My pulse pounded in my ears. I wished I’d kept my mouth shut. “I just think that maybe it’s been hard for you to see the two of us together,” I said slowly.
“Please,” she said, too forcefully. I looked at her skeptically, and she flushed. “Whatever, I’m just saying that I know Julian better than you do.”
I waited for more, but apparently she simply wanted to remind me that she and Julian knew each other well. “Uh, OK?” I meant to sound annoyed this time.
“You know what? Never mind.” She took a step back. “I was just going to warn you that Julian can be a raging jerk on occasion, but you can figure that one out for yourself.” She stomped away, throwing the door open with too much force.
I waited several seconds before following her out the door. Raging jerk. That seemed sort of unfair, especially given how she treated Julian. If she’d acted the same way in a relationship, I honestly couldn’t blame him for snapping back.
And I could totally believe that he got jealous occasionally, especially after what I’d seen with Grayson in the cafeteria. But who didn’t get a little jealous at times? I was jealous of Madison’s previous relationship with Julian. Now I wished I’d been nice to Madison long enough to find out what had happened between them.
I found team seven on the curb, minus Madison, who had thankfully disappeared.
Grayson stood in front of a black SUV, keys in hand. “Do any of you know how to drive a standard?”
“Yeah, I do,” Patrick said.
Grayson tossed him the keys. “Six of you can go with Patrick. There will be a van along in a few minutes for everyone else. And drop your bags over there. They’ll arrive right after you.” He pointed to a couple French team leaders piling luggage into a van.
I dropped my backpack off, keeping my small weapons pack with me since we’d been instructed to always have it nearby. It had the sword baton, a small machete, and a first aid kit in it.
I climbed into the last row of the SUV. Priya and Archer joined me in the back, and Laila and Noah took the first row. Noah immediately pulled out his laptop and began editing video. Edan was in the passenger’s seat next to Patrick.
“What is that?” Laila asked, pointing to the box at Noah’s feet.
“Our body cameras.” Noah nudged it with his foot. “I put them on my list and someone got six for us. I’m going to see if I can get a few volunteers to wear some starting tomorrow. They’re really small.”
“I’ll wear one,” Laila said.
Grayson handed Patrick a map through the window. “I marked it on the map. It’s not hard to find the campsite. You’re just going to go straight on this road for a while.” He pointed to the map, and Patrick nodded. He handed the map to Edan, who immediately handed it back to Noah.
“I can’t look at it while the car is moving,” Edan explained.
“See you guys soon,” Grayson said. Patrick shifted the car into gear.
“Wait!” Priya said. She was typing furiously on her phone. “I need the Wi-Fi for just, like, ten more seconds. I’m running out of data, and my mom is freaking out after yesterday. She keeps checking to see if I’m still alive.” She typed a few more words and pressed Send. “OK, I’m good.”
I pulled my phone out of my pocket as the SUV started moving. I never texted Laurence. Was he worried I was dead? Grayson hadn’t released all the names of the deceased recruits yet, and the massacre was all over the news.
I tapped the messages icon and punched in Laurence’s number. I’d memorized it after Mom gave it to me, but I hadn’t used it yet.
I typed out a message.
Hey, it’s Clara. I’m fine. Not dead yet.
Knowing Laurence, he hadn’t read the news in days and was totally clueless anyway.
A reply popped up almost immediately.
Thanks for letting me know.
A few seconds went by before the next message popped up.
Is this your new phone number?
I typed a response.
It’s sort of a shared phone, but you can reach me here. Do me a favor and don’t give the number to Mom or Dad.
Sure.
A brief pause again before his next message.
Maybe text sooner next time. I was freaking out a little over here. That Noah kid hasn’t even uploaded a video yet.
My eyebrows shot up. I couldn’t imagine Laurence freaking out. It probably wasn’t a visible emotion from the outside. I was surprised he’d admitted to it at all.
A hint of a smile crossed my face.
You watch Noah’s videos?
Yes. He’s not dead, is he?
No. He’s working on it now. I’ll text you sooner next time.
Thank you.
“What are you smiling about?” Priya asked, glancing at my screen. “Is that Julian? Are you guys really a thing?” Both Laila and Noah turned to look at me.
“No,” I said, slipping the phone back in my pocket. “I mean, no, it’s not Julian. But yes, we are a thing.”
Noah widened his eyes slightly, like he didn’t like the news of me dating Julian. Priya clearly expected more. I guessed she wanted to know who I was texting, if not Julian.
“It was my brother,” I said.
“You have a brother?” Patrick asked.
“I thought you were an orphan,” Noah said. “Or in foster care or whatever.”
“What? No. Why did you think that?” I frowned in confusion, and realized that everyone in the SUV, except for Patrick, was looking at me. Even Edan had twisted around in his seat, his face curious.
“Because you’ve literally never said a single thing about your family,” Priya said. “I asked you once if you missed your parents, and you looked at me like I’d grown a second head.”
Right. I had done that. I’d been trying to make the words “of course!” come out of my
