Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 113072 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113072 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
Then suddenly he stands and exits my apartment in two paces.
The door slams hollowly as he goes, and the last thing I hear is his footsteps on the stairwell.
Chapter 36
Nine and a Half Years Ago
That night in the tent, Zoe falls asleep to the soundtrack of crickets and with Chase’s hand stroking her hair. She wakes only once in the night, wondering why she’s so warm. It’s because Chase lies flush at her back, his arm curled securely over her hip. She kicks the covers off her feet and falls quickly into a dreamless sleep.
She’d happily stay there. But now someone is shaking her gently. “Wake up, beautiful. We have to get going or we’ll be late. Sister Walsh would have me executed.”
Her mother’s grumpy face swims into her consciousness, and that does the trick. Zoe sits bolt upright. “Oh God, are we late? My phone didn’t go off.”
“I’m not sure why mine is dead,” Chase says. “Maybe because the signal is so sketchy. But it’s okay—I ran out to the truck to check the time, and it’s only seven. If you get up fast, I’ll drive through Dunkin’ and buy us a couple of coffees.”
She flops back down onto the pillow, heart racing. She doesn’t want to leave this bed or this tent. Maybe ever. “I’m not ready.”
Chuckling, he moves the hair away from her neck and kisses the spot just below her ear. Then he blows a raspberry.
She groans. “Why are you so cheerful?”
“I’m a morning person.”
“It’s kind of irritating,” she grumbles.
“That’s what the boys of entryway F think, too. Although I never kiss them good morning or offer to buy them coffee.”
“They would enjoy both of those things.”
He laughs. “I know, right? Come on.” He pulls the covers back. “You don’t want to get me in trouble.”
It’s true, and it’s a sobering thought. So Zoe gets up and gets dressed. Her body is pleasantly sore in a few new places, and when she thinks about last night, she feels her face heat, but in a nice way.
Thirty minutes later, they’re approaching the college in Chase’s truck. He’s humming along with the radio, and she’s clutching her coffee cup, admiring the way his arm muscles flex as he holds the steering wheel.
“What are you thinking about?” she asks him.
He glances over with a quick smile. “You. And all my thoughts are R-rated. What are you thinking about?”
“Well, our cover story.”
He laughs. “You’re smarter than I am. How do you want to play this? My parking pass is for the Filbert lot, but I could drop you anywhere you want.”
“Just park at the far edge of the Filbert lot, and let me go inside first,” she says. “I need more prep time than you.” She’s already wearing her workout clothes, because she knew it would look odd if she rolled into the dorm in a dress. But she needs to work on her hair.
“Deal,” he says. “And if for some reason they noticed one of us was gone, let’s review our story.”
“We went running together. Early,” she says. “To see the sunrise.”
“Okay.” He glances over to give her a secretive smile. “I love a nice morning run with a hot chick.”
The compliment makes her glow for about two minutes. But then, as they drive up College Avenue, the blue lights from two cop cruisers and an ambulance are unmistakable in front of Filbert Hall.
“Holy shit,” Chase says. “Are they in front of…”
“Entryway F,” Zoe says slowly.
“Do you think—”
“God. I don’t know.”
He grabs his phone off the center console, where it’s been charging, and curses before throwing it back down again.
Zoe picks it up herself and sees that Chase has missed fifteen calls. Some of them from her mother. “Oh my God. What happened?”
“When did they start calling?” he asks, steering toward the lot.
“Um…” She scrolls. “A couple hours ago. At five forty-five. I mean… we could have been out running.”
“For more than two hours?”
“We stopped to watch the sun rise.”
Chase turns into the Filbert lot and brings the truck to a sudden halt in the first open spot. He kills the engine. “I’ve got to get over there.”
“Go,” Zoe agrees, handing him his phone. “Find out what happened while we were out for a run.”
The old truck’s door squeaks as he pushes the door open and steps out. But then he stops to look back at her before he goes. “I love you,” he says. But the seriousness of his expression makes her heart twist.
“I love you, too,” she whispers.
The door slams again, and he’s gone, jogging toward the emergency vehicles.
Alone now, Zoe takes a shaky breath. And then another one. This is so bad. She slips out of the passenger seat with her gym bag and walks the long way around the building, which puts her on the far end, by entryway A.