Date Me

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.”

I climb into the front passenger seat, but leave his sunglasses on and the hood up.

He looks at me seriously. “Let’s go inside. Then you’re going to tell me what has you so scared.”

I buy tickets to Mom and Tommy’s latest release. We go inside the theater, but since the movie doesn’t start for almost an hour, we sit on a bench out front.

“Okay,” he says.

I blow out a breath of air. “Remember my meltdown that day in my room?”

“Yeah.”

“My parents moving to France wasn’t the only reason I came here.”

“You did mention something about a guy.”

“I had a relationship, um, go bad.”

“Go bad? Like abusive? You don't seem like you would put up with that shit.”

I shake my head. God, I hate lying to him.

Close to the truth, Keatyn. Close to the truth.

“I would never stay with a guy who hurt me. This was, um—look, you have to promise, swear to me, that you won't tell anyone this—not even your brother.”

“I swear, baby.” He holds out his pinkie.

I laugh. Take it in mine and swear.

“Tell me.”

I close my eyes and think. About Vincent. About his grabbing my arm on the escalator. How I got away from him. How I know he’s found me.

But I have to tell him something. I may not ever be able to go back to school.

I may have to just up and leave like I did at home. I wouldn’t get to see Dawson anymore. Or Riley. Or my friends.

I’d be alone again.

I can't help it. My body involuntarily shudders and tears start streaming down my face.

Riley wraps his strong arm around me, pulls me into his chest, and whispers, “You’ll feel better if you tell me. I need to know if I’m going to help you.”

I can’t look at him. I keep my head buried in his chest and start talking. “My mom has this, um, ex-boyfriend. And he sorta was stalking me.”

“Stalking you?”

“Yes. Following me around when I didn’t know it. Coming to my soccer games. Showing up at restaurants I was at. He was even taking pictures of me.” Even though I'm lying about who Vincent is, I'm telling him a lot of the truth. And it feels good—like it did that day with Aiden in the chapel, so I keep going. “He was older, good looking, and he flirted with me. When I met him, I didn't know he was, um, my mom’s ex-boyfriend.” I sit up and take a deep breath. This part isn’t a lie and it’s the part I’m most embarrassed about. “I was flattered by his attention. I was so stupid, Riley. I always thought I was a good judge of character but I’m not.”

“Did he hurt you?”

“He tried to kidnap me at my seventeenth birthday party. It was supposed to be this magical night. You should have seen my shoes. And my dress. He showed up. I think he caused a commotion. Then he grabbed me. I tried to fight, but he was strong. He was dragging me toward an exit.” I suck in a big breath of air. “He was opening the exit door when I got away. There was a van outside the exit that he was taking me to. Inside the van they found zip ties and drugs. He was going to. To . . . I don't know for sure, but people think that it wouldn't have ended well for me.”

“Was he arrested?”

“For about two seconds. There was no proof he did anything wrong. The van was a stolen rental. It was my word against his. And my word didn’t mean much since I invited him to the party because I didn't know. After they released him, he sent some pictures he had been taking of me to my mom. He wanted her to know that he could hurt me anytime he wanted. At one point, he even put a note in my little sister’s backpack. That’s how close he got to her. I left mostly to keep them safe.”

“Even if they couldn’t prove the attempted kidnapping, stalking is illegal. Why isn’t he in jail?”

“Stalking is really hard to prove and it didn’t help that I thought we were friends. I had di

“So that's why you didn't have a Facebook and why you only had like four numbers in your phone?”

“Yes. I just had to leave. Only a few people know what happened. There were rumors at my old school that my parents sent me to rehab. Not long after, the three rehab facilities—where people said I’d gone—were broken into. Their files accessed.”

Riley’s eyes get big. “And here, your file was accessed. Wow.”

“That’s why I’m freaking out. I know he’s found me.”