“School,” Tate almost whispered as she slipped her phone back in her pocket. “It’s at school.”
“Son of a bitch.” My mother tracked me? I guess that explained how she found me the night at the fish pond. “She’s smarter than I thought,” I said more to myself.
So my phone was at school. I left it at the party, so that meant that someone from our school had taken it, and they had it on.
Well, that was dumb.
It still didn’t solve the question of how someone had recorded the video. My phone was playing music that night, but it definitely wasn’t recording Tate and me.
Shit.
I blinked long and hard.
The balcony.
Could someone have been out there filming us?
Now, my gut was twisted with acid, and I was charged.
That was the first time Tate had taken over, tried something new and gotten on top. She was brave and beautiful, and I was rocked.
To think of someone outside on the balcony the whole time, watching us. Watching her.
Refocusing, I looked at Tate, whose eyebrows were arched in. Scared.
But she’s not a runner anymore.
“I see that look in your eye.” I inched closer and spoke quietly. “It’s the look you get when you want to bolt. The look you get right before you decide to stay and fight.”
“What am I fighting for?” she said, her voice cracking.
Us, dammit!
“We did nothing wrong, Tate.”
Her eyes were red from crying, but I knew she wasn’t running away. Her breathing evened out, and her lips settled in a resolved line.
“Let’s go.” She turned and walked to her truck, swinging open the door.
Thank God. I let out a long breath.
Maybe we wouldn’t find my phone. Maybe I wouldn’t be proved innocent in her eyes. Maybe taking her back to school, with all of those eyes, was a huge-ass mistake.
But she was fighting for us again, and that had me so happy I’d dance in public anytime she asked.
“Is…um…is your car safe to drive?” She gestured to the Boss parked behind her truck.
Baby, I don’t even care. I shook my head.
“Don’t sweat it. It gives me an excuse to do more upgrades.”
Her eyes pooled, but she blinked the tears away and took a deep breath.
“Stop at your mom’s firm and pick up her phone,” she instructed, as we’d need my mom’s phone to find mine. “I’ll meet you at school.”
Once I grabbed my mother’s phone and hurried away from her questions, I sped off to school to find Tate in the parking lot waiting for me.
“Are you okay?” I asked, taking her hand, but she immediately yanked it away.
My heart dropped into my stomach.
“Tate.”
She wouldn’t look at me. Her eyes were turned away, looking at the school.
“Don’t ask me if I’m okay.” Her voice was raspy as if she were holding back tears. “I don’t think I’m going to have any idea how to answer that for a while.”
She ran a hand through her long, blonde hair and took a deep breath before walking towards the school.
God, I hope this works.
The more time that passed, the further away from me she got, and whether or not I was guilty, this might be the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Tate had had enough.
She was walking the line between fighting back and shutting down.
Coming up beside her, I stayed close but didn’t touch her.
Everyone was still in class but not for long. The bell would ring soon, and we’d be like animals in a cage at the zoo.
Eyes all around and nowhere to turn.
I followed the tracker on my mom’s phone, still amazed that I wasn’t pissed off that she tracked me.
After so long feeling like I was on my own, it actually felt comforting to have someone worry about me.
The light flashed, showing my phone’s general location, but it wasn’t specific.
There had to be a quicker way to do this.
My hands were shaky, and I wanted to get the fuck out of here before the bell rang.
“Is it still flashing?” Tate asked, looking over at the phone in my hand.
“Yeah.” I looked around, waiting for someone to see us. “I can’t believe my phone is still on after two days. GPSs use a lot of battery.”
“Well, the video was sent this morning,” she pointed out. “If what you say is true, then whoever used your phone has probably charged it since Saturday night.”
So far away.
“If what I say is true…” I repeated her words, hating how quickly shit changes. This morning I was all over her, and now it was like she wanted me far away.