AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No…this…this meeting.” I shake my head, frowning as I try to put into words a feeling that can only be summed up as an inexplicable phantom dread churning deep in my stomach.
Charlotte grabs my hand and brings it to her lips for a kiss. “Gideon, look at me.”
I do, and my chest grows so tight, I can barely breathe. Fuck, how have I never realized how goddamn gorgeous she is?
“This is scary, but it’s the only way. We can’t back out now.” She glances down the road, toward the street a block away where we’re supposed to be meeting Brent. “He’s right over there, probably waiting for us already. We can do this.” She grabs my thigh and squeezes, leaning closer as if to add weight to her words.
“Ican do this.”
19
CHARLOTTE
Oh my God, I don’t think I can do this. I tug at the hem of the cheerleading outfit, trying to get it to go below my ass. I didn’t pay much attention to this kind of shit at school. I preferred reading and daydreaming to trying to fit into a clique.
But now I’m wishing I had even the slightest clue of what a cheerleader is supposed to act like, because I feel like a massive fraud.
Fyre intentionally chose a quiet street, but I didn’t realize it would be this eerie. On one side there’s a dry cleaner with a sign stating they’re closed until 2 p.m., and a dusty-looking electronic repair shop. Most of the space on the other side of the street is taken up by a large outdoor gear warehouse. Its entrance is so far away that it doesn’t draw any foot traffic down this road, especially since this street is a tow-away zone. While it looks like a dead end, there’s a footpath that goes around the corner…right into the alley where Fyre is waiting in his van.
A perfect spot for an abduction. If I wasn’t the one doing the kidnapping, I’d be shaking in my white cheer shoes right now.
“Milly?”
I spin around, barely holding back a shocked gasp. How the hell had someone managed to sneak up on me? I quickly plaster on a smile, because the guy with the brown hair and green eyes standing behind me is wearing a letterman’s jacket just like the one in the profile photo Fyre showed me.
It’s kinda hilarious. Here we are—two frauds, both trying to out-fraud the other.
I just hope I win.
“Brent?” I hurriedly clear my voice and force it an octave higher. “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it’s really you.”
He holds out a hand as if to shake, but I push past the nervousness fluttering in my stomach and rush at him, grabbing him around the arms and giving him a quick hug.
“Whoa,” he says with a laugh. “Good to see you too.”
He’s not bad looking, but he’s definitely not a senior like he claimed. Too many lines around his eyes, his hair just a touch too thin to pull off the thick manes most teens are sporting. Plus, he smells like cigarette smoke—something pungent like Marlboros. It’s so fucking obvious I’m standing arm’s length from a predator, especially when he drops his eyes to rake his gaze over my body and they return to mine gleaming with depraved lust.
My skin starts to itch. I take half a step away, self-preservation kicking in like an ejection seat in a fighter jet.
“Do you have it?” I belt out, my nerves shot.
“Yeah, of course.” He lifts the plastic bag in his hand, but then frowns and glances around. “Where’s your sister?”
Disgusting pedo.
I grin as I shrug nonchalantly. “I left her at the mall. She doesn’t need any more ammo against the folks.” I cringe inwardly at my words. I don’t think I sound anything like a sixteen-year-old girl right now. It feels like it’s been decades since I was that old.
“Oh.” Brent sounds disappointed.
“But that means I get to spend more time with you!”
That makes his smile perk up. He gives me another leer. “Awesome. What were you thinking?”
“Wanna grab a coffee?” It takes monumental effort, but I manage to force myself to reach out and grab his hand. “This way! I know the perfect place.”
He whistles as he starts following after me. “Girl, you’re rocking that ass.”
Nausea swells inside me, but I swallow it down. “Thanks.” I know I should compliment him in return, but I might just puke. Instead, I half-walk, half-skip down the street, heading away from the main road.
