Chapter 112: Gerard Hughes

ME: WHERE ARE YOU?

No response.

I'd been texting Zander since first break. I had hoped to catch him at his locker but he had never showed, which worried me. What if he'd gone home? I imagined the worst if he confronted his father. I wondered if Peter was still around. As much as I didn't want to talk to Peter ever again, I'd do it to find Zander. I didn't know the name of their hotel, but there were only so many in Scotts Valley.

The idea of skipping school didn't even bother me today. I was uncomfortable with everyone asking me about Dante anyway. Now that I wanted a little anonymity, people I didn't even know came up to say how awful it must have been or asked if I knew where Dante was hiding. It was almost as bad as Detective Winchester's inquisition. All I could think of was that I had to get out of here. But I chickened out on my plan to play hooky when I kept running into teachers at the exits. Fuming with frustration, I reversed course and headed to my next class.

The perso