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He took one last look at me and then left; at first at a casual pace, and then—he ran.
I turned, slowly, and saw my sister laughing and bouncing up and down. She was grinning at whatever Tristan had just said. I watched as she picked up her phone and looked at it. A small frown appeared on her face, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared, her mask firmly in place, looking perfect.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Tray was still on the dock, thank God, when I got to him. He was sitting behind the steering wheel, grinning at whatever Grant had just said.
I was furious and everyone was a target right now.
Seeing me, one of the guys cleared his throat and nodded in my direction.
Tray glanced behind him, and the laughter halted.
He stood up. “Hey—” he trailed off, his eyes widening at the barely controlled rage written across my face.
“I need your keys.” I stuck my hand out, knowing he was going to ask, knowing he saw what was inside of me, but not caring.
“What?”
“I need your keys. Right now.” Fucking duh.
“What’s going on?” he asked cautiously, reaching for his back pocket.
“Just give me your keys,” I repeated. I stamped all of my emotions down so I wouldn’t blow up—this was not the time or place.
He held them up slowly. “What’s going on?” he asked, studying me intently.
I snatched them up.
“What about our rule?” Tray demanded. He kept a hold of the keys. I tried to yank them away, but he held on to them tightly.
“You said later. With your stuff…you said later,” I reminded him, unyielding. “I need that now,” I said tightly, wrenching the keys out of his grasp. I immediately turned to leave, walking back down the dock.
“Taryn,” he called after me, but I ignored him. I circled around their table. I could hear Mandy’s laugh, but I didn’t dare look at her as I passed.
I quickly crossed to where Tray had parked and got inside. Staring the engine, I peeled out of there. It didn’t take long to get to my house. I was braking to a halt moments later outside my house.
I left the keys dangling in the car and ran inside.
Realizing I left my keys at Sers, I ran around to the first floor bathroom window and propped it open. The only sound I could hear was the pounding of my heart.
I hauled my body up and crawled inside.
When my feet touched the floor, I choked back a sob. I stumbled through the doorway and up the stairs. I ran, sprinted to Mandy’s room.
In the doorway, her perfect doorway, I froze in place. My horrified gaze took everything in. Everything was labeled and put in its perfect place. Everything.
Her clothes were color-coordinated. Separated from denim for the summer and denim for the winter. Her desk was pristine, actually sparkling when the sunlight caught on it. And her pictures were perfectly aligned.
Then I hauled off and looked through everything. Everything.
I couldn’t hear anything. If anyone had walked or rang the doorbell—nothing. My heart was pounding in my eardrums, deafening me. I felt like there was fucking elephant was standing on my chest as I frantically tore into her desk, looking through papers, files. Anything and everything.
I looked in her jewelry box. Her nightstand, a little box that was on there. The dresser drawers. Underneath her bed. The window frame. I even lifted up her curtain rod and looked inside.
I checked the door, behind the door, just on top of its frame. I checked the venting shafts. Even behind a framed picture that hung on her wall. Behind her posters.
Nothing.
