Panic lit up my insides. I swerved to the side of the road, ignoring annoyed honks from the drivers around me, and stopped on the shoulder. “Are you okay?” I asked, hurriedly putting the car in park. Behind us, Ed continued to snore peacefully.
Alona wouldn't look at me, focusing instead on the dashboard. “Just give me a second,” she said.
She whispered to herself, too quietly for me to hear over the noise of passing cars, but after a long heart-stopping moment, her physicality returned, shifting her from see-through and kind of blurry to solid once more.
I bent down and retrieved the phone, resisting the urge to ask once again if she was all right. The truth was, she wasn't, and she wouldn't be. And there was nothing she and I could do about it now, except all that we were already doing.
I silently held the phone out to her, but instead of reaching for it, she turned to stare out the window and rattled off Misty's number. It sent a chill through me, seeing her remove herself from the action, like she'd already given up in some way.
I had to have her repeat the number so I could punch it in, and as the phone started to ring on the other end, I put it on speakerphone.
“Hello?” Misty answered, in the suspicious voice of one who doesn't recognize the number on her caller ID.
“Hi, Misty, it's, uh, Will Killian. From before?” I shifted in my seat and looked at Alona for reassurance.
She waved me on, impatient, but a weak imitation of what it would have been under other circumstances.
“Yeah?” Misty sounded wary.
“I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm looking for my friend, the one who was at your house today?” I wasn't sure whether to call her Lily or Ally.
Misty huffed loudly. “Why are you asking me? She left here with you.”
“I know, but—”
“And her mom has been calling over here, all freaked out about her being gone.”
Crap. I'd forgotten about that.
“What did you tell her?” I asked. If she'd so much as hinted to Mrs. Turner that Lily was going to this party . . .
“Same thing I'm going to tell you. She left with you, and I haven't seen her since.” Misty's voice rose on a defensive note at the end.
I gave Alona an I-told-you-so look.
Alona shook her head. “She knows, though. She
A rustling came through from Misty's side, followed by a loud clatter and a stream of swearwords. “Look, I have to go. I'm trying to get ready and—”
I took a deep breath, banking on Alona knowing these people as well as she claimed to. “Leanne invited her to Ben's party tonight, didn't she?”
Misty sucked in a breath. “How did you know that? How do you even know there's a party?” She made it sound like I'd somehow managed to crack the complicated code surrounding their supersecret elite activities. Like I'd been blind, deaf, and dumb through four years of high school.
I ignored her words and the insult behind them. “Did Lily say she was going?”
She was quiet for a long moment, and I thought we might have lost our connection, but just as I tipped the phone up to check, Misty sighed.
“Look,” she said wearily. “I don't want any part in this. This last year has been hard enough—”
Alona gave me a satisfied nod. “Told you.”
“Just tell me what happened,” I said to Misty.
“Leanne invited her over to pregame and to go to Ben's party together. But I don't know if the girl's actually going. I mean, everyone's going to be there, including Ben. And they're going to make fun of her. She has to know that.” Misty hesitated. “She'd have to be stupid… or crazy.”
Neither of which we could rule out in this situation.
“Thanks, Misty.” I moved to hang up.
“Wait,” she said quickly. “You're not actually going to
I didn't say anything; better not to give anyone forewarning. Maybe I'd be able to get in and get Erin/Lily out without notice.
“Listen, I appreciate everything you did,” she said in a rush. “It helps me to know Alona is at peace.”
Next to me, the girl in question rolled her eyes.
“But you have to know that going to Ben's tonight… that's a bad idea.” She sounded almost worried. “Like, a
I grimaced. “Thanks, I'll keep that in mind,” I said, and disconnected.
Unfortunately, bad ideas, really bad ideas, were the only ones we had.
Once we were back in Groundsboro, I gave Will directions to Ben's place, though he didn't seem to need them. It made sense, I suppose. Small town, relatively small school, and Ben's parties were the stuff of such fervent gossip that you didn't need to have actually attended one to know how to find their official sponsored location.
Not to mention the fact that about a mile from Ben's actual house we had to pass THE tree, the one Will would recognize all too well, the very same one that had gotten us into this mess. Well, that may be a slight exaggeration. This particular situation was, I suppose, more my fault for taking Lily's body than the tree's for simply existing for Lily to crash into. But still.
