Series: Webs We Weave Series by Krista Ritchie
Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 126927 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 635(@200wpm)___ 508(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126927 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 635(@200wpm)___ 508(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
“The longer he’s here, we’ll need to be careful about any photos he’s in so he’s not geotagged.”
Hailey nods. “Can do.”
“Same. Is he for sure staying?”
“I don’t know. But I think he’ll still be around when our parents show, which could be soon.”
My stomach nose-dives at the mention of our parents. I remember the text, and I drop my pita on my plate. Appetite gone.
He watches me with a frown. “What happened?”
I fish my phone from my pocket and hand it over.
He reads the text quickly, eyes darkening, and then passes the phone back. “She’s testing you?”
“That’s what Hailey thinks. I kinda believe it, too. She has reason to mistrust us. We haven’t exactly been forthcoming.”
Rocky just expels this rough, heavy breath. “What are you going to reply?”
“I know what you’d want me to reply,” I say. “Coordinates to the Arctic. Send them to the North Pole to live with the penguins.”
“Penguins are in the South Pole,” Hailey tells me.
Rocky smiles at me like I’ve been successfully burned. Au contraire, I love my best friend’s helpful facts and corrections. I become smarter by association.
“That’s not what I’d do,” Rocky argues. “I’d tell her it’s none of her business. I’m working my own job, and I’ll see her in time. Until then, we can shoot the shit about literally anything else.”
“Sounds not cagey at all,” I say dryly. “I have no reason to lie to her. I’ve never been at odds with my mom.”
“Then just tell her where you are, Phoebe. It’s not like she doesn’t already know. And if you want her to believe that you trust her, because you clearly still do, then maybe it’s the right move. But it’s not my move to make. It’s yours.”
I don’t know if I can resist falling into a big con if she’s around, and I can’t fail Hailey. I can’t screw up this life we’ve built.
I don’t want her to come here. Not yet.
It’s all I know for sure.
So I send a text: Trevor said that you all have our location. We’re doing really great. Everything’s going well. We’ll meet up somewhere else.
She’s quick to reply.
Laurie Strode: I’ll talk to Everett about it. Didn’t know he got your location. See you sometime soon! Miss you, bug.
Everett has been keeping her in the dark? Why would he do that? I’m not exactly opening giant lines of communication with my mom right now, so I fight the urge to pry deeper about Hailey’s dad. I send one more message about missing her, too, and I show the thread to Hailey, then Rocky.
Hailey’s legs bounce underneath the table. “I-I’m not ready for them to come here. I can’t . . .”
“Hey, Hails.” I hug my friend beside me.
Rocky goes rigid, concern pinching his brows.
“We’re going to be there,” I remind her. “I’m not leaving you alone.” It’s what I keep telling her.
She goes sheet pale. Her black lipstick and eye shadow a darker contrast against the stark white of her skin. “Maybe we should talk about Jake.”
“Maybe we should take a walk,” Rocky suggests, waving over the server. None of us order entrées, we just pay the bill and then hike down to the beach, carrying our shoes as our feet sink into the brown sand.
Wind is fiercer closer to the ocean, and in October, fewer people stroll along the water in the chilly evening. Squinting, I can distinguish a dog and an older person in the distance, tossing a Frisbee into the shallow waves. Otherwise, no one is around.
In this moment, it feels like the beach is ours.
Orange hues from the setting sun paint the horizon. It’s pretty, but I’m only really looking at my best friend.
“What’s wrong, Hails?” I find myself whispering, even though there’s no reason to be quiet.
Her eyes are already bloodshot, restraining tears. “They’ll see what I see when they get here.” She peeks back at the seaside bar at the top of the hill.
“Which is what?” Rocky asks.
“I’ve been here for two months, and I’ve come up with about a hundred different jobs. Not meaning to, really. It’s just habit.” She looks sick to her stomach. “But even if I don’t share any of my proposals, they’ll make their own. And they’re going to want to stay and pull one . . . and I can’t convince them not to. I don’t know how. I-I’ve never . . .”
I drop my heeled boots in the sand and reach out to console her, but she inches backward, avoiding my gaze. It crushes me, but I swallow hard and just nod. Maybe she needs space.
“So leave,” Rocky tells her . . . and me. He’s looking at me. “Go on the run. Keep your normal lives.”
Will you come with us?
It’s the first thing that I think. Too mushy and vulnerable. I grind the thought away. “How?” I ask him, crossing my arms and balling the sleeves of my pale pink sweater in my fists. “We can barely make ends meet here, Rocky. How are we supposed to do that jumping from place to place without . . . ?” Conning.