15. Access Control
Access Control
Harper
After school, Kenz walks with me to her car. She’s been quiet, but so have I. I tried to get Jack to let me review some of the pictures from the trail cam during classes, but he refused. Even knowing he’s doing it to protect me doesn’t help.
Fuck, maybe I can convince Nico to share with me. He’s been texting during the day. He’s practically champing at the bit to get back to school. I reach for my phone in the pocket of my backpack.
“So, Nico’s and then home?” Kenz clicks her fob to unlock the car, and I reach out for the car door.
“Kind of.” Is Caden’s place home now? Will Mom be back? I forgot to ask Jack if he knew whether she worked last night. But if I ask him, he’ll look. And he knows I’m concerned, so he might do a deeper dive and that’s more time he does other things that aren’t sleeping.
The guys weren’t wrong. I’m tempted to roofie him so he’ll sleep.
After we get in the car, Kenz tosses her backpack in the back and holds her hand out for my backpack. I don’t think, just give it to her, and she puts it in the back too.
“How’s Nico been today?” Kenz starts the car and turns up the radio really loud. She looks at me expectantly.
I guess she wants me to yell my answer?
“Good.” I narrow my eyes at her, trying to figure out what’s going on. Why is the radio so loud? It’s a decent song. Maybe she’s trying to keep my mind from wandering to all the shit happening.
Fuck it, I don’t have the energy for much. I slept decently once Luke had me in his arms and I was sandwiched between him and Caden, but it still wasn’t a full night’s sleep.
Maybe Kenz just really likes this song. Maybe she figures I don’t want to talk about the mess of my life. She’s probably right. Too many things hang in the air, threatening to drop.
Not that I can talk to her much. We still haven’t figured out if her car is bugged or not. I forgot to ask Caden if I could use the device. I’ll have to remember to bring it to school tomorrow.
I should just be a teen and listen to music.
When Kenz pulls out onto the street, I sit back and close my eyes for a moment. The only thing that made the school day good was being with the guys all day long. Little touches and kisses. Everyone’s on high alert, so we’re not making out with abandon like we used to. But it’s still nice.
I miss Nico, especially in art class. Tanner was quiet, but that’s okay. I’d rather him keep his mouth shut. It feels like the calm before the storm. Tomorrow starts the Homecoming festivities. My stomach clenches.
I haven’t been forced to interact with Zach yet, but it’s coming.
When I open my eyes, my brows furrow as I look around. We’re not where we’re supposed to be.
“Kenz!” I yell to be heard over the radio. “You missed your turn.”
She nods along with the music. “I want a snack first.”
I’m confused and on high alert, which makes me suspicious of everything, but this is Kenz. She doesn’t have a reason to hurt me. She’s in love with her boyfriend, and she doesn’t want any of mine. None of them have ever done anything to her. Right?
When I reach out to turn the music down, her eyes widen and she puts her hand over mine. She shakes her head slowly as she comes to a stop sign. Turning to me, she mouths a word, and my whole body goes cold as the realization of what she mouthed hits me.
Poughkeepsie.
Only a few people know that word. I never told it to Kenz. If she knows it, my mom or the friend told her. I stare out the front of the car, watching the houses get farther apart until we’re in the country. My heart races.
I toy with the ring on my finger, knowing that the guys will be able to track me. But not until after practice. I don’t know who else could potentially track me, but my phone...
When I reach back for my backpack, Kenz blocks me again. “Sorry.”
“My phone.” I gesture.
“Off,” she mouths.
I nod, but chills coat me. What if I’ve put my trust in the wrong person? What if the guys were right, and Kenz is behind everything?
“Breathe, H.” Kenz shakes her head.
I suck a breath into my starved lungs. She pulls off the highway onto a gravel road and parks.
When she opens her door, she gestures with her head for me to come on. I swallow. I could call the guys, but they don’t have their phones on them. If it is my mom, then I need to see her, and if I turn on my phone, whoever is tracking me will find her too.
