Page 12 of The Penalty Box

I turn to the guys. “Hey, have you seen Evie?”

“Evie?” Jack asks, looking around. Like a mere mention of her name will summon her.

“She should be here. She said she’d come.”

“I saw her,” Mike says as he takes a sip out of his cup.

“When?”

She was here and she didn’t come to say hi? I frown, confused. What the hell’s with that?

“Just before I came over.” He nods. “She was leaving.”

“Leaving?” It’s not even eleven. Why would she leave so early? Why would she leave without at least coming to say hi?

“Yeah,” Mike continued. “I don’t think she saw me. She seemed distressed.”

Evie? Distressed? That doesn’t sound anything like her. She seemed fine earlier tonight. Happy.

What the hell’s going on then?

* * *

Drumming my fingers impatiently against the steering wheel, I look at the house in front of me. It’s already past 8:00 a.m. and if she doesn’t get her ass out of the house in the next couple of minutes we’ll be seriously late to school.

“What are you up to, Evie?”

Pressing the horn, I hold it for so long until it becomes irritating even to me. If that doesn’t make her hurry her ass, nothing will.

The unsettling feeling that’s been bugging me since Saturday night is still present, boiling just underneath my skin and making me itch. For what exactly, I’m not sure. But it appeared the moment I realized I haven’t seen Evie at the party, although shepromisedshe’d be there. Evie doesn’t break promises.

I would have gone to her earlier, but when I got home it was late and all the lights over at the Clark house were turned off, and Sundays we always go visit my grandparents a few towns over, so I wasn’t home.

The front door swings open, but it’s not the person I want to see.

Unbuckling my seat belt, I get out of the car. “Aunt Emma, is something wrong?”

“Liam, what are you doing here?” she asks at the same time, smiling at me, but I can see the confusion on her face. “Shouldn’t you be in school?”

“I’m here to pick up Evie.” Like every day. “Is she okay?”

The frown appears between her brows. “Evie already left for school.” Her words are like a punch to my gut. There is buzzing in my ears, but even that doesn’t prevent me from hearing her words. “Jessica came to pick her up fifteen minutes ago. I thought you knew.”

Evie left.

She didn’t call or say anything.

She just left.

Without me.

“Liam? Are you okay?” I can hear the worry in her voice, so I force myself to nod in acknowledgment.

She fucking left.

What the hell, Evie?!

If I was wondering before if something happened to make her break her promise, now I know for sure. Something did happen—whatever that something is—and now Evie is ignoring me.

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