(Danielle)
I slipped out during the last period, heart pounding against my ribs like a war drum. Damien gave me a look, and I said restroom. I hoped against hope he understood. In case he didn't, I left the book, under stacks of his other things, but I was sure he would see it.
"I will be there soon," he said as I walked out of the class, and started running toward the back of the building.
I walked through the side gate and started to run. The air was cold, the kind that bit at your skin and filled your lungs with sharp needles. My footsteps echoed in the silence, each one heavier than the last. The whole town was surrounded by woods from every direction—like it was hiding secrets in every shadow, every whispering tree.
Just a few miles, and I would be in Laker Woods.
My breath came
