Chapter 2
“We have to talk to Danika,” I tell Blitz. “Now.”
Blitz turns abruptly, heading toward Dreamcatcher rather than the place we've rented while we look for a house. “What's up?”
“One of the sites says she's in a wheelchair.”
He slams his hand on the steering wheel. “I didn't catch that part.”
“You were skimming.” I feel like throwing up. It's Wednesday, and I just saw Gabriella yesterday for our wheelchair ballerina class. Tomorrow is our private lesson with her. I wonder if the other instructors are figuring things out. We've long suspected Danika, the owner of Dreamcatcher Dance Academy and a personal friend, has figured out that Gabriella might be mine.
“Can you see if she's there?” Blitz asks.
I nod and send a quick text to Danika that I'm headed her way.
I get a response almost immediately.
I guess you've seen the news. Come on over.
I tell her when we'll arrive and tuck the phone under my leg. I don't want to read any more gossip sites. I don't want to know what they are saying.
But the buzzes continue. I look, assuming it's Danika. But it's not.
It's my friend Mindy. She hasn't written me in almost four months, since her parents took away her phone. She's only sixteen, another homeschooled girl from my church. She's finally found a way to reach me.
I read the message greedily.
Livia, it's Mindy. This isn't my phone. I figured out how to text you from the church laptop. I got to watch your show at my grandma's house. She goes to bed early! You looked beautiful. But I saw the news today. How can they tell those lies about you?
I write her back.
Not lies. I did have a baby. The father is in jail. It was a long time ago and I never told anyone.
How old were you?
I hate this. I hate having to spill to anyone. And I hate that I never told her before.
Fifteen.
Yowsa, Liv! Where is she?
I glance over at Blitz. He's focused on the road, looking intense and angry.
Mindy is asking pretty private questions. And she has only rarely ever called me Liv.
What if this isn’t really Mindy I am talking to? The number is unfamiliar. She said it was from a laptop. What if someone is pretending to be her?
“Do you remember my best friend's name?” I ask Blitz.
He frowns. “You were pretty tight with your assistant on the show, Jessie,” he says.
“No, from before I left home.”
His mouth pulls down again. “The one who got grounded from talking to you?”
“That one.”
He bites his lip. “Mandy? Melanie?”
“Mindy,” I say.
“Yes, Mindy. What about her?”
“She's writing me, or she says she is, from an unfamiliar number. She's asking questions about the baby, and now I'm worried it's not really her.”
“Ask her something only she would know.”
I nod. I ignore her question about Gabriella and text her again.
How is my brother Anthony doing?
After a moment, she replies.
Autocorrect? You mean Andy. He seems a little sad. I think he misses you.
Okay, so she knows my brother's name.
Did you have to put away the church decorations alone?
No, Irma helped. I think she misses you too.
Okay, it's her.
But she's dropped the question about the location of my daughter, and even if she is my friend, I don't know if I should answer it in writing. Instead, I ask her something else.
Can you meet at the park today?
Not sure. I can try.
I'll be there from 2 to 3 for the next three days.
I know this was a common “recess” time back when we were both homeschooling.
I will try. Gotta go before Irma gets back.
Thanks for finding a way to write me. I miss you.
Miss you too.
“It was her,” I tell Blitz. “I'm going to try and meet her sometime over the next few days.”
“Did she get her phone back?” he asks. He exits the highway. We're almost to Dreamcatcher.
“No, she wrote from the church laptop.”
“When are you supposed to see her?”
“I told her I'd hang out at the park for an hour for the next few days.”
“I'll pick up another phone. You can slip it to her and get back in contact.”
I reach out and squeeze his arm. Blitz got a phone for me when we first knew each other. I had no other way to stay in touch with him. “That's a good idea. Thank you.”
“I'll get Ted on it,” he says. When we reach a red light, he sends a quick text.
“I'm glad you brought him on full-time as a bodyguard,” I say.
“I'll miss Duke, but he is loving LA too much to leave,” Blitz says. “Sounds like he and Mack are hitting it off.”
In addition to taking over the show, Mack is renting out Blitz's old condo, which is full of reality show cameras. We are more than glad to be away from all that.
“Did Mindy see the news?” Blitz asks. “Is that why she wrote you?”
I nod. This is apparently too big for anyone to ignore, even homeschooled teenagers.
We approach the front of Dreamcatcher Dance Academy. My soul always feels calmer looking at the tall circular entrance. Bad things don't happen to me here. It's my special place. I have to believe this will be okay.
“Isn't that Gwen's SUV?” Blitz asks.
I scan the parking lot. “It looks like it.” Now my pulse ratchets up again. This isn't a day for Gabriella to be here to dance. But Danika didn’t mention Gabriella’s adopted mother Gwen being at the academy.
“Did you miss anything else in the links?” Blitz asks. “Are you sure they didn’t find her already?”
“There were a thousand links,” I say. “I just read the top ones.”
“The celebrity sites will look for her,” Blitz says.
And we both know the presence of Gwen at the academy doesn't bode well for keeping her hidden any longer.
All my secrets are about to be laid bare.