Kenz shuts her door and walks down the path a little before turning back to give me an impatient look. This could be stupid, but this is one of the two people in this world I’ve trusted for most of my life.
If Kenz wanted to hurt me, she could have done it so many times before. I get out of the car and walk to her. We walk for a little while before she releases a breath.
“Fuck, this cloak and dagger shit is going to give me a heart attack.” Kenz smiles. “Thank you for not tasing me.”
“I don’t have a Taser.” I shrug.
“You should. Or a shiv or something to protect yourself. This shit is getting scary, H.” Kenz keeps walking, and I keep following.
“How did you know my word?”
When she doesn’t answer right away, I stop walking. She stops and looks back at me and then beyond me at the car.
“She was worried you wouldn’t trust me and even if you did, she was worried you wouldn’t come.” Kenz jerks her head toward the forest. “She’s here, H. She worried you’d think she wants to run off with you and leave the guys behind.”
Mom? Is that why she’s here? I take a step back and Kenz shakes her head.
“Just come. Talk with her. This plan is to keep both of you safe.” Kenz comes up and takes my hand in hers. “I couldn’t say anything because we can’t be sure with the bugs.”
I rub my ring with my finger and look back over my shoulder at the car in the distance. Something tells me this is going to be like the journey into the woods with my mother. At some point, will the guys not be able to find me?
Nico
Fucking drugs. I wake up groggy and look at the time. It’s past four, but Harper isn’t here. There aren’t any new messages from her either. Sitting up, I drink some water to help with the dry mouth the drugs cause and to help clear my head.
I scroll to the phone location app and try to pull up her cell phone. Nothing. Last position was thirty minutes ago at the high school.
My heart sinks. Fuck. Did she run out of battery? Or did she turn it off or did someone turn it off for her? I sit up in the bed and pull up the app Jack downloaded for us that tracks Harper’s ring.
When her dot comes up, it’s not in a place I recognize. I take a screenshot in case it disappears too and then zoom out. According to this, she’s in the middle of nowhere. I scrub my hand over my face.
Fuck.
I need to think. The guys are at practice, and I’m stuck here in bed. I can’t drive. They won’t answer their phones until after practice two hours from now.
I pick up my phone and text my mom.
Me:
Where are you?
Mom:
Just got to the grocery store. Do you need anything?
Yeah, but not anything she can buy. I need to get to Harper or the guys. I can’t help her in my current state.
After I tell Mom I don’t need anything, I struggle to figure out what to do. I have the guys’ and Harper’s number. A few guys on the football team, which also wouldn’t work, and my art project partner, fucking Angela Harris.
She’s going with Tanner to Homecoming, but she was still interested in me on Friday. Showing off her cleavage and laughing at everything I say. I don’t want to encourage her, but I don’t have a lot of options.
Fuck. I run a hand through my hair.
Me:
I need a favor
She doesn’t answer right away, but the dots come up. I could have her pick me up, but then I’m at her mercy. What I need is for her to tell the guys that they need to figure out where the hell Harper is.
Angela:
You know I’m always willing to do anything for you
I roll my eyes.
Me:
Need you to deliver a message to
I stop and don’t hit send. Fuck, who would be easiest to pull from practice? Not Luke. Not Caden. With me gone, not Eli. That leaves Jack. The guy with everything weighing on him.
I fell asleep looking through those pictures. The grouping I started was nothing but leaves blowing in the wind. A few bird sightings. Nothing spectacular. He set up a random sampling of days so we could try to figure out when the meeting took place.
We’re all aware of how much he’s burning the candle at both ends. He’s also the only one not on the Homecoming Court with Harper. So he’s got that to worry about.
Fuck. Not Jack.
Me:
Eli
I send it and then add.
Me:
He’s at practice. He needs to look at his phone.
Angela:
I was hoping you needed me to fluff your pillows
Me:
I have someone to fluff my pillows. Please just do this for me and I’ll owe you
I cringe because I really don’t want to owe this girl anything.
Angela:
I’m holding you to that
No idea what this girl will ask me to do, but I’m not doing anything that will hurt Harper. We’ll figure it out when she makes her ask. Right now. I need someone to figure out what’s happening to Harper.
