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I forced my eyes closed and focused on to in an atte away for the night Hopefully after our visit, we’d know a little more about what happened to Carissa

I slept fitfully that night It had to be late when I felt Daemon settle in beside me, his arm firmly around my waist Half asleep, I decided he needed to be s would get ugly But I was content in his arainst hi the back of my neck

"I love you," I think I said Itslid around mine Maybe this was just a dream, because there was a surreal quality to it Even if it was, it was enough

Chapter 27

Lesa practically tackledday I hadn’t even ed me into the alcove near the trophy case

I knew fro bad had happened Her face was pale, eyes shadowed, and her lower lip tre?" I forced ers bit into "

I felt the blood drain from my face and croaked out a, "What?"

Eyes shiny, she nodded "She had the flu, right? And apparently she got really sick in the last couple of days, running a high temperature Her ht she hadbreath "I didn’t know anything until her parents calledif I’d seen or talked to her And I was like, ‘No Why? She’s been too sick to get on the phone and all’ And they told o fro for her and the police wouldn’t file a ht hours"

The horror that whiplashed through s and I really didn’t knohat Lesa wasn’t processing anything anyway

"They think she walked out of the hospital--that she was that sick and she’s probably out there somewhere, lost and confused" Her voice trembled "How could no one see and stop her?"

"I don’t know," I whispered

Lesa circled her ar, is it? It can’t be Not Carissa"

My heart felt like it was cracking Most times I wanted to tell the truth and confide in Lesa, but this was one of thosein this world could have made me want to be the bearer of this news

There wasn’t anything I could say, but I wrappedWe headed straight to class without our textbooks It didn’t un to spread, and no one was paying attention in class

Kianizing a search party after school She and Carissa hadn’t been friends, but that wasn’t important, I realized Tooeveryone’s lives I glanced oversmile It did little to soothe me I was a bundle of nerves When class ended, Lesa waited forrapidly "I don’t… I just can’t be here right now"

"Do you wantto leave her alone if she felt she needed someone

Lesa shook her head "No But thank you"

I gave her a quick hug and then watched her hurry fro as he pressed a kiss toto say "Do you think we have time to join the search party before we leave?" I asked

Both of us kneas pointless, but it seeive her this respect Or was it wrong to do it knohat really happened? I didn’t know

Daereed "Of course"

I wanted to leave the school, too Especially since everyone was talking about Carissa and finding her People were in high hopes that she would be found, because it seemed impossible that she’d end up like Sihout the day, I tipped into each side Sitting in class see in the balance These people--these kids--had no idea as going on around thenorance and not even the disappearances burst it Only tiny holes were pricked by each disappearance and I aiting for everyone to finally pop

At lunch, for the first tiether Even Blake joined us My lack of appetite had nothing to do with the oing to the search party?" Andrew asked

I nodded "But we’re still doing our own thing afterward"

Blake scowled "I really think you guys should wait"

"Why?" I asked before Daemon could snap his head off his shoulders

"You need to be working on building up a tolerance, not date night" Across froreeht now"