Page 43 of Don’t Go Stealing My Heart

Clementine jogged to keep pace. “Where’s Jack?”

“Shut up and run.”

Okay, then. Still unsure where she stood with Jack’s little sister, she did as she was told. Hands linked, they bolted through the trees, onto the manicured part of the lawn. Chloe tugged her back into a denser section of forest, finally skidding in the mud and falling to her knees.

She pointed at what looked like an on-land beaver dam. “In here.”

That would be a hard no. Clementine had no issues with confined spaces, but her belly seesawed as she watched Chloe cover their footprints and shove herself into a barely visible den. Running around with Jack’s kid sister was one thing. Shoving into a confined space with her, where they’d have to talk, was another.

“I don’t think I’ll fit,” Clementine said.

Chloe squished herself farther in. “Just do it. He won’t be far behind.”

Crawling in there meant alone time with Chloe. Girl time. Minutes to chat and gossip. Time for Clementine to ruin this fun outing.

Chloe’s fierce expression softened. “Please. Come on, just…hurry.”

Dammit. How could she say no when those eyes, so much like Jack’s, pleaded with her? She sucked in a large breath, then scrunched her frame as small as possible and wriggled into the Hobbit hole. She flattened her back against the “wall” opposite Chloe.

A rotting leaf fell onto Clementine’s face. “Where’d you say Jack was?”

Chloe grinned. “He fell. And he doesn’t know I built this. He’ll never find us.”

He better find them. “I may have a limit on how long my body can stay folded this small.”

A white lie. She was skilled at staying still and small, but she couldn’t discuss those talents with Chloe. She opened her mouth to make small talk about music, school, food? All basic generalities, but no conversation starter came to mind. Their heavy breaths warmed the hovel. Clementine’s heartbeat echoed in her head. The longer they waited, the more suffocating the silence became. What did people say to teenagers?

“You and your brother play out here often?” Hopefully most people said smarter things than that.

Chloe didn’t seem to mind. “Not as much as we used to. Jack’s really busy.” She picked at the rip in her jeans. “But his job’s really important. Lots of people count on him.”

Including one little girl who wasn’t hiding her disappointment well, and the honesty had Clementine breathing easier. “He’s a pretty great guy.”

Chloe’s jean picking intensified. She progressed to her nails. “His last girlfriend didn’t play with us. She didn’t like to get dirty.”

The girlfriend label threw Clementine for a loop again, but the mention of another woman trumped that shock. “Who was his girlfriend?” Tami and Imelda had only mentioned one girl he’d slept with years ago.

Chloe scrunched her nose. “Ava. Not from around here. Totally dicked him over. Lied to him and stuff, I think.”

Imagining Shy Jack taken advantage of made her want to claw this Ava chick, but hearing the evil ex had been deceitful hit too close to home. Jack had been so accommodating when Clementine had admitted her secrets were too ugly to share. If his ex had also hurt him through lies, he wouldn’t be so quick to forgive. “What happened with—”

“Chloe!” They both jumped at Jack’s booming voice. “You can’t hide forever. And tell Clementine defectors get punished.”

Chloe giggled.

Clementine forced a smile. “He’s gonna find us.”

“I like your shirt.”

The whiplashy comment turned Clementine’s smile genuine. She glanced at her filthy top. Since her change of clothing had been from her getaway bag, they were real Clementine clothes, not disguise clothes. Her gray T-shirt read: Be yourself unless you can be a lizard. Jack had smirked when reading it.

“Thanks,” she said, gratitude making her feel light and airy in this dark confined space that reeked of decaying bark. “I like your boots.”

Chloe mumbled, “Thanks.” It was a bashful thanks, not a whatever thanks.

Clementine had expected a twelve-year-old to be sullen and moody. Emo with a side of fuck off. Chloe, a girl whose father was dying and who dressed like a badass, was including and complimenting her. Maybe asking her not to dick over her brother in her subtle way? Hopefully it wasn’t too late for that, and Clementine suddenly didn’t want to be found. She wanted to hang out with Chloe and learn more about her adoring brother.

“I see footprints,” Jack shouted, closer now.