Eli
The ball slips perfectly into my hands, and I toss it away as another one comes at me. Ball after ball. Run, catch, drop, run, catch, drop. At least I’m not in full gear like Caden and Jack are as they work on the training sled with Coach Turner riding it.
Sweat rolls down my back, and when I catch the final ball, Luke yells, “Break.”
Thank fuck.
I jog over to the water bottles on the bench and down as much as possible.
“Eli!” a girl yells from the sidelines.
When I glance toward the voice, I see Angela Harris waving at me from behind the chain-link fence. What the fuck does she want?
I turn my back to her as Luke runs up and grabs a towel and his water bottle. He wipes off his face and glares in Angela’s direction.
“What does she want?” he asks.
“Nothing good, probably.”
Caden told us about her and Tanner going to Homecoming together. He can have her.
“Eli, I have a message from Nico!” she yells.
Luke steps in her direction. I put my hand on his arm. I guess it’s time to see what Angela wants.
“Two minutes, Jacobs!” Coach yells at me.
I nod. We want to be in winning shape for our game on Friday. We want an undefeated season this year. No one will beat us. Even with the distractions in our lives, we’ll go out number one.
Jogging over to where Angela stands, I stop a couple feet away from the fence.
“What?”
She smiles before she pouts a little. “You could spank me if you want, Eli.”
Fuck this chick. I turn to go.
“Damn it.” Angela hits the fence and it rattles. “Fine, Nico texted me to tell you to check your phone.”
I narrow my eyes on her. “Why would he tell you that?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugs, but smiles. “He offered me a favor, and everyone knows favors from horsemen are the best.”
Why would Nico call her? “You’re his partner in art, right?”
She smiles and leans forward to show off her cleavage. “Yup.”
“He told you me specifically?”
She pulls her phone out of her pocket and opens something before showing me. I step in close and read the text conversation.
“Okay.” I turn and walk away.
“That’s it?” She sounds disappointed.
“You did what he asked. Stay and watch practice if you want.” I shrug. I don’t give a fuck what she does, but I need to figure out what Nico is trying to tell me.
“Everything good?” Luke asks as he stretches his arms.
“Don’t know. Go back to practice. I might be back in a minute.”
He nods and heads back out to the field with the sophomore that needs to get better fast.
I walk over to Coach. “I need to go to the locker room. Family emergency.”
Coach nods. “Everything okay?”
“Not sure. I’ll let you know if I need to leave.” I run a hand through my sweat-soaked hair.
“We need you to perform on Friday.” Coach jerks his head toward the field. “With Nico down, we’re going to have to rely on you.”
I glance at the sophomore who tries, but he misses almost every third ball.
“No problem.”
I jog down to the locker room and grab my phone. It’s quiet in here since everyone else is on the field. For a moment, I worry it’s a trap to get me alone. Stopping to listen, there isn’t any noise.
The only reason I can think that Nico would pull me out of practice would be something to do with Harper. I open my phone and immediately read his message.
Nico:
Check Harper and call me
Fuck. I call him while pulling up the tracking app on her ring. She’s not with Nico where she’s supposed to be. He picks up.
“Woke up. She wasn’t here.” Nico doesn’t elaborate. He doesn’t need to, and with our phone calls possibly being monitored he shouldn’t.
I look at the little dot outside of town. My heart stops. Where the fuck is she?
“Got it.” I hang up.
He still can’t drive. I’m the easiest to pull from practice right now or at least, second easiest. Jack’s a walking zombie, or he’d be the first one I would have called.
What the fuck is this? She should be with Kenz, but when I try to pull up Kenz’s phone on my app, the last location was the high school after the last bell.
Did we put our trust in the wrong person again?
Fuck. I grab my keys and run out of the locker room to the parking lot. The guys will know something’s up when I don’t come back to practice. I should grab backup, but two of us leaving practice won’t fly with Coach.
Outside of us, the only guys I trust are also on the team, and I barely trust them right now. Fuck it.