CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
I feel sick. The familiar betrayal, the distinct mixture of hate and humiliation that I used to feel with Melinda is burning inside me again, bubbling up like acid. I can’t believe how much of a fool I’ve been. I want to run over to her and strangle her as she smugly takes several more shots of the vials, but I can’t afford to be that careless, so I go back to Estelle.
She eyes me uneasily. I know my cheeks are bright red with rage. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“Nothing. I thought I’d find something, but no.” I do my best to look disappointed, but I can tell she isn’t buying it.
“Oh no, you don’t! Don’t try that with me! Just because Bud’s not around doesn’t mean you have to hold back with me! Tell me!” She grabs my chin and pulls my face down to hers.“Come on, out with it!”
I turn my eyes away. “I’ve really messed up. Again.”
I’ve already rehearsed my story more than enough in the past 12 hours that I can tell her without a hitch—everything that’s been happening, from Alanna and Edwin to Yogi.
“She’s a Photo Traveler, too. I let her become my friend, I guess because I needed someone to talk to...”
Estelle steps back from me in shock. “Gavin, why haven’t you told me about this before? This is bad!”
“I didn’t want to worry you. She said she was from the family that died in the first fire—the Hoytts. I believed her.”
“Wait. You didn’t tell her where our vials are, did you?”
I shake my head.
“Thank God!”
“Yeah, really. At least I had that much sense.” I can’t stop talking about how stupid I feel. “I mean, I thought it was weird when she kept randomly finding me, but it was so great to know someone else who was like me that... I can’t believe she made me believe she was a friend... So, what are we supposed to do now? I told her about Edwin. She kept asking about what he looked like and how she wanted to see him. She’s coming here from New York tomorrow.”
Estelle thinks for several moments. I feel like crap. I’m in way over my head.“We need a plan. We’re all in danger, especially Edwin.”
When she says “especially Edwin,” something clicks. “I know exactly what we’ve gotta do.”