marco looks like shit … he’s
following me around like a stalker
plz text & tell me if ur ok
I sent one text before I turn off my phone again.
i’ll explain when i see u.
promise.
just not ready to talk yet.
Dad resorts to leaving my meals in the hallway. Cujo has eaten most of them by the time I open my door, but he did leave the mac and cheese.
I leave Dad another note on Tuesday morning, identical to Monday’s note. I can’t play the sick card much longer, but I’m still not ready to see Marco. Because I have to do more than just face him. I have to lie to Marco about the reason I broke up with him.
On Wednesday morning, I finally drag myself out of bed, take a shower, and text Lex to let her know I need a ride. When I emerge from the hallway, Dad is camped out at the kitchen table with his eyes glued on the doorway, as if he was waiting for me to come out. The shower probably gave me away.
Dad sees me and his gaze drops to the sagging newspaper he’s holding. “Are you feeling okay?”
I keep walking, without acknowledging my father or his pathetic attempt at making peace. I haven’t spoken to him in four days, and I’m not breaking my streak now. I shut the apartment door behind me without saying a word.
Outside, Lex watches me from behind the wheel of the Fiat like she’s driving a getaway car.
“Are you ready to tell me what happened?” she asks as I slip into the passenger seat. “You look like you haven’t slept at all.”
Lex pulls away from the curb, and I do a double take. She looks awful. Her choppy blond hair always has a sexy slept-in style, but today it literally looks slept in—like she hasn’t brushed it in days. The shadows around her eyes rival mine.
“You look tired, too. Did you and Abel have another fight?”
She stops at a red light and takes a swig of the canned energy drink in her cup holder. “That would require knowing where he is.”
“When was the last time you talked to him?” I’m not launching into the details about what happened with Marco until I find out what’s going on with Abel.
“Monday.” She sounds worried instead of annoyed. We both know Abel can’t go more than twenty-four hours without talking to her. “I’ve called and texted him a dozen times. I told him that I was freaking out, and I asked him to text me back so I’d know he wasn’t in a car accident or something. But he still hasn’t called.”
“Did you get in touch with his mom?” The odds of tracking down Abel’s mother between parties, boyfriends, and her “Tommy Ryder’s widow” appearances are worse than my odds when I raced Ortiz.
Lex’s eyes well. She takes a deep breath and fights off the tears. “She hasn’t seen him. Not like she was worried or anything. My parents might have to defend their title as the World Champions of Ignoring Your Kid.”
“Maybe we should call hospitals.”
Lex pulls into the Monroe parking lot. “I already did.”
Only a handful of cars are parked in Lot B, and I don’t recognize any of them. Lot A is almost empty, too. Lex parks and checks her phone for messages.
“Do you think he’s doing drugs?” I hate asking. Abel’s dad overdosed, and his mom is a pill popper. As a result, Abel hates anything drug-related.
“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll ask Marco if he can ask around the Downs. He knows a lot of people.”
I burst into tears when she mentions his name.
Lex hugs me. “I’m sorry, Frankie. I shouldn’t have brought him up. I wasn’t thinking.”
“It’s fine. I’m going to have to get used to it.” I wipe my face on my sleeve.
“Want to tell me why you broke up with a guy you’re in love with?” she asks. “Is it because he got arrested?”
“How did you know?”
“Cruz told me. It was all I could get out of her.” Lex rubs her eyes. “She probably wouldn’t have told me anything if Marco hadn’t spent the last two days following me around. But she didn’t give me details.”
I take a deep breath. “On Friday night, Marco had to pick up a car for the asshole his father owes. When he left the Heights, my dad followed Marco and arrested him as soon as he got into the stolen car.” I search through the glove compartment for a tissue and come up short. I settle for a crumpled napkin on the floor.
“How did your dad know Marco was in the Heights in the first place?” she asks.
I look right at Lex, waiting for her to put it together.
She shakes her head like she couldn’t have heard me right. “Wait? Was he spying on you to see if you were sneaking out?”
“No. He was using me to find Marco.” Saying it out loud makes me feel hollow inside.
Lex falls back against her seat. “You are shitting me.”
“It gets worse. I told Dad about Marco’s father and the debt, hoping he would understand and help him.”
“Get to the part about why you broke up.”
I take a trembling breath. “Dad offered me a deal. He’d let Marco walk if I promised to stop seeing him.”