Page 19 of Hiding for the Holidays
And today, I was determined to find out. If she refused a ride home, I was going to follow her.
I hadn’t thought this through. Realizing I couldn’t follow her on my motorcycle without her easily hearing me behind her, I’ve been following Clara on foot for the past forty minutes.
She isn’t dressed for the winter, but neither am I. I’m just glad there’s no snow yet. I shove my hands in the pockets of my leather coat as I peer around the corner and wait for her to get far enough away that I can follow.
When she turns again, I get a sinking feeling in my stomach that I know where she’s going. The apartments on Wallace Crescent. It explains why she didn’t want us to drive her home. The only people I’ve ever seen out front looked like they’re high or drunk. It was well known as the bad part of town.
What the hell was she doing here?Is she using?
I hurry down the street so I don’t lose her around the corner as I try to wrap my mind around that idea. She’s shown no signs of drug use. No frequent bathroom breaks, no glazed eyes, no falling asleep.
I pull out my cell and click Grant’s name, holding it to my ear as I creep down the street behind her.
“Hey, you follow her home?” he asks as soon as he picks up.
“Still trailing her. She just turned onto Wallace.”
“Fuck.”
“Yeah, fuck is right.”
“Did he say Wallace?” Leo asks, as Grant switches to speakerphone.
“Yeah—wait, she’s crossing the street now. Shit.” I frown, looking at the apartment building that barely looks fit for people to live in.
“What? What’s she doing?” Leo asks eagerly.
“She just went into the apartment building.”
“Fuck.”
“Shit,” they say at the same time. There is only one apartment building on Wallace, so they know which one I’m referring to. There isn’t much else on this street at all, just a few other homes in rough shape.
“There is no way she’s buying drugs,” Leo says adamantly.
“I think she lives here,” I whisper through the phone as I lean against a lamppost and watch the building for any signs of her. The whole place is quiet right now.
“That doesn’t make sense,” Grant grumbles. “She’s not that type of girl.”
“I agree,” I say, my brain trying to figure out what she’s doing here. “Where did she come from?”
“What do you mean?” Leo asks.
“Well, it’s a small town, she’s old enough that she didn’t just graduate or something, so why haven’t we seen her around?”
“She must be new to town,” Grant says.
“Exactly. She arrived in town with no money; it’s probably the only place she could afford,” I tell them.
They're both silent for a minute before Leo finally speaks. “I don’t like it.”
“Me neither, but what am I supposed to do? Storm in there, throw her over my shoulder and demand she comes stay with us?”
Neither answer and I scoff. “Come on, we’ll be arrested. Besides, you saw the bruises. I don't want to scare her. Now, canone of you come pick me up? I’m freezing my balls off out here.”
“Yeah, be there shortly,” Grant says, and the line goes dead. I pocket my phone as I stare up at the building.
Would barging in there be the worst thing I could do? At least if she was staying with us, we could make sure she’s safe.
