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“Hey,” I say to Crew.
“Where are you at? Neo’s been trying to reach you.”
“I’m…around. How’s he doing?”
“Terrible. Apparently, his dad wants the investigation done on the down-low so they can avoid any public attention. Neo’s pissed.”
“What can we do?” I ask him, but as I do, I notice Neo stalking toward me. “Hey. He’s here. I’ll call you back.”
“Hey, man. Doing okay?” I ask him as I end the call. He doesn’t say anything, just glares at me while he continues to stomp his feet in my direction. “How’d you know I was out here?”
“Why wouldn’t you be? She’s here.” He aggressively slaps my phone from my hand, sending it to the ground. “My mom dies and this is what you do? Come out here with her?”
Scar comes forward, her tone tranquil. “We weren’t—”
“Shut up. I wasn’t talking to you,” Neo growls, his fiery gaze now on Scar.
“I’m gonna go,” she says apologetically. “I’m sorry about your mom. Let me know if you or Maddie need anything at all.”
“We don’t need a damn thing from you. Crew is with Maddie, so just go back to your house and stay away from her.”
Scar nods, tears threatening to fall from the corners of her eyes.
If this were any other day, she’d spit cruel words right back at Neo. But she knows this isn’t the time for that.
When she turns to leave, I jog up to her to say goodbye. “I’m gonna stay with Neo, but call me later if you wanna talk.”
“Thanks, Jagger.”
Probably not the time for this either, but I say, “Try again tomorrow?”
She forces a smile on her face. “Sure. Tomorrow.”
I bring the sled to a stop in front of the old Ferris wheel, engine still running. Scar unleashes her hold on me and lifts the helmet over her head. “What are we doing here?”
Once I’ve got my helmet off, too, I turn my head, so she can hear me. Damn. I didn’t think I’d be this nervous. My heart is ready to flee from my body. After all these years, I’m finally doing something for myself. I’m telling her the truth about how I feel. I kill the engine, leaving us in silence. “There’s something I need to tell you, Scar.”
“Can it wait? I’m really worried about what's going down at The Ruins. Riley’s there and Crew’s gonna wonder where we’re at.”
And just like that, my heart splinters. “Yeah. Of course. We’ll try again tomorrow.” Same song, different dance.
What the fuck was I thinking?
ChapterNine
SCAR
Jagger drives straightthrough a crowd of people in front of The Ruins, everyone parting the path for us. As soon as we stop, I tear the helmet off my head and let it fall to the ground. “Crew,” I holler, knowing he won’t hear me because he’s nowhere in sight. “Where is he?” I ask Jagger, who grabs my hand and pulls me toward the front of the crowd.
“What the hell happened?” he asks a random guy who’s climbing up the ladder from the tunnels.
“There was an attack.”
My eyes widen, and I gasp. “Who?”
“Where?” Jagger asks the guy.
“Hannah Merrill. She’s pretty far down. Apparently, her friend Melody found her unconscious. When she came to, she said someone in a mask and a robe threw her into the wall and she hit her head.”
