I knew he regretted telling me, but I had to take what I could get. I ran back downstairs to see Tia on the last page of the phone book.
“Nothing here,” she said, putting it down.
“You must have known that at some point.” I crossed my arms.
“I did. This thing is basically an artifact.”
“Even by Yarmouth standards?”
“Shut up.” She laughed. “What did you hear?”
“Apparently Blake hangs out at The North Crow outside of town. Do you know where that is?”
“Huh, I do,” Tia said. “How would we know if he’s there, though?”
“Your dad said he’s a regular.”
“Okay, okay. We can go by that. But how do we get in?”
I didn’t want this to be a “we” thing. As much as I loved Tia for everything, I knew this could be messy. I thought about how badly I had messed things up just a few days ago. If I brought Tia into the mix, she could get into shit with her parents. I didn’t want to drag anyone else farther down this path with me.
“I don’t know, Tia. I think this is something I gotta do on my own.”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t be dramatic.”
“I’m not! I’m being honest. I think this is something I have to do. Alone.”
“Why do you say that? I thought we were a team?”
“I know what I said. But if I’m going to go into it, I gotta see him on my own terms. Remember what you said about boundaries?”
She started to reply, but her face showed that she did remember. “Okay. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to blow up your phone. You text me immediately, okay, Anna Brooks?” She stood up and pulled me into a tight hug.
“You got it, Tia Evans.” I hugged her back. “I appreciate you more than you know.”
“I’m pretty great, aren’t I?”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” I laughed. “I’ll text you soon, okay?”
I made my way to my truck, and knew I should at least tell Clay my plan. I wasn’t going to bring him along, but I owed it to him to at least let him know.
Chapter 22
Clay shook his head. “Anna, you can’t be serious.”
“You remember what I told you?”
“I know, but—”
“But you thought I wouldn’t go through with it, did you?”
“If I’m being honest, no. No I didn’t.”
“You know how stubborn I am,” I said as I sat down on my bed. “And you know I’m a seeker. I have a thread, and you know—”
“You’re gonna pull it. I know.” Clay sighed. “At least let me come with you. It’s getting late”
“No,” I said firmly. “I have to go alone.”
“What?!” Clay was beginning to get upset. “What happened to all the co-pilot talk?”
I put my hands up like I was surrendering. “I know what I said, but please. You have to know where I’m coming from with this stuff.”
“Are you going tonight?”
“I thought I’d check it out.” I shrugged, trying to look casual.
“What happens when he tries to hurt you, just like he hurts everyone else?”
“Oh, cut it out, Clay. You’re too much sometimes.”
“Too much of him?”
I didn’t reply. I wasn’t going to go there now. I went to grab my keys, but couldn’t find my bag.
“Here.” Clay handed it to me. “Don’t stay out too late, and be—”
“Be safe. Yeah, yeah. I got it, Grandpa,” I said with a smirk.
I left the house feeling brave, but as soon as I sat in the driver’s seat, my anxiety erupted. I kept taking breaths to bring myself back to the real world. I had a horrible feeling something bad was going to happen. It was hard to explain, but I could feel it inside of me.
I looked up at the stars, took a deep breath, and hit the gas. Was I really going to find Blake? I didn’t know. Mom could never find out what I was doing. She would lose it. I wondered what Grampy might have thought. He might have been disappointed to some degree, but I knew ultimately he would understand.
I eventually found the North Crow; I remembered seeing it when Mom and I had first driven in to town. It was old and run down, with flickering lights in the parking lot and grimy windows that were hard to see in. The “O” in the word “North” was falling off the sign. It didn’t exactly make me feel hopeful.
I put the truck in park, grabbed my bag, and walked up to the entrance. The doorman was too distracted by drunken men on the deck. They were drinking and laughing loudly, and it was like I wasn’t even there. I made my way inside to see folks playing pool, drinking, and chatting. I knew better than to walk straight to the bar, so I slid into a booth. I looked around, trying to scope it out.
I didn’t even know if Blake was there. I wondered if he still looked the same almost seventeen years later. Maybe he’d aged poorly, or maybe he’d moved on altogether. I had no idea.
A bartender finally caught wind of me and approached the booth. “Can I help you?”
“Uh…no. I’m just waiting for someone,” I said shyly.
He narrowed his eyes. “Can I see some ID, please?”
Okay, maybe I wasn’t as resourceful as I thought. My plan wasn’t perfect after all. The bartender showed me the door.
Ahh, Anna. Why are you like this? I facepalmed on the way out. But I wasn’t about to give up—not that easily.
I snuck around to the back, where more people were sitting on a deck overlooking the water. I knew I wasn’t getting back inside, but I made my way up the steps leading to the deck. Eventually an older man looked over at me.
“Hey, you. You’re new here. What’s your name?”
“Anna,” I replied without thinking. “My name is Anna.”
The man was older, white, and had a gross patchy beard. I totally should have brought Tia or Clay; it was dumb of me to come here alone.
“Are you even old enough to be here?” he
