I think I'm going to need it.
"You should probably take a few minutes to check your account and then head back to class," the dean says as he shoos me out of the relative safety of his office.
My mind is reeling.
I imagine Vincent waiting for me outside.
I remember Garrett telling me to go where people are.
I can't go to my dorm room. He could be there. I can't go to class. He knows my schedule. I have to be unpredictable. I have to do something he couldn't have planned on.
I stand outside the school office, trying to think.
"Earth to Keatyn."
"What?" Riley is standing in front of me. Big, strong Riley. The boy who said I'd need protecting.
"Did you get in trouble?"
"What? Oh, uh, no."
He wraps his arm around me. "Then what's wrong? You're shaking. Is your family okay?"
My eyes get tears in them. I don't know what to do.
Riley sees that I'm about to start crying.
"Come on, let's go talk." He tries to drag me down the hall.
"No! Wait!" I yell.
"Why? Tell me what's got you so upset."
"Just give me a minute!"
Think, Keatyn. Don't stay in this building. Don't go to dorm. Your car is out. Lots of people.
But then I think about the crazy people that come into classrooms with guns. No classrooms. I need to hide.
I remember Garrett telling me that Hawthorne House was next to my dorm. That it housed most of the school's athletes. That I should go there if I was ever in trouble.
"Can we go to your room?"
Riley grins and raises an eyebrow at me sexily. "Baby, I thought you'd never ask."
I don't laugh at his joke. "I, uh, don't want anyone to know. Can we sneak down there? Go the back way or something?"
"It's gonna be a secret affair, huh? You want me to tie you up?"
My face goes a shade whiter. I think about what was in the van. Imagine being tied up in the back of it.
Riley looks at me closely. "Okay, you're scaring me."
"I'm sorry. I just . . ." I can't even come up with a lie. I'm stuck in one spot. I thought if he ever came and got me, found me, I'd be all badass and fight him, but I'm not a badass. I'm a scared, freaked-out mess.
I'm paralyzed with fear.
Snap out of it and make a decision, Keatyn.
I look at Riley. He's got on a hoodie over the tie-dyed shirt he's wearing for 70s day today. "Can I have your jacket?"
He pulls it off and hands it to me. I put it on and pull the hood up over my head. I look over and see the big Lost and Found box. There are a pair of Cougar Athletics sweatpants lying right on the top. I grab them and pull them on over my skirt and fringed cowboy boots.
"What are you doing? You're acting very strange. Are you on something?"
"What? No. I'm . . . I, uh, just thought that I shouldn't walk in your dorm looking like a girl. It's a disguise."
"When we get there, you are going to tell me what the hell is going on."
I nod my head and pull on his arm. The second bell already rang for the next period, so the hallways are empty. I peek around a corner to look outside. To survey the area. To see if Vincent or any other stranger is lurking there.
"Let's sneak down by the trees."
"No way. If we look like we're doing something wrong, we'll get caught. We're walking straight down the pathway to the dorms. If anyone asks what we're doing, we'll say getting a paper out of my room, for class."
I'm beyond logic but that sounds good. "Give me your sunglasses."
"A hoodie, sweats, and sunglasses. Are you afraid Dawson will find out? I swear, I'll never tell."
He's trying to make me laugh, I know.
But it's not working.
We safely get to his dorm room without running into anyone.
I shut the door, slump against it, then slide down to the floor.
Riley kneels down next to me. "Okay. Tell me what the hell is going on."
"Just give me a minute, okay? I need to think."
I open the file copy the dean gave me and look through it. Look for any link between me and my old life.
A school I didn't go to. A fake transcript from a fake school but with my actual classes and grades.
A fake mailing address for my fake parents in France.
My schedule. My activities. My parking pass.
The account that my tuition comes out of from the bank in Atlanta.
Nothing to connect me to my old life.
Except the picture on my school ID. If he saw that, he'd know it's me.
I look up at Riley and tell him as much of the truth as I can. "Someone was in the school office last night and accessed my file. Only my file."
"Why are you so upset about that? Jeez, I thought someone died or something."
I think about me being the one to die.
"I just feel a bit violated, I guess. Why would someone do that?"
Please let there be a viable alternative to Vincent.
"Maybe it was just a prank?" Riley guesses.
I shake my head. "Why?"
He snaps his finger. "Maybe it was Whitney. Jake said that she was pissed about Peyton going shopping with you. About her weekend."
"Whitney? Why would she do that?"
"Because she's a bitch and she hates you. Maybe she was looking for dirt." He grabs my printout. "Any dirt in here? Did you get kicked out of your last school? Do you have an illegitimate child? An affair with a teacher? Been to rehab?"
I listen to him rattle off all the fake life ideas my family came up with.
"Riley?"
"What?"
I throw my arms around him and hug him tightly. "Thanks for being my friend."
He hugs me back, which causes me to start crying.
"Are you on the rag? What's with all the tears?"
"I'm not sure." I laugh.
He starts reading my file. "Wow. This is scandalous."
"What is?" What did I miss?
"You got a B. Seriously?" He scans the pages. "You've only had one B in your life?"
I shrug. "Yeah."
"Brains and beauty. It's a deadly combination. No wonder my brother is crazy about you."
"Do you see anything else that might come back to haunt me?"
"Well, you should probably call your bank and check your account. I bet that's why the dean was freaking out. They have your whole account number on here. They aren't supposed to do that."
I nod at him. I know just the banker to call.
"You're right. Let me call my financial guy real quick."
I get out my cell and press Garrett's number.
He answers. "Are you okay?"
"For the moment, yes. But I just got called to the dean's office. Someone accessed my personal information last night. Only my information."
Garrett is quiet. I wonder if the call dropped. "Are you still there?"
"Yes. I'm thinking. This sounds a lot like the rehabs."
"That's what I thought."
I internally panic. Even Garrett thinks it's him.
I let out a little cry.
Riley looks at me with concern. "What happened? Is your account okay? Is their fraud on it?"
"Who are you with?" Garrett asks.
"A friend. My file has my full bank account number in it."
"I'm putting you on hold. Give me just a second. Do you feel safe right now?"
"Yes, and I'll wait." I point to the phone and tell Riley, "I'm on hold."
"Tell me what's really going on."
Should I tell him? Can I trust him?
What I need to do is leave school. Now.
Get on a train to nowhere.
Run.
Garrett comes back on the line. "Your school has excellent security measures in place. Did he say the school was breeched or just the office?"
"Just the office, I think."
"Keatyn, take a deep breath. Calm down for a minute. I'm almost positive that this was not Vincent."