but when I look back, I have my answer.
The black sedan hasn’t followed.
“Celes?” Grayson asks. “What are you doing?”
“I’m sorry. I thought…”
I tail off as I glance up at the rearview mirror again. The sedan is still way back at the intersection, but there, two cars back again, another black car has pulled in behind us from a side street. It could just be a coincidence. It’s a different make and model to the sedan, and black’s a common color for cars. But somehow, I don’t buy it.
I take the next turning, not caring that it sends me cutting across traffic. Again, the following car doesn’t go with the move, but again, a jet black vehicle settles in a few places back a street or so later. This one is a van, which stays for about three blocks before being replaced by what looks a lot like the original sedan. I guess most people would have forgotten about it by that point. After all, who really looks at the cars behind them?
“Celes,” Grayson says. “Talk to me.”
There’s only one conclusion I can come to by this point. “I think we’re being followed, Grayson.”
“Followed?” Grayson sounds like he hardly believes it, but then he takes another look at me. It’s easy to guess what he’s doing. He’s looking at all the changes to my appearance, finally thinking about why I might have needed to make them. “Celes, are you in some kind of trouble?”
I bite my lip, weaving past another couple of cars. “You could say that. Look, Grayson, I need you to trust me for now, okay?dth=
Grayson nods without hesitation. “I do trust you.”
I head away from the town, out onto the highways. There, I guess that I’ll have the advantage. After all, I’m the one in the sports car. Once I’m on the open road, I give up worrying about what the police will think and just go as fast as I can. I figure that if the police stop us, at least whoever’s following won’t dare do anything with them around. I hope.
So for the next half hour, I play cat and mouse with more black vehicles than I can count. I have the speed, but it never seems to be enough. I’ll power away from the sedan or one of its sister vehicles, but whenever I slow down enough to look round, there’s another one, taking over the chase. It reminds me of the way I’ve heard wolves run down deer, pushing them towards one another, running them until they drop from exhaustion.
Of course, since I’m the deer in this scenario, I don’t want to think about what happens then.
My phone rings again, and I start to ignore it. This isn’t the time for an argument with Jack. Yet almost as soon as I think that, I change my mind. After all, if anyone can help me now, it’s Jack. I take out my phone and answer. On the other end, Jack’s voice is tense, even frantic. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him like that before.
“Celes?”
“Jack!”
“Celes, are you safe? Does someone have you?”
It takes me a moment to realize what he means. When I do, I feel a second of deep embarrassment. With my going missing this morning, Jack actually thinks I’ve been kidnapped, when I’ve actually just gone off looking for my boyfriend. Of course, given that the black van’s back on my tail when I look at the mirror again, there might still be time for his first instinct to be proven right.
“Celes?” Jack repeats.
“Jack. Jack, I’m fine.” For a moment, relief at hearing his voice overwhelms me. “No, I’m not fine. I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t have done it. I took the car. I just wanted to see… to move on. I needed to visit Grayson again.”
Jack’s groan is audible down the phone. I know what he must think. That I’m an idiot. Worse, that I’ve gotten into the spoiled little princess role far too much. I’m surprised to find how much it matters to me what he must think. I don’t want to disappoint him like that, and now I have.
“Were you followed?” Jack asks, his voice tight.
“That’s the problem,” I
The black sedan hasn’t followed.
“Celes?” Grayson asks. “What are you doing?”
“I’m sorry. I thought…”
I tail off as I glance up at the rearview mirror again. The sedan is still way back at the intersection, but there, two cars back again, another black car has pulled in behind us from a side street. It could just be a coincidence. It’s a different make and model to the sedan, and black’s a common color for cars. But somehow, I don’t buy it.
I take the next turning, not caring that it sends me cutting across traffic. Again, the following car doesn’t go with the move, but again, a jet black vehicle settles in a few places back a street or so later. This one is a van, which stays for about three blocks before being replaced by what looks a lot like the original sedan. I guess most people would have forgotten about it by that point. After all, who really looks at the cars behind them?
“Celes,” Grayson says. “Talk to me.”
There’s only one conclusion I can come to by this point. “I think we’re being followed, Grayson.”
“Followed?” Grayson sounds like he hardly believes it, but then he takes another look at me. It’s easy to guess what he’s doing. He’s looking at all the changes to my appearance, finally thinking about why I might have needed to make them. “Celes, are you in some kind of trouble?”
I bite my lip, weaving past another couple of cars. “You could say that. Look, Grayson, I need you to trust me for now, okay?dth=
Grayson nods without hesitation. “I do trust you.”
I head away from the town, out onto the highways. There, I guess that I’ll have the advantage. After all, I’m the one in the sports car. Once I’m on the open road, I give up worrying about what the police will think and just go as fast as I can. I figure that if the police stop us, at least whoever’s following won’t dare do anything with them around. I hope.
So for the next half hour, I play cat and mouse with more black vehicles than I can count. I have the speed, but it never seems to be enough. I’ll power away from the sedan or one of its sister vehicles, but whenever I slow down enough to look round, there’s another one, taking over the chase. It reminds me of the way I’ve heard wolves run down deer, pushing them towards one another, running them until they drop from exhaustion.
Of course, since I’m the deer in this scenario, I don’t want to think about what happens then.
My phone rings again, and I start to ignore it. This isn’t the time for an argument with Jack. Yet almost as soon as I think that, I change my mind. After all, if anyone can help me now, it’s Jack. I take out my phone and answer. On the other end, Jack’s voice is tense, even frantic. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him like that before.
“Celes?”
“Jack!”
“Celes, are you safe? Does someone have you?”
It takes me a moment to realize what he means. When I do, I feel a second of deep embarrassment. With my going missing this morning, Jack actually thinks I’ve been kidnapped, when I’ve actually just gone off looking for my boyfriend. Of course, given that the black van’s back on my tail when I look at the mirror again, there might still be time for his first instinct to be proven right.
“Celes?” Jack repeats.
“Jack. Jack, I’m fine.” For a moment, relief at hearing his voice overwhelms me. “No, I’m not fine. I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t have done it. I took the car. I just wanted to see… to move on. I needed to visit Grayson again.”
Jack’s groan is audible down the phone. I know what he must think. That I’m an idiot. Worse, that I’ve gotten into the spoiled little princess role far too much. I’m surprised to find how much it matters to me what he must think. I don’t want to disappoint him like that, and now I have.
“Were you followed?” Jack asks, his voice tight.
“That’s the problem,” I
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