Red Phoenix's Passion is for Lovers Collection (Boxed Set) by Red Phoenix Page A

maybe even let her hold his hand in the halls. Now that they were a couple, surely they would eat lunch together. Tessa didn’t care how any of the other kids reacted. Nothing was going to separate the two of them. Nothing!
    She was almost out the door when the phone rang. Tess wondered why her mom was already checking up on her. “Mom?”
    “Hey, Tesse.”
    She broke out in a huge grin. “Oh, hi, Kevin! You do realize I’m going to be late for school. I almost didn’t answer because I can’t afford to be late… but I’m glad you called.”
    “Yeah, well, I just wanted to say that I love you.”
    Tess giggled. “I love you, too. But I’ve gotta go. Mom will kill me if I’m late. See you third period. Love ya!”
    “Tesse, it’s Luke.” Before she could question him, he hung up. Had she heard him right? Who is Luke? Tess grabbed her backpack and raced out the door, anxious to question him about it.
    She barely made it to first period on time. Tess didn’t even want to think what her mom would have done if she was late her first day back. All of her life, Julie had pretty much let her do what she wanted because she was such a good girl. Now every movement Tessa made was under the microscope and she didn’t like it—not one bit.
    Tess skipped into her third period class and sat down to wait for Kevin. Samantha glared at her, but Tess just smiled. It was their first meeting since the big fight. Poor Sam would just have to stew in her own juices. Tess was too happy to care.
    She sat there glancing at the doorway, trying not to act like a total idiot. Tesse trembled with excitement every time another student walked into the classroom. Where was he? When the bell rang, she started to freak out. His suspension was over. Kevin had said he would see her today. Tess got a sick feeling in her stomach. Something was wrong.
    That’s why he called!
    Tess tried to phone him at lunch, but no one answered. She wanted to run to his house, but Kevin’s home was too far to make it back for her next class. There was no way her mom would overlook her ditching today. Tess struggled to get through the rest of school, not listening to any of the lectures or her friends chitchatting about her birthday bash. She just watched the clock, begging and pleading for it to go faster.
    When the final bell rang, she ran to his house, not even bothering to take her backpack. Tess hoped she would find him there with some lame excuse about why he hadn’t showed. No one answered, even when she rang the doorbell twenty times. Tess peeked in the windows and saw that the house looked like a tornado had gone through it, with things missing as if they had made a quick exit. She walked around the back and looked in the kitchen window. The bread maker was gone. She leaned against the house, letting the tears fall unhindered.
    After the shock abated, Tess started searching the outside of the house, certain Kevin had left her a note. Something to let her know what happened and where they were headed. He wouldn’t leave her in the dark like this.
    Tess spent the next few hours searching every nook and cranny of their corner lot, determined to find it. She figured that Luke was Kevin’s father and he’d come for them. So Kevin wouldn’t leave the note in an obvious place, because he wouldn’t want his father to find it.
    The fading light forced Tess to head home. The large pit in her stomach made it difficult to breathe. She felt lost without Kevin. She worried for both of them, praying that he and his mother were okay.
    Julie threatened to cancel the party again because Tess had failed to answer the phone all afternoon. She just looked up at her mother forlornly and said, “Please do.”
    It was then that her mother realized something was seriously wrong. “Tessa, what’s going on? I’ve never seen you like this before.” Julie sat next to Tess and put her arm around her. “Whatever it is, I want to know, Pumpkin.”
    Tessa was unsure how her