"You what?"
"You know; at Nocturne. She just sort of-disappeared. I mean, we looked everywhere, but we just couldn't find her. So we' figured she met someone, which believe me, is not out of character, and then-well, we sort of-left."
"You left her in L.A.? On Halloween night? When every freak in the city is on the loose?"
And the second it's out of my mouth, I see it-the three of them in some dark, seamy club, Drina leading Haven to the VIP room for a drink, purposely eluding Evangeline. And even though it goes blank after that, I definitely didn't see any guy.
"What were we supposed to do? I mean, I don't know if you know this, but she's eighteen, which means she can pretty much do what she wants. Besides, Drina said she'd keep an eye on her, but then she lost track of her too. I just got off the phone with her, she feels awful."
"Drina feels awful?" I roll my eyes, finding that hard to believe. Drina doesn't seem like the type to feel much of anything, much less remorse.
"What's that supposed to mean? You don't even know her."
I press my lips and accelerate hard, partly because I know this strip of road is currently cop free, and partly because I want to outrun Haven, Drina, Evangeline, and Damen's strange disappearance, everything, all of it-even though I know that I can't.
"Sorry," I finally mumble, lifting my foot and easing into a regular speed.
"Whatever. I just-I feel so awful, and I don't know what to do…"
"Did you call her parents?" I ask, even though I just sensed the answer.
"Her mom's a drunk, lives in Arizona somewhere, and her dad skipped out when she was still in the womb. And trust me, her landlord just wants her stuff cleared out so he can turn the apartment. We even filed a police report, but they didn't seem overly concerned."
"I know;" I say, adjusting my lights for the dark, canyon route.
"What do you mean you know?"
"I mean I know how you must feel." I scramble to cover.
She sighs. "So where are you? Why weren't you at lunch?"
"I'm in Laguna Canyon, on my way home from Disneyland. Damen took me." I smile at the memory, though it turns pretty quick.
"Omigod that's so bizarre," Haven says.
"Tell me," I agree, still not used to the idea of him kicking it in the Magic Kingdom even after seeing it with my own eyes.
"No, I mean Drina went too. Said she hasn't been in years and wanted to see how it's changed. Isn't that wild? Did you guys run into her?"
"Um, no," I say, trying to sound matter of fact despite my churning stomach, sweaty palms, and overwhelming feeling of dread.
"Huh. Weird. But then again, it is pretty huge and crowded."
She laughs.
"Yeah, yeah it is," I say. "Listen, I gotta go, see you tomorrow?"
And before she can e
ven respond, I pull to the side of the road and park by the curb, searching my call list for Damen's number, and pounding hard on the wheel when I see it's marked private.
Some boyfriend. I don't even have his phone number, much less know where he lives.
Seventeen
Last night, when Damen finally called (at least I assumed it was him since the display read private), I let it go straight into voice mail. And this morning, while I'm getting ready for school, I delete it without even listening.
"Aren't you at least curious?" Riley asks, spinning around in my desk chair, her slicked-back hair and Matrix costume a shiny black blur.