you’d have taken
care of that by now.”
“Trust me, we tried. But now that Lucas is in the
picture, Zach wants to wait a little longer.” I stared off into
space thinking about the naughty dream I had about Lucas.
Would I ever look at chocolate the same way again? “He
wants to make sure I have Lee completely out of my system
before we go any further.”
The copier spit out the last sheet of paper and Rachel
plucked the stack from the tray. “You are a like a magnet for
bad luck, girlfriend.
You
need
to hurry
up and get the
answers you need from Lucas so you and Zach can get on with
your life.”
Wasn’t that the truth! “I know that, Rachel. That’s
why Lucas is coming over to Rosewood tonight—so we can
talk about Lee. I’m hoping Lucas will want to search for their
biological parents, too.”
We stepped out onto the sidewalk just as it started to
snow again and walked down the street, stopping in every
store to ask if they would post a flyer for us. Not a single store
said no.
We walked the full length of Main Street until we
reached the far end.
looming ominously
The street turned into a dead end and
in
front
of
us
was
a large, two story
building with a gothic looking tower. I’d never been this close
to it but I knew what it was—the Bantam Theater.
The theater was creepy looking in a cool sort of way.
It was the kind of place where I could imagine a masked
phantom hunched over an organ immersed in his musical
endeavors.
Buildings
like that held secrets—maybe even
ghosts. The brick façade was old and worn like it had been
abandoned and
neglected for decades
but the
twinkle of
multiple lights in the window told a different story.
“Look, someone reopened the Bantam Theater!”
exclaimed Rachel. “That place has been closed for as long as I
can remember. They started renovating it a few years ago but
they never finished it. I remember being afraid of it when I
was little and crying every time we drove past it.
Mom and
Dad always told me there wasn’t anything to be afraid of in
there, but I never really believed them. I guess that’s where
they went on their first date years ago.” Rachel gave a
shudder and headed back toward her car. “You couldn’t pay
me to go in there.”
I agreed with her wholeheartedly. With one last look
at the Bantam Theater, I spun around to follow her.
But
before my back was turned, I thought I saw a shadowy figure
peering out from the uppermost window of the tower. When
I blinked my eyes, it was gone.
Rachel and
I talked about Lucas
and
my
current
predicament on the walk back to her car.
“Please be careful around him, Ruby,” Rachel said as
we trudged down the snowy walk. “I don’t like the way he
looked at you
earlier—like you
were a piece of meat or
something.”
Really, was there anyone who didn’t think he was
dangerous? He was cocky and self-assured but so was Zach
when I first met him. Okay, maybe not exactly in the same
way
but close enough.
Would I have to defend him
to
everyone like this? She was overreacting just like Zach. Lucas
was different in the same way Lee was—misunderstood.
Her dire warnings were unnecessary but I decided to
placate her anyway. “I’ll be fine, Rachel. I’ve handled far
worse than Lucas could ever dish out,” I said as I climbed into
her Volkswagen Beetle. “I won’t even be alone with him—
what’s the worst that could happen?”
6. If I Could Just See the Picture on the
Box…
I booted my dad out of the Man Cave exactly fifteen
minutes before seven just in case Lucas decided to show up
early. Distractedly, I shot a few balls around on the table to
try to take my mind off of everything. It didn’t work.
Ever since I moved to Charlotte’s Grove, it felt like my
life had been broken down into a jigsaw puzzle—a puzzle that
I didn’t feel like I was meant to solve. Pieces that used to fit
didn’t, pieces that never fit before seemed to magically make
sense.
As
soon as
the
picture started to
care of that by now.”
“Trust me, we tried. But now that Lucas is in the
picture, Zach wants to wait a little longer.” I stared off into
space thinking about the naughty dream I had about Lucas.
Would I ever look at chocolate the same way again? “He
wants to make sure I have Lee completely out of my system
before we go any further.”
The copier spit out the last sheet of paper and Rachel
plucked the stack from the tray. “You are a like a magnet for
bad luck, girlfriend.
You
need
to hurry
up and get the
answers you need from Lucas so you and Zach can get on with
your life.”
Wasn’t that the truth! “I know that, Rachel. That’s
why Lucas is coming over to Rosewood tonight—so we can
talk about Lee. I’m hoping Lucas will want to search for their
biological parents, too.”
We stepped out onto the sidewalk just as it started to
snow again and walked down the street, stopping in every
store to ask if they would post a flyer for us. Not a single store
said no.
We walked the full length of Main Street until we
reached the far end.
looming ominously
The street turned into a dead end and
in
front
of
us
was
a large, two story
building with a gothic looking tower. I’d never been this close
to it but I knew what it was—the Bantam Theater.
The theater was creepy looking in a cool sort of way.
It was the kind of place where I could imagine a masked
phantom hunched over an organ immersed in his musical
endeavors.
Buildings
like that held secrets—maybe even
ghosts. The brick façade was old and worn like it had been
abandoned and
neglected for decades
but the
twinkle of
multiple lights in the window told a different story.
“Look, someone reopened the Bantam Theater!”
exclaimed Rachel. “That place has been closed for as long as I
can remember. They started renovating it a few years ago but
they never finished it. I remember being afraid of it when I
was little and crying every time we drove past it.
Mom and
Dad always told me there wasn’t anything to be afraid of in
there, but I never really believed them. I guess that’s where
they went on their first date years ago.” Rachel gave a
shudder and headed back toward her car. “You couldn’t pay
me to go in there.”
I agreed with her wholeheartedly. With one last look
at the Bantam Theater, I spun around to follow her.
But
before my back was turned, I thought I saw a shadowy figure
peering out from the uppermost window of the tower. When
I blinked my eyes, it was gone.
Rachel and
I talked about Lucas
and
my
current
predicament on the walk back to her car.
“Please be careful around him, Ruby,” Rachel said as
we trudged down the snowy walk. “I don’t like the way he
looked at you
earlier—like you
were a piece of meat or
something.”
Really, was there anyone who didn’t think he was
dangerous? He was cocky and self-assured but so was Zach
when I first met him. Okay, maybe not exactly in the same
way
but close enough.
Would I have to defend him
to
everyone like this? She was overreacting just like Zach. Lucas
was different in the same way Lee was—misunderstood.
Her dire warnings were unnecessary but I decided to
placate her anyway. “I’ll be fine, Rachel. I’ve handled far
worse than Lucas could ever dish out,” I said as I climbed into
her Volkswagen Beetle. “I won’t even be alone with him—
what’s the worst that could happen?”
6. If I Could Just See the Picture on the
Box…
I booted my dad out of the Man Cave exactly fifteen
minutes before seven just in case Lucas decided to show up
early. Distractedly, I shot a few balls around on the table to
try to take my mind off of everything. It didn’t work.
Ever since I moved to Charlotte’s Grove, it felt like my
life had been broken down into a jigsaw puzzle—a puzzle that
I didn’t feel like I was meant to solve. Pieces that used to fit
didn’t, pieces that never fit before seemed to magically make
sense.
As
soon as
the
picture started to
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