Sweet Liar (Candy #2)(48)

Her words put a hesitant smile on my face. “Really?”

“Really.” Her tone was resolute.

I found myself reconsidering. Besides, Theo was a big boy. He could handle himself. “I guess everyone could use more friends. Give me your number and I’ll pass it on. I hope you know what you’re getting into. He tells the worst jokes ever, and he gets all cranky if you don’t laugh.”

Heather grinned, and the tension between us lightened. I hardly knew her, but I liked what I knew so far, and I wondered what Theo would think. With everything going on, would he even remember her?

Jonah reappeared, this time dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. The clean smell of my soap clung to him as he walked into the living room.

Heather leaned her head back to look at him. “Is the show over, Magic Mike?” She elbowed me, giggling.

Jonah stood over her and shook out his wet hair, spraying us both with water like a dog would.

Heather screeched, pushing at him as he laughed at her.

I chuckled at them, using my pajama sleeve to wipe the drops off my face. As the laughter faded, Jonah sat down in the chair across from us and settled his gaze on me. His eyes roamed over me as a wistful smile grew on his face. That smile did something to me. It made me feel warm and a little lighter. But his smile faded too quickly.

“I just spoke to my father. He’s giving you the weekend to tell me. If you won’t, you’ll have to tell him.”

Heather surprised me by grabbing my hand. “Don’t tell them anything if you don’t want to,” she said to me before glaring at Jonah. “Candy didn’t do anything wrong, and you’re treating her like she’s a criminal too.”

He sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “She made a deal with him. She can’t go back on it. You know how that works.”

“I told you,” I said. “I never said anything to him.”

“You told me so that I’d tell him. I tried to warn you off.”

“You still shouldn’t have told Victor she agreed to the deal,” Heather said.

He shot her an annoyed look. “She only agreed to it so she could help her father. How exactly would that happen if I didn’t tell him?”

“Like Victor is going to help anyone but himself.”

“I already told her not to expect much.”

Frustration pushed me to my feet. “The Hoyts told me nothing, okay? It was a complete dead end. Tell your father that. I’m going to take a shower.”

“After the way you ran from him from last night, he won’t believe it,” Jonah said.

“She probably ran because your father is scary as hell.”

Grateful for my unexpected ally, I ignored the way my stomach rolled at the thought of Victor, and smiled at Heather before spinning and walking away. In my wake, I could hear them arguing about me, but I peeled off my clothes and stepped into the shower, wondering if just running away was my best option after all.

I ruminated on the idea. Did anyone know about Lorraine’s house besides my father? If things got too heated, that was where I would go. I could be safe there for a little while, and I felt less terrified knowing I had at least one option at my disposal.

***





“We’re going out,” Heather announced from the living room.

“Okay,” I said absently as I sat on my bed, staring at Alison Hoyt’s contact information on my phone. She’d made sure to give me her cell phone number before I left in case I needed anything. What I needed was the information for Theo, but I’d only asked her last night. It was probably too soon to start hounding her. Since the information I got from Lorraine led nowhere, Alison’s help was all the more critical now.

“No, I mean we’re going out, as in you’re going too.” Her voice was much closer, and I looked up to find Heather standing in my bedroom doorway.

“What?”

“You need a break from all the crap going on, and hiding in here so you won’t have to talk to Jonah is no way to spend the weekend. He promises not to bring anything up for the rest of the day. Besides, he couldn’t talk in front of your friends anyway.”

“My friends?”

She grinned, looking pleased with herself. “They’re coming too. We’re going cosmic bowling.”

Bowling? I made a face.

“You can bowl, right?” She eyed my hands.

Looking down at my fingertips still covered in Band-Aids, I considered using them as an excuse not to go. But it wouldn’t be the truth. I could probably hold a bowling ball.

“You’re telling me Jonah wants to go cosmic bowling?” I asked, having a hard time picturing it.

“He agreed to it.” She shrugged. “Come on. It’s better than sitting here all day. You can think about stuff until your head explodes when we get back later.”

I put down my phone. “Who’s going?”

“Oh, you know, the usual crowd from your school. I found that Ethan guy’s contact info in Jonah’s phone, and told him to ask everyone.”

Groaning, I shook my head, but Heather wasn’t taking no for an answer. When she opened my closet door and began recommending outfits, I stood and nudged her out of my way. If Jonah could go bowling in the midst of my crises, I supposed I could too. Besides, waiting around for the weekend to pass while I thought of something feasible to tell Victor was already making me want to jump out of my skin. A distraction might not be a bad thing.