I took the second shower of the day and spent half an hour pulling myself together. By the time I was done, I thought I looked passable, although whether Jared would figure out I’d spent half the day crying was a different story.
Downstairs, my phone was blinking green, and I decided to check my text messages while I made dinner. I had at least twenty messages from my roommates. After browsing through the missives, all wanting to know how the night had gone once I’d left the concert with Jared, where I was, when I would be back, etc., etc., I responded to Serena’s first, assuring her I was fine, and then to Kate’s, which I figured would do double duty for Sarah, given how they were connected at the hip.
Hey. I’m alive. Going to be gone a few days, I typed.
Almost instantly, a response pinged the inbox. What happened? Tell everything!
We took off but had some car trouble, so we put up for the night while it got fixed, I typed, blending truth with harmless fiction.
U & Jared spent the night together? OMG!!! u totally rock!
I didn’t see any point in insisting it wasn’t like that – nobody would have believed that after three days together that nothing had happened. Or at least, nothing I could talk about. Instead, I let Kate cyber high-five me for a while, and then told her I wouldn’t be back for a bit.
What do u mean? Where are u? she demanded.
Can’t say. Jared made me promise, I typed.
Is he holding u prisoner or something? What’s going on, Lacey?
Everything’s fine. Long story. I’ll tell you when I get back
Details! Pics or it didn’t happen!!
I smiled to myself and looked around the kitchen. I thought about Kate’s request and smirked at an image that popped into my mind. I ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time, and switched on the lights in the bedroom. After setting the phone to automatic flash, I snapped a photo of the bed and forwarded it to Kate without a heading. Instead, I typed, Gotta run. Tell the others I’m fine, but if anyone from admin asks, you haven’t heard from me.
What about Robert? He’s right here. We’re chillin at his place
Don’t tell anyone, I warned.
What is this photo? OMG, did u get married or something crazy? Kate demanded. That bed is all kinds of amazing
No wedding. Now I really have to go. I’ll text tomorrow
When will u be back? Kate asked.
Hard to say. I’ll let you know. Bye
I switched off the phone, carried it back to the kitchen, and plugged it in again. After munching on a hodgepodge of food, I unplugged it and removed the battery, as Jared had asked. He was probably being completely paranoid, but that was his call, and I deferred to his greater knowledge of the threat. Although, sitting in the kitchen of a mansion with the lights blazing, the entire thing seemed a million miles away.
I wandered through the house and found a small room that served as a library, and was thrilled to find hard copies of some of my favorite novels – Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Anna Karenina. I decided to revisit the Bronte tale, which fit the mood of the house, I figured, and had settled into one of the padded chairs and was a quarter of the way through the novel when Jared appeared beside me, startling me so badly I dropped the book on the floor and cried out.
“Sorry,” he said, his tone contrite.
I scooped the book up and stood. “Don’t do that! You scared the hell out of me.”
“Didn’t mean to.”
“When did you get back? I didn’t hear the car or anything.”
“Maybe twenty minutes ago.”
“And?” I asked.
“Nothing odd happened. Shooting was typical, and I didn’t see or sense anything unusual.”
“What about Christina and Carl?”
“Nothing new there. But I don’t expect any news at this point. Carl’s now dust, I’m sure.”
“Then it’s safe to go back to Ridley?”
He frowned. “I didn’t say that.”
“Jared, I’m bored out of my skull, and it’s only been one day.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. But you can’t go back until we know there’s no risk.”
I glared at him. “So what you’re saying is that it’s fine for you to go film there, hang out with your entourage and fans, but I need to stay locked away, even if it means I lose my scholarship.”
“I didn’t say that at all, Lacey.” He glanced around. “Look, I have a hunch I want to follow up. I just wanted to let you know I’m okay, and make sure you didn’t need anything, but I have to get back on the road.”
My glare hardened further. “You came just to tell me you’re leaving again? Is this a joke?”
“I wanted to check up on you, Lacey. What I’m asking is that you go to sleep and not worry about anything. I promise I’ll be back by dawn.”
“You’re stranding me alone in this mausoleum while you’re out and about? What – do you have another surprise show or something? What’s so important, Jared?”
“It’s nothing like that. I have a suspicion about who might be after me. I need to look into it more, and the clock’s ticking.”
My bottom lip began to tremble and I averted my eyes. “I thought we were supposed to be…inseparable. Isn’t that how you described it? So far, that’s more like you order me around, and I have to do what
