"Turn left, then go straight past the lights," Will tells me.

I drive in the opposite direction of my house. Yesterday Will said he lives five minutes from me, but as we drive along, it feels so much farther.

"I'm sorry about how Christine acted yesterday," Will says suddenly, breaking the silence around us.

His words pull my thoughts away from obsessing about the note crumpled in the back seat.

"You're sorry?" I repeat.

"I know. She's the one who should say it, but she's not here and I introduced you." He looks over at me. "I don't know why she acted like that, not letting you talk and everything."

"You've been friends for a long time?"

"She's like a sister."

I take this in, remembering how she looked at him, knowing she doesn't feel the same way.

We fall into silence and my mind drifts to the drawing in the back. I rack my brain thinking about who I've met so far in Ludford, who I've seen walk past the house, and who else might be responsible for this drawing. Because as much as it gives me the creeps to picture someone standing in the forest watching us and then sitting at a table somewhere putting so much thought and energy into capturing us on paper, I don't want that someone to be Paul. I shudder at the idea of it.

Will interrupts my thoughts, bringing me back to the present by asking me what I think of my classes. It takes me a moment while I stare at him, to shift from the house in Eyre and the horrors that happened there, back to where I sit in the car beside him.

"Your classes?" he repeats with curious eyes as if he's wondering what's going through my head.

The sensation of Mr. Wolburn's finger gliding against my skin comes back to me. "What do you think of Mr. Wolburn?"

Will's eyebrows rise at the suddenness of the question and then shrugs. "He's okay, I guess. He tells terrible jokes. Don't get him started." He makes a face, scrunching his nose. "He's kinda like the dad at a house party who comes down to the basement because he wants your friends to think he's cool. Do you know what I mean?"

I nod. "I can see that."

"Why do you ask?"

"I was wondering if he was a little weird. Like serial killer weird."

Will laughs and I glance over, a small smile lifting my lips at having made him. "Not that I've heard," he says. "Though I think we'd notice if bodies started piling up in Ludford." Will pauses and adds, "He's pretty involved with extracurriculars. If it weren't for him, the girls wouldn't even have a basketball team, since no one else wanted to take on coaching them. He also helps with other school events like Semi-Formal and Prom."

"Semi-Formal?" I repeat.

"The dance in late November. They always need teachers to chaperone."

I take this in, my stomach dropping as the memory of another dance surfaces. Last year Jaime asked me to the October dance when all my friends went with boyfriends and I was the only one on the outside. I would never have agreed to a date with him if it weren't for all the pressure from Laura and Ava. I give my head a mental shake and focus on Will's words.

"How do you like the Connors' old place?" he asks. After a few moments, I notice the heavy stillness in the car as if he has all day to wait for me to answer.

I force myself to concentrate on my words. "It needs work, but Cassie says she'll fix it when she's off. She's a nurse, so it may take a while before she has time."

He points to the right. "Turn here."

"How about you? What do your parents do?" I ask suddenly curious to know more about him.

"My dad owns Marlowe's garage on Hillcrest Avenue," he says. "You've probably seen it. It's the one with the big green sign, right next to the Starlight Burger shop. My mom is sick, so she doesn't work anymore. But she used to be an accountant."

"Are you going to be a mechanic like your dad?" I ask

He makes a sound like a grunt in his throat that draws my gaze to his face. His deep brown eyes are pained as if I've hurt him. "Just because my dad owns a garage doesn't mean I want to be a mechanic."

The way he says the words shows me it's an assumption he's been fighting his whole life. "Sorry," I say. "My dad's a doctor and wants me to study medicine. I thought it might be the same with you, especially if he owns the place."

The silence drags between us until he breaks it. "Pull over there."

He points to a brown bungalow on the right side of the street and I turn into a narrow driveway. "Thanks for the lift." He reaches into the backseat for his bag, his body pressing close to my shoulder while he stretches for it. Will's deodorant wafts to my nose.

I'm disoriented by his body's proximity to me, and force myself to stare to my left at a landscape dusted with yellows, oranges, and reds. The wind coaxes the leaves from the maple tree in front of his house and I'm struck by the changes around me-as if they happened in the last few hours instead of the last few weeks. It makes me suddenly sad. Really sad. Like time is passing and I've missed an opportunity here to connect with someone.

Like I always do.

So far, Will's been nothing but nice to me and I'm shutting him out because so much about Paul being released has me on edge.

[Author's Note:

New chapter dropping every Monday and Thursday at 9:15 am].