It’s been three days since my date with Vincent.

I haven’t heard from him or seen him since, and I miss him.

It makes me miss school, which I know sounds weird. It’s Spring Break! I should be living it up, but I can’t get him out of my head.

I want to find one of his notes in my locker. I want to feel connected to him.

“You’re thinking about him again, aren’t you?” Rahn’s lying on her bed, her feet swinging in the air as she thumbs through a magazine and hums along to “Crush” by David Archuleta.

She invited me over as soon as I got up this morning and I jumped at the chance. Maddie’s helping Holden at Cresthill Home for the Elderly, and Max is sneaking out to hang with Cairo. Uncle Conrad is covering for her. They left with their mitts and a baseball bat, but I know he’ll be dropping her at Cairo’s place before going off to do something else. It’s nice of him to help Max out this way, but part of me wonders if she should just tell the truth.

I swallow at my hypocritical thinking and go back to coloring Rahn’s book that she got for her birthday. It’s one of those really detailed coloring books and Rahn tires quickly, so I’m taking over to finish off the page.

“Purple?” I hold up a dark shade of my favorite color.

“Nice.” She grins. “Now answer my question.”

My lips twitch and I finally give in. “Of course I’m thinking about him.”

“It did sound like a nice date…until his cousin showed up.”

I figured I’d tell Rahn everything. I want her to understand how protective and sweet Vincent is. She seems to be coming around to the idea.

Outlining the flower petal, I start to shade in the middle and finally admit, “I’m worried about him.”

“Why?” Rahn’s braids splay over Zac Efron’s glossy headshot as she looks up at me.

“Sounds like he hates where he lives. He misses his brother. His family doesn’t care about him. I just wish I could rescue him from that horrible situation. I wish his brother wasn’t in jail for murder.”

Rahn gives me a sad smile. “I know we want to save the world, but unfortunately sometimes we can’t.”

I blink, hating her answer.

“I want to see him. Make sure he’s okay.”

“Yeah, well, you can see him when school goes back.”

“That’s still three and a half days away!”

“You must be the only teenager on this planet complaining about not being at school right now. This is our last break before the summer.”

I slump back in her desk chair, tapping the end of her pencil against my bottom lip. “I wonder if I should go see him.”

“What?” Rahn sits up. “You’re just going to show up at his front door?”

I sit forward. “Do you know where he lives?”

“No! And thank God, by that look on your face. Seriously, Chloe, don’t be insane. After what happened to you, I can’t believe you even thought for a second about going back to the northwest. Stay put. Right here where you’re safe.”

I wrinkle my nose at her and go back to coloring.

It’s not like I’m planning on waltzing in there after dark. I was thinking about an afternoon excursion. I glance at my watch and note the time. If I left in the next half hour or so, I could be there and back before dinner.

I just want to see him. Maybe if I wander around town and ask a few questions, I can track him down.

Keeping the thought to myself, I color until the field of flowers is complete.

“There you go.” I plop the book on her bed. “You’ve only got the sky and birds to go.”

“Ooooo, it’s pretty!” She grins at me. “Thank you. I figure I need to finish at least one page.”

I snicker. “I’m surprised your mom thought this would be the ultimate gift for you.”

“Me too.” She sits up with a frown. “Seriously. Sometimes I feel like my parents don’t know me at all.”

“I’m pretty sure every teenager in the world feels that way.”

We laugh together and I stand up, reaching for my hoodie.

“You have to go already?”

“Yep.” I bob my head. “I promised Mom I’d clean my room this afternoon. Apparently Max and I are making her hair turn gray.” I roll my eyes. “She needs a job, so bad.”

“I’ll cross my fingers for you guys.”

“Well, she has another interview tomorrow. It’s a second one, so things are looking good.”

“What’s the job?”

I shrug. “Something to do with management and marketing. It’s for that store on Main Street. You know, the one that sells everything from cheese sticks to garden hoses.”

“Oh, you mean the one no one ever wants to go into because the store is so overcrowded that you can barely move?”

“That’s the one.” I zip up my sweatshirt and flick the hood back. “If Mom has her way, the place will be revolutionized.”

“I bet she’ll turn it into the most popular store in town.”

“Well, she’s capable.” I grin and lean down to peck the top of Rahn’s head.

“Thanks for hanging with me.”

“Always a pleasure, never a chore.” I wink.

“Hey, you want to come fundraising with me tomorrow? I’m doing chocolate sales on Main Street.”

“Sounds good. Text me. If I’m free, I’ll be there.”

“Coolio. See ya later, Blondie.”

“Take care, Pigtails.” I wave and walk for the front door.

I feel kind of bad that I just lied to Rahn, but there’s no way I’m wasting my afternoon at home cleaning my room.

Turning for my place, I walk down the street and veer left once I’m away from Rahn’s house. I then pick up my pace and run to the bus stop at the end of her street. I only have to wait two minutes and I’m soon sitting on a bus bound for Fort Street. My stomach is a mass of jitters, but I’m comforted by the daylight.

Admittedly, it’s pretty bleak daylight. Dark clouds are hovering overhead, threatening to open up at any moment. I look out the window and ignore the small voice in my head, reminding me this is a really bad idea.

You don’t even have an umbrella.

You have no idea where Vincent lives.

Are you seriously just going to walk up to random people and ask around?

The thought is unnerving, especially in that part of town. What if I bump into those rapists again?

No, they’re behind bars now, and surely there will be some good, helpful soul that will want to point me in the right direction. I could start near St. Michael’s. Maybe I’ll bump into someone I’ve met through the free meal service.

Although, will mentioning the name Mancini do me any favors?

Crap, this is a bad idea!

But I want to see Vincent, so whether it’s stupid or not, I’m going to spend my afternoon looking for the guy I can’t stop thinking about.