna be a secret affair, huh? You want me to tie you up?”

My face goes a shade whiter. I think about what was in the van. Imagine being tied up in the back of it.

Riley looks at me closely. “Okay, you're scaring me.”

“I’m sorry. I just . . .” I can't even come up with a lie. I'm stuck in one spot. I thought if he ever came and got me, found me, I'd be all badass and fight him, but I'm not a badass. I'm a scared, freaked-out mess.

I’m paralyzed with fear.

Snap out of it and make a decision, Keatyn.

I look at Riley. He’s got on a hoodie over the tie-dyed shirt he’s wearing for 70s day today. “Can I have your jacket?”

He pulls it off and hands it to me. I put it on and pull the hood up over my head. I look over and see the big Lost and Found box. There are a pair of Cougar Athletics sweatpants lying right on the top. I grab them and pull them on over my skirt and fringed cowboy boots.

“What are you doing? You’re acting very strange. Are you on something?”

“What? No. I’m . . . I, uh, just thought that I shouldn’t walk in your dorm looking like a girl. It’s a disguise.”

“When we get there, you are going to tell me what the hell is going on.”

I nod my head and pull on his arm. The second bell already rang for the next period, so the hallways are empty. I peek around a corner to look outside. To survey the area. To see if Vincent or any other stranger is lurking there.

“Let’s sneak down by the trees.”

“No way. If we look like we’re doing something wrong, we’ll get caught. We’re walking straight down the pathway to the dorms. If anyone asks what we’re doing, we’ll say getting a paper out of my room, for class.”

I’m beyond logic but that sounds good. “Give me your sunglasses.”

“A hoodie, sweats, and sunglasses. Are you afraid Dawson will find out? I swear, I’ll never tell.”

He’s trying to make me laugh, I know.

But it’s not working.

We safely get to his dorm room without running into anyone.

I shut the door, slump against it, then slide down to the floor.

Riley kneels down next to me. “Okay. Tell me what the hell is going on.”

“Just give me a minute, okay? I need to think.”

I open the file copy the dean gave me and look through it. Look for any link between me and my old life.

A school I didn't go to. A fake transcript from a fake school but with my actual classes and grades.

A fake mailing address for my fake parents in France.

My schedule. My activities. My parking pass.

The account that my tuition comes out of from the bank in Atlanta.

Nothing to connect me to my old life.

Except the picture on my school ID. If he saw that, he'd know it’s me.

I look up at Riley and tell him as much of the truth as I can. “Someone was in the school office last night and accessed my file. Only my file.”

“Why are you so upset about that? Jeez, I thought someone died or something.”

I think about me being the one to die.

“I just feel a bit violated, I guess. Why would someone do that?”

Please let there be a viable alternative to Vincent.

“Maybe it was just a prank?” Riley guesses.

I shake my head. “Why?”

He snaps his finger. “Maybe it was Whitney. Jake said that she was pissed about Peyton going shopping with you. About her weekend.”

“Whitney? Why would she do that?”

“Because she’s a bitch and she hates you. Maybe she was looking for dirt.” He grabs my printout. “Any dirt in here? Did you get kicked out of your last school? Do you have an illegitimate child? An affair with a teacher? Been to rehab?”

I listen to him rattle off all the fake life ideas my family came up with.

“Riley?”

“What?”

I throw my arms around him and hug him tightly. “Thanks for being my friend.”

He hugs me back, which causes me to start crying.

“Are you on the rag? What's with all the tears?”

“I’m not sure.” I laugh.

He starts reading my file. “Wow. This
is
scandalous.”

“What is?” What did I miss?

“You got a B. Seriously?” He scans the pages. “You've only had one B in your life?”

I shrug. “Yeah.”

“Brains and beauty. It's a deadly combination. No wonder my brother is crazy about you.”

“Do you see anything else that might come back to haunt me?”

“Well, you should probably call your bank and check your account. I bet that’s why the dean was freaking out. They have your whole account number on here. They aren’t supposed to do that.”

I nod at him. I know just the banker to call.

“You’re right. Let me call my financial guy real quick.”

I get out my cell and press Garrett's number.

He answers. “Are you okay?”

“For the moment, yes. But I just got called to the dean’s office. Someone accessed my personal information last night.
Only
my
information.”

Garrett is quiet. I wonder if the call dropped. “Are you still there?”

“Yes. I’m thinking. This sounds a lot like the rehabs.”

“That’s what I thought.”

I internally panic. Even Garrett thinks it’s him.

I let out a little cry.

Riley looks at me with concern. “What happened? Is your account okay? Is their fraud on it?”

“Who are you with?” Garrett asks.

“A friend. My file has my full bank account number in it.”

“I’m putting you on hold. Give me just a second. Do you feel safe right now?”

“Yes, and I’ll wait.” I point to the phone and tell Riley, “I’m on hold.”

“Tell me what's really going on.”

Should I tell him? Can I trust him?

What I need to do is leave school. Now.

Get on a train to nowhere.

Run.

Garrett comes back on the line. “Your school has excellent security measures in place. Did he say the school was breeched or just the office?”

“Just the office, I think.”

“Keatyn, take a deep breath. Calm down for a minute. I’m almost positive that this was not Vincent.”

I turn to Riley. “Riley, will you excuse me, please?”

I walk out his door and down the hall.

“He was in New York City, Garrett. What if I didn’t lose him? What if I just thought I did? What if he followed me here? What if he didn’t know where to find me on campus and broke into the office to find out my dorm number. And what if he’s just waiting for me?”

