“A hoodie, sweats, and sunglasses. Are you afraid Dawson will find out? I swear, I’ll never tell.”
He’s trying to make me laugh, I know.
But it’s not working.
We safely get to his dorm room without running into anyone.
I shut the door, slump against it, then slide down to the floor.
Riley kneels down next to me. “Okay. Tell me what the hell is going on.”
“Just give me a minute, okay? I need to think.”
I open the file copy the dean gave me and look through it. Look for any link between me and my old life.
A school I didn't go to. A fake transcript from a fake school but with my actual classes and grades.
A fake mailing address for my fake parents in France.
My schedule. My activities. My parking pass.
The account that my tuition comes out of from the bank in Atlanta.
Nothing to connect me to my old life.
Except the picture on my school ID. If he saw that, he'd know it’s me.
I look up at Riley and tell him as much of the truth as I can. “Someone was in the school office last night and accessed my file. Only my file.”
“Why are you so upset about that? Jeez, I thought someone died or something.”
I think about me being the one to die.
“I just feel a bit violated, I guess. Why would someone do that?”
Please let there be a viable alternative to Vincent.
“Maybe it was just a prank?” Riley guesses.
I shake my head. “Why?”
He snaps his finger. “Maybe it was Whitney. Jake said that she was pissed about Peyton going shopping with you. About her weekend.”
“Whitney? Why would she do that?”
“Because she’s a bitch and she hates you. Maybe she was looking for dirt.” He grabs my printout. “Any dirt in here? Did you get kicked out of your last school? Do you have an illegitimate child? An affair with a teacher? Been to rehab?”
I listen to him rattle off all the fake life ideas my family came up with.
“Riley?”
“What?”
I throw my arms around him and hug him tightly. “Thanks for being my friend.”
He hugs me back, which causes me to start crying.
“Are you on the rag? What's with all the tears?”
“I’m not sure.” I laugh.
He starts reading my file. “Wow. This is scandalous.”
“What is?” What did I miss?
“You got a B. Seriously?” He scans the pages. “You've only had one B in your life?”
I shrug. “Yeah.”
“Brains and beauty. It's a deadly combination. No wonder my brother is crazy about you.”
“Do you see anything else that might come back to haunt me?”
“Well, you should probably call your bank and check your account. I bet that’s why the dean was freaking out. They have your whole account number on here. They aren’t supposed to do that.”
I nod at him. I know just the banker to call.
“You’re right. Let me call my financial guy real quick.”
I get out my cell and press Garrett's number.
He answers. “Are you okay?”
“For the moment, yes. But I just got called to the dean’s office. Someone accessed my personal information last night. Only my information.”
Garrett is quiet. I wonder if the call dropped. “Are you still there?”
“Yes. I’m thinking. This sounds a lot like the rehabs.”
“That’s what I thought.”
I internally panic. Even Garrett thinks it’s him.
I let out a little cry.
Riley looks at me with concern. “What happened? Is your account okay? Is their fraud on it?”
“Who are you with?” Garrett asks.
“A friend. My file has my full bank account number in it.”
“I’m putting you on hold. Give me just a second. Do you feel safe right now?”
“Yes, and I’ll wait.” I point to the phone and tell Riley, “I’m on hold.”
“Tell me what's really going on.”
Should I tell him? Can I trust him?
What I need to do is leave school. Now.
Get on a train to nowhere.
Run.
Garrett comes back on the line. “Your school has excellent security measures in place. Did he say the school was breeched or just the office?”
“Just the office, I think.”
“Keatyn, take a deep breath. Calm down for a minute. I’m almost positive that this was not Vincent.”
I turn to Riley. “Riley, will you excuse me, please?”
I walk out his door and down the hall.
“He was in New York City, Garrett. What if I didn’t lose him? What if I just thought I did? What if he followed me here? What if he didn’t know where to find me on campus and broke into the office to find out my dorm number. And what if he’s just waiting for me?”
“The timing is troubling and no security system is infallible. That and the rehabs getting broken into is too much of a coincidence to ignore. I’m sending a car for you. I want you out of there until we can locate Vincent. Until we’re certain it wasn’t him.”
“How long will that take?”
“About an hour.”
“An hour? Are you fucking kidding me? What happened to We'll send in the cavalry? I thought if something happened to me, there'd be people here right away.” All of a sudden, it hits me. “There is no cavalry. You're relying on the necklace, aren't you?”
“Yes.”
“Don't bother sending a car. I'm going off campus, and I'm leaving the damn necklace here.”
“Keatyn, don’t. Don’t do anything stupid . . .”
“I’m not. I’m doing something smart. I’m getting the hell out of here.”
I hang up, go back to Riley’s room, take off my necklace, and lay it on his dresser.
Riley grabs me. “I want the truth. You’re shaking and scared to death. I can see it in your eyes.”
“The truth is I need to leave campus. Now.”
He shakes his head. “No way I’m letting you drive. I don't know what's going on, but you are in no shape to drive.” He gets on his cell. “Hey, Mom, can you call school and tell them I'm headed off campus? Yeah, everything’s fine. I just need to help out a friend. Tell them I have a dentist appointment. Thanks, Mom.” He nods at me and grabs his keys. “Let’s go.”
I get outside the dorm and feel completely exposed. Like I’m naked at the Super Bowl.
“Run!” I yell.
He grabs my hand and we sprint to his car. I dive into the backseat.
“I’m not checking out,” I tell him. “I don’t want anyone to know I’m gone.”
He starts his car, drives down to the entrance, checks out, and drives through the gates.
“Where do you want to go?” he asks.
I want to go see my mom and Tommy, I think.
Which causes an idea to pop into my head. “The movies,” I say. “Let’s go see a movie.”
I’ll hide out in the dark all day then call Garrett later to find out if Vincent got on his flight home.
I decide to text him.
Me: I’m sorry I yelled at you but I assumed that if I needed help it would be there instantly. I know logically that’s not feasible. Please don’t call my mom. I don’t want to worry her. I left school with a friend. I didn’t sign out, so they don’t know I’m gone. I’m sure I’ll get in trouble later for skipping, but that’s the least of my worries. Please let me know if Vincent gets on his flight.
Garrett: I’m glad you left. I sent a man to his hotel and he’s not there. It also appears that he did not spend the night.
Me: So he could have been here? He still might be here.
Garrett: Yes. Where are you?
Me: I’m going to the movies. Not the theaters by school. We’re driving to another town in my friend’s car. Mine is still at school. I hid in the backseat, so if anyone was watching, they wouldn’t have seen me.
Garrett: I’m very impressed with your quick thinking. I’ll keep you updated.
About twenty minutes later, Riley stops the car and says, “In case you’re wondering, we weren’t followed.”