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“It’s settled” I said, and turned to grin at Leo. He gave me a thumbs up. With that, I turned back to Elliot. “So,” I said, assuming a firm tone, “what about your mom? Is she still at your place?”
Elliot shook his head. “Hell no. She’s … found somewhere else to stay,” he answered. “Thanks for asking.”
I turned to Leo. “Any updates on our favorite Freeman bitch?”
A big part of me wanted to believe that Luna’s attempt to catfish Pierre was just some petty game, something she did to entertain herself. But the skeptical side of me, the real side, knew there had to be someone more sinister at hand. Maybe the boys knew more than I did.
“Your ex-roommate?” he said, and I could’ve sworn I saw his pupils dilate. Leo went crazy for some good drama. “Not that I’ve heard of. Didn’t she go to rehab?”
“Yeah,” I replied. “But I think she’s back. I saw her just before leaving for the airport.”
Suddenly, I remembered something. Someone.
“Hold on,” I said, hopping off the chair, sticking my feet in a pair of slippers before heading to the door. “I’ll be right back.”
I saw Leo give Elliot a little shrug as I left, turning right down the hall toward Tara’s door. A few days had gone by, and there had been no word from her. Nothing. Not that I had reached to her, either.
I should’ve.
“Hey,” I said, knocking on the door. For some reason, she had taken down the decorations from the front of her door, and I almost walked past it before realizing it was hers. “It’s me.”
There was no sound. Maybe she was out—even though it seemed unlikely, she did have a life outside of weed and … me. Right?
I took out my phone and scrolled through the contacts until I found Kenny’s. We weren’t close by any means, and the last time we had texted each other was when we exchanged numbers. I had written, Kat,and he had sent, K. That was it.
Hey, I wrote, cringing at the awkward conversation starter. Do you know where Tara is?
He responded a second later. Just as I figured, he had no life. Which made two of us.
Idk, he wrote. Her room?
Shaking my head, I switched off my phone. I knocked again, just to be sure, then opened up my messages again to let Tara know that I was back home, safe and sound. I wanted to see her once more before I went back home for the next few days. Not that I couldn’t see her, but I wanted to make sure she’d be okay staying in the dorm alone. There was no way she was going all the way back to California.
I returned to my room to find both boys on their phones. They perked up as soon as I walked back in, which made me a little sadder than I thought it would. If anyone was the loser, it was both of them. At least Felix could hold his own without a distraction.
“Have you guys seen Tara around?” I asked, despite knowing the answer. They had no reason to be here, unless they were seeing me. Besides, they barely knew her. “Never mind.”
“No,” Leo said after a moment. “I mean, I haven’t.” He turned to look at Elliot. “Have you, Ell? You’ve been here more than I have.”
“What?” he looked a little bewildered for a second, as if Leo had said something he shouldn’t have. “Not since Kat left.”
I rolled my eyes. “Anyway. Is this all you’re bringing with you guys?” I said, nodding at the sleeping bags and Leo’s backpack.
“It’s just a few days,” Leo said, again looking at Elliot. “Right?”
It hit me that maybe for Leo, this was a little adventure, a challenge—stay in my house and sneak around in my room, play with my shit and try to find ways to get me by myself. I could see that. But with Elliot … things were different. He really had no place to stay. Going back home wasn’t safe for him.
Even after break ended, he could still be just as … homeless. I wasn’t even sure that his dad was still paying for his part of the rent at Powell.
I was his only escape.
Suddenly, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I reached for it, wondering if it was Tara. To my relief, it was.
“Hey,” I said, putting the phone to my ear. “I’m so glad you called. Look, are you around today?”
There was silence at the other end of the line, and then, someone’s voice—a voice I thought I wouldn’t hear for a long time.
Eric.
