Or maybe it’s not.
I get back to the dorm and I feel lost and shaky.
Maz is in her room.
Birdie is on the couch.
She looks at me and nods.
“I’m going to study,” I lie.
“Hey, what’s that on your face? Your cheek. I think you have some lipstick or something.”
I hurry into the bedroom and look into Birdie’s dresser mirror.
I have blood on my cheek.
From Cullen.
Not my blood.
Not his blood.
I have no idea whose blood it is.
That’s when I tell myself maybe I need to get the hell away from DSC.
Chapter 31
The next day I corner Maz and Birdie.
“I need a car. A vehicle. I have to get out of here.”
“Where are you going?” Birdie asks.
“Are you leaving for good?” Maz asks. “You can’t leave. I hope you know that. Once you’re here…”
“I’m leaving,” I say. “I just need to be away from all of this for a second. I need a vehicle.”
I put my hand out.
Maz and Birdie glance at each other.
Then they both nod.
Birdie walks away and returns with a key fob for me.
“I park it in the far corner,” she says. “It’s a big SUV. All black. No markings on it.”
“Is your family going to track me?” I ask.
“Smart thinking,” Maz says.
“Wouldn’t shock me,” I say. “Isn’t that how it works around here anyway?”
“Something like that,” Birdie says. “But, no, you won’t be tracked. Unless you don’t come back. Then I send one text message and all hell breaks loose.”
“Is my family more powerful than yours?” I ask.