“I’m fine. I just need to make a quick call,” I told them.
“Aw! Hollis is that clingy, huh?” Noelle joked.
Kiran and Taylor made kissing noises, cracking themselves up until they saw they weren’t going to get a rise out of me. I was too busy speed-dialing Ivy. She picked up on the second ring.
“Hey, Reed. What’s up?”
“Are you at Pemberly?” I asked under my breath.
“Yeah. Why?”
“Can you go over to my room and check on it?”
“Check on it?” she said, confused. Even so, I could hear her bedsprings creak and her door open. “What do you mean?”
I clenched my eyes closed, trying to be patient. “Just make sure nothing’s out of place or anything.”
I heard the telltale sound of my door hinges squealing and held my breath. In my mind’s eye I saw my laptop cracked on the floor, all my clothes whipped into twisted piles, posters and photos ripped and smashed. I waited for a stunned gasp, a whispered expletive, but there was nothing.
“Everything looks fine,” she said. “Reed, what’s going on?”
“Nothing.” I let out a relieved sigh. “I just got another text from MT,” I whispered, glancing over my shoulder at the others. “Maybe he was just messing with me.”
“Well, it’s all good,” she said. “In fact, I never noticed this before, but you are obsessively neat.”
“Okay, we’ll talk about my mild OCD later,” I promised her. “Do me a favor and just . . . I don’t know . . . keep an ear out. If you hear anyone in there, call security.”
“I’m on it,” Ivy replied.
“Thanks, Ivy. I gotta go.”
I hung up the phone and rejoined my friends. Kiran turned up the volume on the iPod dock and started to sing along to the music, twirling Taylor under her arm as Noelle swayed to the music, grabbing herself a strawberry. I did my best to get in on the fun, but inside I couldn’t seem to unclench.
And I knew I wouldn’t be able to until I saw my room for myself.
NOT QUITE RIGHT
The four of us spent half the afternoon talking about the plans for the new Billings, and I forced myself to relax, but the second we zoomed through the Easton gates, the tension returned. By the time Noelle swung her Jaguar convertible into a parking space right in front of Pemberly and hit the brakes, I was filled with dread.
“You okay?” Noelle asked, noticing my sudden pallor.
“Yeah.” I unhooked my seatbelt and attempted a smile. “Just remembered I have a ton of work to do.”
“Well, hop to it, Junior,” Noelle said, patting me on top of my head. She twirled her keys around one finger and got out of the car. “I, graduating senior that I am, am going to ignore my work and head over to Coffee Carma for a latte.”
I rolled my eyes at her.
Noelle closed her door, then leaned against it, over the open expanse of the convertible. “Seriously, though, Reed. Thanks for today. I had fun.”
I smiled for real this time. “Me too.”
She headed around the dorm for the quad and I ran for the front door. Noelle may have been trying to rub my nose in her freedom, but I was kind of glad she was going elsewhere. It meant I could sprint inside and take the stairs instead of the elevator and be at my room in half the time.
I threw open the door to my room and stood frozen on the threshold, looking around. At first I felt a slight twinge of relief. Ivy was right. Nothing looked out of place. But as I stepped inside I realized that wasn’t entirely the case. Nothing was out of place, but something was missing. Namely, the Billings blueprints.
Leaving the door open, I lunged to the corner where I’d left the poster roll containing all Carolina’s blueprints for the new design. It was gone. I hit my knees to check under the bed, but there was nothing there aside from the usual under-the-bed storage and a stray pair of shoes. Cursing under my breath, I shoved open my closet and ransacked the floor, just in case I’d tossed them in there and forgotten about it. Which I knew I hadn’t.
There was nothing. The blueprints were gone. I shoved my hands into my hair as I turned around and my eyes fell on my computer. Had I left my laptop open like that?