Page 95 of Even in the Dark

I swipe to my text messages and type.

Scarlett

Thought you weren't coming out tonight?

I wait, but he ignores the message. Or is too distracted to notice it came in. The next time he glances up, I hold up my phone, point to it, then to him. He looks confused, then a second later, fishes his own phone out of his back pocket. He swipes a couple of times, then starts reading.

Looks up.

Then back at his phone.

Types…

Dylan

Dan made me

Dan? Who the hell is Dan?

Oh, wait—

Scarlett

Do you mean Diane?

Dylan

Ya

Scarlett

You could have texted me, jackass

Scarlett

To let me know you were coming I mean

He watches me for a second, then pushes off the rock, shoving his phone in his back pocket as he saunters towards the path that leads up to the shack. I fumble with my phone, dial him as quickly as possible.

Dylan pauses for a second, glancing back up at me as he pulls his phone back out of his pocket. Then he keeps walking again as he slides his finger across the screen to answer then holds it up to his ear. “Yeah?”

“You can’t come up here.” My voice sounds breathless and I’m sure he notices.

He glances around. Back at the gaggle of girls who all whip their heads away in an effort to conceal the fact that they werestill staring after him.

“Why?” He peers back up the cliff at me.

“Carter Beaumont is here,” I practically whisper, afraid to say his name too loudly. “The guy from the lake.”

I watch as Dylan suddenly jerks to his full height. “Where?” He glances around, panning the crowd like he’ll somehow be able to tell who Carter is, even though he’s never seen him before in his life.

“It doesn’t matter. Just—Look, he’s here, and I want to avoid him. And if you come up, he’ll see me… because everyone stares at you wherever you go.” I swear I see him flinch, and I feel bad for being so blunt. “Sorry. It’s just—I can’t let him see me. You need to stay there and I need to stay here until he’s distracted. Because if I make my way down, he’s also likely to spot me.”

Dylan doesn’t respond right away. Just stands there with the phone to his ear for a second, looking straight ahead. Then finally says, “So, tell me who he is, and I’ll go tell him to leave.”

See? Despite Eli Sampson’s best efforts, Dylan Braun is a good guy. Underneath all that anger and confusion and sadness, he’s possibly even sweet.

“No. I don’t want you getting involved.”

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