Set Me Free (A Fugitive #2)(61)

"You're welcome," he mouthed and gave me a wink before sliding over the chair next to Zach and plopping into it. Punching his friend in the arm, he started up a conversation about his epic battle of Halo 2 the night before.

I turned from them to watch the girls fluffing around the bag with AJ as he extracted all manner of sweet smelling baking. The table beside me was soon laden with goodies. Jaeda picked at the chocolate slice, her eyes sparkling with pleasure as she licked her lips and sighed.

"I love you, AJ." She shook her head and dove in for some more.

Liesl wrapped her slight arm around AJ's thick waist and tiptoed up to kiss his chin. "Not as much as I do."

He smiled down at her, bending low so they could properly suck face. My nose wrinkled.

"Don't watch." Jaeda rolled her eyes. "It can go on for a really long time." She shoved the rest of the slice into her mouth. "So, now that all this crap is behind you, what are you gonna do?"

My mouth went dry. I glanced at Zach who was still deep in conversation, my insides lurching with that all too familiar fear.

I had no idea.

All these guys were going off to college soon and with a certain sense of dread it dawned on me that I was now homeless. I had no place to run. I had no one to run from. The sole purpose in my life was no longer there and as awesome as that was, I'd never felt more vulnerable.





Epilogue





LUCY





"So how are you feeling now, Lucy?"

Joanne, my counselor, had such a soft voice. It always soothed me.

I nodded my head with a grin. "Good. I've had a good month."

"And the dreams?"

"They're easing. I mean, I still have them every now then, but I can go most nights now without anything waking me up." Particularly on the nights I slept beside Zach. I bit my lip, barely able to contain my excitement. I hadn't seen him since Spring Break and I was in major countdown mode. Two sleeps to go and I'd be in his arms again.

"You're coming up to a year since the incident. How do you feel about that?"

I cleared my throat, stretching my neck and trying to think as honestly as I could.

"I thought I'd be scared and that it would haunt me, but it is really over now. All the interviews and the media coverage. Everything's died down and I feel more able to get on with my life. I think having my slate wiped clean has really helped with that. I don't have anything to fear. No one is chasing me. I still have to remind myself of that, but it's getting easier."

"So you don't feel so vulnerable then?" The counselor's eyes softened with a smile as I shook my head.

"Having people around me has really helped. They make me feel secure."

That was the truth. It had taken a long time for that helpless feeling to ebb. Even though the police and FBI had deemed me innocent and I hadn't been convicted of murder, I still felt like it would fall apart and my past could catch up to me. There was talk of me doing community service to make up for my conning, but after some pretty hefty persuasion from the Schultz's lawyer, the judge agreed to me doing a year's worth of counseling instead. In a way, Joanne was kind of like my parole officer, just a really soft-spoken, gentle one.

"So living with Zach's parents has ended up being a good thing?" She leaned back in her seat, twirling the pen in her fingers.

I nodded.

Upon hearing the news of Zach's summer, his parents cut their trip short. We tried to dissuade them, even Alex spent a good hour on the phone, but they were adamant and returned home the day before I got out of the hospital.

As nervous as I was about them knowing everything, they were the perfect anecdote in my recovery. Between them and Zach's friends, I was fussed over like royalty. It got a little irritating sometimes, but I'm sure my recovery was that much faster because of it.

Zach reluctantly left for college in August, leaving me bereft. That's when Loretta Schultz had put forward the counseling idea to their lawyer. My nightmares returned the day Zach flew out and it took less than a week for the lawyer to push with such tenacity that the judge would have been heartless to say no. At first, I hated the idea and nearly refused to go, but the judge ruled it and I had no choice. In retrospect, I'm grateful.

"So how about that urge to run? Do you feel like you can enter this next phase of your life and stay in it?"

My knee started bobbing the way it always did when I heard that three-letter word.

R-u-n.

On the counselor's advice I had joined the cross-country team at Monte Vista High. It helped to expel the pent up energy buzzing inside of me. Whenever things got hard, my first thought was always flight, but I was learning to reach for my running gear instead of my bag...tying on my trainers instead of shoving my belongs onto my shoulder and heading for the highway.

"I feel confident I can do this. I've managed to spend an entire year at high school as Lucy Tate and it's been okay."

"I know you didn't think you could handle it without Zach, but on reflection do you feel like this year apart has been good for you?"

I hated her for implying that when she first brought it up months ago. When Zach initially left I was surviving from one Skype call to the next. Life without him was torture and the amount of hours Tom Schultz held me in his arms while I cried was humiliating. He never said anything to that effect, just held me tight and kissed the top of my head. He was a good man, just like his son.