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And…Melissa?
Hey. Call me as soon as you get this. I talked to Matty’s sister, and I know everything. You need to get away from that guy.
Now. Two days ago, if possible.
You know better than this, Nora. You’re not a dumb kid with a crush anymore. You’re a grown woman with people who depend on you.
Call me. And turn the damn tracking app back on! Until you’re safe at home, I want to know where you are at all times.
I’m keeping an eye on Melissa, too, no matter how pissed she is about it. But she would have been even more pissed if that douchebag with the ponytail had managed to drag her into his windowless van at the airport last night.
Did you read that? Someone tried to KIDNAP Melissa.
You’re in danger, Nora.
Call me. Now.
“Oh no,” I mutter, tugging at my bottom lip. I’m still tugging, trying to figure out the best way to calm my big brother, who’s clearly entered protective beast mode, when Matty steps out of the shower in nothing, but a towel wrapped around his hips.
Luckily, I’m too busy fretting to start drooling, but it’s close.
Too close.
Just like the near kidnapping of Matty’s sister…
“What’s wrong?” he asks, reading the distress on my face.
“Put on pants,” I say, starting toward the bathroom. “I’m going to shower. Then, we’ll talk.”
Hopefully, ten minutes in the shower will be enough for me to think of a way to calm everyone’s fears and get Matty’s spy operation back on track.
If not…
Well, I just might have to come clean with what I heard last night behind the diner. And ask Matty to come clean to my brother before Aaron unalives him with a hockey stick…
Chapter Fourteen
MATTY
Idreamt about Melissa last night.
But it wasn’t a normal dream. It was one of those eerie, life-like dreams where I can feel her hand in mine, hear her voice echoing through the air…
We were seven or eight, running through the grass by the creek near our grandmother’s house, where we liked to play in the summers when we were kids. I was leading the way, urging Mel on when she wanted to jump into the water to cool off.
For some reason, despite the muggy air, I wasn’t ready to stop.
I had something I needed to show her up ahead, just around the bend.
Finally, I grabbed her hand, holding on tight as I raced the last dozen feet to a nest between the roots of a gnarled old tree. There, in a pile of browning summer leaves, five creamy white, lightly speckled eggs nestled in a tight circle. Two, already cracked eggs rested a bit outside the main nest, off to one side.
I pointed to them, wanting to tell Melissa about the baby snake I saw crawl out of one of the empty shells earlier, but for some reason my voice wouldn’t work. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out, not even when Mel reached for the eggs just as a mama snake slithered around the base of the tree, her fangs bared.
I tried to lunge for my sister, to pull her out of the way, but suddenly my arms and legs weren’t working, either. I was frozen in place, forced to watch as the snake launched itself into the air.
Mel cried out, reeling backward as the snake continued to dig its fangs deep into her arm. She screamed, tears rolling down her cheeks as she locked her gaze on mine and croaked, “Why, Matty? Why did you do this to me?”
When Nora tells me what happened with Melissa and her brother at the airport, for a minute, all I can think about is the dream.
