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She hesitates. “Where’s your family?”
Anxiety clutches my throat. “They … They died a while ago.”
Pity fills her eyes as she slows to a stop near the curb. “I’m sorry.” She swallows audibly. “My mom died, too, when I was born, actually, during childbirth.”
I stop in front of her, my heart aching for her. “I’m sorry.”
She dismisses me with a shrug. “You don’t need to say you’re sorry. I just wanted to tell you so you’d know that I kind of understand what it feels like to lose someone. Not that I ever knew my mom.” She mutters the last part then turns around and starts walking again, across the parking lot.
A few people are here and there, and I catch some of them glancing my way. It makes me cringe. Do they know who I am? Do they know what I did?
I hurry up and walk beside Harlow. “Just because you never knew her, doesn’t mean you can’t be sad over it. You still lost time with her.”
She glances at me with a small smile on her face. “Thanks. I know this is going to sound weird, but I kind of needed to hear that.”
“It doesn’t sound weird at all.” Honestly, it’s what I wish someone would’ve said to me.
Her lips pull up into a half-smile. Then she loops her arms through mine and practically starts skipping. “Yeah, you and I are definitely going to become friends,” she declares with great confidence. “And I might have a solution to your little texting problem. Or, at least, a way to figure out who’s texting you.”
“Really?” I inquire with intrigue.
She nods, strands of her hair falling into her eyes. “Yep. I know people.”
“What sort of people?” I wonder as we slow down beside the most gorgeous baby blue Camaro I’ve ever seen.
My dad was really into classic cars and had a firebird he was fixing up before he died. It was around the same year as this Camaro and looked similar.
Memories start to stir inside me, but I hastily stifle them, not wanting to lose my shit in front of the first potential friend I’ve had in years.
“People who can find out all sorts of secrets. Even secrets people have worked really hard to bury.” She lets out a wicked laugh that echoes across the parking lot.
I can’t help laughing, and she grins, fishing her phone from her back pocket.
“Let me just send them a text and see if they’re down.” She starts to type a message, but then pauses, glancing up at me. “As long as you’re cool with that.”
I dither. “Will this person respect my request not to have to answer questions about the text?”
She nods. “If I tell them to, they will.”
“How much will they charge me?”
“Nothing, since you’re going through me.”
I’m still reluctant. “But even if I find out who sent the text, does it really even matter? I mean, it’s not like I can make them keep my secret a secret.”
A sly smile curls at her lips. “Wanna bet?”
Again, I’m intrigued. “No. Not with that creepy smile you just gave me.”
She laughs. “So, you down then?”
Am I? Because truthfully, this is all sort of weird. I mean, who is this girl who knows people who can track numbers and keep people quiet?
Then again, I’m the girl that’s responsible for her parents getting killed, so who am I to judge? Plus, if Dixie May is the culprit behind the messages, maybe Harlow can help me get her to shut her mouth.
Yeah, I like the sound of that.
“All right, let’s do it,” I tell her.
