“You going to be okay?” he asked me. When I nodded, he checked his watch. “The mess hall’s opening in a few minutes. Why don’t you and Vero grab something to eat. I’ll find you after dinner.” His eyes flicked over my shoulder. “There are some things we need to talk about.”
I turned in time to see Julian and Parker carrying their messenger bags toward the lobby. By the time I turned back to Nick, he was gone.
* * *
I burst through the emergency exit, searching the walkways for Vero, pivoting when I heard the door sling open again behind me. Julian called out to me as he jogged to catch up.
“Now’s not a good time,” I said, agitated and hurried.
“I know.” He stopped in my path before I could run off. “I know you have a lot on your plate right now. I just wanted…” He raked his curls back from his forehead, the dusky light of the sunset casting shadows over his cheeks. “I wanted to apologize for what happened in the mock trial. Parker’s boss asked her to volunteer, and she didn’t want to do it alone, so I offered to come. Neither of us realized you or Nick would be here. If I’d known, I never would have let her sign us up. She had no idea what she was doing, Finn.”
I hated that he was defending her. It was one thing to see the good in people; it was entirely another to be ignorant about who they were once they showed you. “She knew exactly what she was doing, Julian. She’s in love with you, and she was trying to make me look like a liar to prove I’m not good enough for you. She obviously didn’t get the memo that we’re not seeing each other anymore.”
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly.
I blew out a sigh. “It’s not your fault.” The fact that I was guilty of the same—that I had given Vero the benefit of the doubt, knowing she hadn’t been honest—wasn’t lost on me. “You and Parker are friends, I get it. She was only trying to protect you. But you should probably make it clear to her that you and I have moved on.”
“Have you? Moved on?” The fact that he’d never told Parker we’d broken things off made me wonder if he was asking something else, if there was still hope for us. I thought I caught a flash of regret in his eyes as he turned away. “You don’t have to answer that. It’s none of my business.”
“I have to go,” I said softly as a streetlamp flickered on. Vero was alone and scared. And the secret she’d been keeping from me probably weighed a million pounds on her conscience by now. Vero and I may have had a lot of problems, but we were invested in each other. We were raising my kids together. Burying bodies for each other. And I had to believe that counted for something.
“Wait.” Julian reached for me, drawing back before he could touch me. He jammed his hands in his coat pockets as he wrestled with what to say. “I know you probably don’t want my advice, and I’m probably the last person who should be giving it, but there are some questions you shouldn’t answer, Finn. It’s okay to hold back. You don’t have to tell Nick everything. You know that, right?”
“I know.” Julian and I looked at each other for a long time. It felt like we’d come to the end of a chapter, and there were so many things about our story I wished I could have rewritten. His smile was bittersweet, as if he knew.
“Be careful,” he said, the sun slipping below the horizon as he walked away.
CHAPTER 29
I took the steps to our dorm room two at a time, relieved to find Vero’s luggage was still there. I’d called her cell no less than a dozen times, but all my calls had rolled to voice mail. She wasn’t with all the other academy students in the cafeteria. All the classrooms were being locked for the night, and the shooting range was closed. The only building I hadn’t tried was the gym.
I called her name as I drew open the gymnasium doors. The basketball courts were dark. So were the training and mat rooms. I cracked open the door to the women’s locker room. The lights were off and the changing room was empty. I was just turning to go when I heard a sniffle.
I let the door fall closed and headed to the vending machines, praying I wouldn’t have to commit a misdemeanor as I fed a handful of crumpled dollar bills into the snack machine. The last packet of Pop-Tarts dropped into the dispenser. Feeling lucky, I tried the drink machine. A Dr Pepper fell with a satisfying thump.
I carried the snacks back to the locker room and flipped on the lights, following the sounds of Vero’s sniffles to the only closed bathroom stall. I lowered my head, tilting to see underneath the partition, and spotted a familiar pair of pink-and-white Skechers in front of the commode. I knocked on the stall door.
Vero’s voice was muffled as she blew her nose. “I’m not coming out unless you have a warrant.”
“Vero, it’s me. Open the door.”
“So your sister can arrest me?”
“She’s not going to arrest you.”
“Then your boyfriend will.”
“He’s not my boyfriend.” And I was pretty sure he never would be after the conversation we were likely to have later. “Nick’s not going to arrest you either. Neither is anyone else here, for that matter.”
“They have to. I’m a wanted fugitive.”
I rolled my eyes and thrust the Pop-Tarts under the partition.
“Are you seriously pulling a Zach on me?”
“Are you seriously making me? Let me in.”
“I can’t,” she said.
“Why not?”
“Because I handcuffed myself to the toilet paper dispenser.”
With a heavy sigh, I dropped down onto my belly to slither under the door. “You know, I’m getting really tired of crawling around on public restroom floors.”
“Are you alone?”
“Were you expecting a posse?” I asked, dragging myself into the stall.
Vero sat on the toilet lid, her wrists cuffed around the dispenser beside her. Her nose was red and her eyes were puffy. I sat on the floor by her feet with my back against the wall.
“Where did you get the cuffs?”
“From the mat room down the hall.”
“Where’s the key?”
“In the toilet with my phone.” At my raised eyebrows, she said, “I accidentally dropped it while I was trying to call Javi to come pick me up.”
I rolled onto my knees and opened the stall door. “I’ll go get someone to help.”
“No!” She leaned back on the seat lid and kicked the door shut, holding it closed with her sneaker. “I’m not leaving this bathroom. And I’m not going back to Maryland.”
“No one is taking you to Maryland. Steven didn’t tell anyone but me about the warrant. Unless you get yourself arrested again, you probably have nothing to worry about.”
“That’s a comfort,” she deadpanned.
I shoved her foot out of the way and sat back down, holding a chunk of Pop-Tart where she could reach it. “Eat this. You’re missing dinner.” When she took it, her sleeve was wet with snot.
“We’re both missing dinner.” She leaned forward to nibble off a corner. “Did you bring anything good to drink?”
I laughed. “Under the present circumstances, I didn’t think stealing liquor from the faculty lounge would be the wisest choice.” I opened the soda can and held it to her mouth. “Why didn’t you tell me there was a warrant out for you?”