“The timing is troubling and no security system is infallible. That and the rehabs getting broken into is too much of a coincidence to ignore. I’m sending a car for you. I want you out of there until we can locate Vincent. Until we’re certain it wasn’t him.”

“How long will that take?”

“About an hour.”

“An hour? Are you fucking kidding me? What happened to
We'll send in the cavalry
? I thought if something happened to me, there'd be people here right away.” All of a sudden, it hits me. “There is no cavalry. You're relying on the necklace, aren't you?”

“Yes.”

“Don't bother sending a car. I'm going off campus, and I'm leaving the damn necklace here.”

“Keatyn, don’t. Don’t do anything stupid . . .”

“I’m not. I’m doing something smart. I’m getting the hell out of here.”

I hang up, go back to Riley’s room, take off my necklace, and lay it on his dresser.

Riley grabs me. “I want the truth. You’re shaking and scared to death. I can see it in your eyes.”

“The truth is I need to leave campus.
Now
.”

He shakes his head. “No way I’m letting you drive. I don't know what's going on, but you are in no shape to drive.” He gets on his cell. “Hey, Mom, can you call school and tell them I'm headed off campus? Yeah, everything’s fine. I just need to help out a friend. Tell them I have a dentist appointment. Thanks, Mom.” He nods at me and grabs his keys. “Let’s go.”

I get outside the dorm and feel completely exposed. Like I’m naked at the Super Bowl.

“Run!” I yell.

He grabs my hand and we sprint to his car. I dive into the backseat.

“I’m not checking out,” I tell him. “I don’t want anyone to know I’m gone.”

He starts his car, drives down to the entrance, checks out, and drives through the gates.

“Where do you want to go?” he asks.

I want to go see my mom and Tommy, I think.

Which causes an idea to pop into my head. “The movies,” I say. “Let’s go see a movie.”

I’ll hide out in the dark all day then call Garrett later to find out if Vincent got on his flight home.

I decide to text him.

Me: I’m sorry I yelled at you but I assumed that if I needed help it would be there instantly. I know logically that’s not feasible. Please don’t call my mom. I don’t want to worry her. I left school with a friend. I didn’t sign out, so they don’t know I’m gone. I’m sure I’ll get in trouble later for skipping, but that’s the least of my worries. Please let me know if Vincent gets on his flight.

Garrett: I’m glad you left. I sent a man to his hotel and he’s not there. It also appears that he did not spend the night.

Me: So he could have been here? He still might be here.

Garrett: Yes. Where are you?

Me: I’m going to the movies. Not the theaters by school. We’re driving to another town in my friend’s car. Mine is still at school. I hid in the backseat, so if anyone was watching, they wouldn’t have seen me.

Garrett: I’m very impressed with your quick thinking. I’ll keep you updated.

About twenty minutes later, Riley stops the car and says, “In case you’re wondering, we weren’t followed.”

I climb into the front passenger seat, but leave his sunglasses on and the hood up.

He looks at me seriously. “Let’s go inside. Then you’re going to tell me what has you so scared.”

I buy tickets to Mom and Tommy’s latest release. We go inside the theater, but since the movie doesn’t start for almost an hour, we sit on a bench out front.

“Okay,” he says.

I blow out a breath of air. “Remember my meltdown that day in my room?”

“Yeah.”

“My parents moving to France wasn’t the only reason I came here.”

“You did mention something about a guy.”

“I had a relationship, um, go bad.”

“Go bad? Like abusive? You don't seem like you would put up with that shit.”

I shake my head. God, I hate lying to him.

Close to the truth, Keatyn. Close to the truth.

“I would never stay with a guy who hurt me. This was, um—look, you have to promise, swear to me, that you won't tell anyone this—not even your brother.”

“I swear, baby.” He holds out his pinkie.

I laugh. Take it in mine and swear.

“Tell me.”

I close my eyes and think. About Vincent. About his grabbing my arm on the escalator. How I got away from him. How I know he’s found me.

But I have to tell him something. I may not ever be able to go back to school.

I may have to just up and leave like I did at home. I wouldn’t get to see Dawson anymore. Or Riley. Or my friends.

I’d be alone again.

I can't help it. My body involuntarily shudders and tears start streaming down my face.

Riley wraps his strong arm around me, pulls me into his chest, and whispers, “You’ll feel better if you tell me. I need to know if I’m going to help you.”

I can’t look at him. I keep my head buried in his chest and start talking. “My mom has this, um, ex-boyfriend. And he sorta was stalking me.”

“Stalking you?”

“Yes. Following me around when I didn’t know it. Coming to my soccer games. Showing up at restaurants I was at. He was even taking pictures of me.” Even though I'm lying about who Vincent is, I'm telling him a lot of the truth. And it feels good—like it did that day with Aiden in the chapel, so I keep going. “He was older, good looking, and he flirted with me. When I met him, I didn't know he was, um, my mom’s ex-boyfriend.” I sit up and take a deep breath. This part isn’t a lie and it’s the part I’m most embarrassed about. “I was flattered by his attention. I was so stupid, Riley. I always thought I was a good judge of character but I’m not.”

“Did he hurt you?”

“He tried to kidnap me at my seventeenth birthday party. It was supposed to be this magical night. You should have seen my shoes. And my dress. He showed up. I think he caused a commotion. Then he grabbed me. I tried to fight, but he was strong. He was dragging me toward an exit.” I suck in a big breath of air. “He was opening the exit door when I got away. There was a van outside the exit that he was taking me to. Inside the van they found zip ties and drugs. He was going to. To . . . I don't know for sure, but people think that it wouldn't have ended well for me.”