Rhythm & Clues: A Young Adult Novel (22 page)

Dismayed, I let the ball go so gently it barely made its way up the ramp. He snickered at me.

My cheeks flamed so I sent the next ball sailing at an appropriate speed. It rattled along, careening past the twenty-point slot before losing steam and puttering back down to the ten pointer.

“Good thing you got ten,” he said.

“Why?”

“Because now we’re even. And I like being on the same page as you.” He had that devilish smile, and my heart leapt, almost beating right out of my chest.

I closed one eye, trying to judge the distance and the angle. I used more force this time, sending it to the thirty pointer. I spun around to meet Gavin’s shocked expression with a triumphant one of my own. “And I like being one step ahead of you.”

Near us, little kids ran around, tokens in their hand, the coins jangling. Lights blinked every time someone dropped a ball in a hole.

Gavin stepped forward, invading my personal space. I started to scramble out of the way of the token slot, but he stepped closer, locking me between him and the game. His face grew serious. “Listen, I’m sorry it took me so long to come talk to you. I was worried you’d never want to speak to me again after my parents freaked you out. I’m glad you answered my secret message.”

I wasn’t sure where that came from or why he was saying it now, but I realized the last three weeks didn’t matter. All that mattered was that I had him back. “I like your secret messages. They make my life a little more interesting. And let’s forget the last three weeks happened. You can start by giving me your new phone number.”

He blinked at me. “What are you talking about?”

“Your phone’s been disconnected.”

Gavin backed away from the machine, covering his face with his hands. “This makes so much sense. There’s a phone call I’ve been waiting for. I’ve been going nuts wondering why it hasn’t come. Someone was supposed to call me back, but obviously they couldn’t reach me.” He chucked the ball so hard at the Skee ball machine that I thought it might break, but then it landed squarely in the one-hundred point slot. Bells and whistles rang out, police lights turning and spinning. Everyone looked over at us.

Fifty tickets spilled out of the machine but Gavin ignored them. “Come on, we have to find Sabrina. I think this scavenger thing is a distraction.”

A pressed my palm to my forehead. “A distraction?”

He stopped playing and looked at me. “I think my parents are hiding something. And I need to figure out what. And I need Sabrina’s cell phone to do it.”

Since when did Sabrina have a cell phone? Still, I rummaged in my purse and handed my own phone to Gavin.

He shook his head, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I can’t. Your name’s on the account. Which means it can be traced back to you. I need one that can only be traced back to my family.”

My stomach sunk at that news. I was about to ask for more information when someone yelled, “Hey guys!”

We both turned to see Isla strutting toward us and Sabrina frantically tugging on the back of her shirt to get her to stop.

“Stay here.” Gavin handed me the ball and stomped toward them, anger in every step of his gait.

I felt a flush of disappointment and took it out on the Skee ball machine, slamming the ball up the ramp. A few feet away, Gavin spoke to Sabrina and Isla, his back to me, his arms flailing. Isla wore an amused expression and her eyes flicked over to me. I flinched away, but when I looked up again, she still stared at me.

A loud, “no way,” from Sabrina rose above the din and Sabrina tugged Isla back to the boardwalk fast.

Gavin stalked back to me nostrils flaring. He grabbed another ball and sent it flying right into the one hundred point slot again. Sorry,” Gavin said. “But I’ve been sort of dumbing down my expertise so you wouldn’t feel intimidated, but Sabrina won’t give me the cell unless I win the stupid competition.”

“I’m kind of surprised that your parents gave her a cell to begin with.”

Another ball sailed right into the top prize hole. “It’s supposedly for emergencies at boarding school. I have another suspicion.”

The sirens on the machine blared. This was the first time they seemed ominous.

We completed the next few tasks easily enough. Gavin knew where to find the matchmaker game, and his sharp focus enabled us to win a claw toy on the third try. When we combed the beach, luck was on our side as we unearthed the shells we needed after only a few minutes.

The sun dipped low on the horizon, another day escaping. The breeze grew chillier, and I rubbed my hands to keep warm. Gavin power-walked ahead of me, and I wasn’t sure why this competition mattered so much or why he needed that cell phone. When I’d asked those very questions earlier, he’d stayed vague, saying only that he didn’t want to get me involved.

“I forgot.” He paused in the sand and waited for me to catch up. “I won that for you.” He tossed the stuffed bunny to me.

I squeezed the bunny, the soft fur brushing against my skin. A pink bow was wrapped around its ear, reminding me of presents I’d never received. “Thanks,” I grinned.

“Though I might need to borrow it for the contest. But you can have it back after.” He winked.

The sand squished under my feet, uneven as I hobbled to the picnic area his parents had set up. Several quilted blankets covered the sand. Josephine bobbed around, setting up china on the blankets as if this were a real sit down dinner in a fine restaurant. Chuck placed frozen hamburger patties on a sizzling grill, his fisherman’s hat rolled upward.

Gavin handed over our winnings to his mom. “Did Sabrina come by yet?”

“Nope.” Josephine checked over our stuff. “You won!”

Gavin let out a relieved breath.

“Hey, Gavin. Can you flip these in a few while I set up the rest of the food?”

Gavin wielded the spatula like a sword and hovered over the grill, his eyes continually searching the distance for his sister.

Josephine sat down on the blanket, folded her legs beneath her, and patted the seat next to her. “So, Moxie, talk to me.”

I stiffened, guarding her warily. Her warm smile coaxed me but the heavy stack of bills weighing down my purse was like an anchor, keeping me grounded a few feet away. She patted the ground again and when I glanced up, I caught Gavin’s pleading eyes.

For him, I thought, as I sat down. My back stayed rigid and my legs loose, as if I needed to be ready to flee at a moment’s notice.

“Gavin tells me you play in a band?”

It took all my effort not to scoff at her.
This
, was what she was asking me? After bribing me to stay away from her son? “I don’t know,” I said. Because it was the truth…was I still in the band? And because I refused to play along to her game.

“Yeah, my band,” Gavin shouted, obviously listening even though he was pretending to be engrossed in the sizzling burgers.

Josephine’s jaw tightened for a moment before she smiled again, cool, collected. “And how long have you been interested in that sort of thing?”

Years
, I wanted to say. Anything that might piss her off. But once again Gavin answered for me. “Only recently. I coaxed her to the dark side.”

Josephine whipped her head toward me, eyes wide. Her gaze was so fierce, I found myself stumbling out an explanation. “Until I met Gavin, I’d never really…” What could I finish that sentence with? Had friends? “Had the opportunity before.”

She blinked at that, glancing between him and me. She leaned in, voice lowered. “I’m just curious about your relationship with my son.”

Me too
. My eyes flicked to him and a warmth spread through my chest. Being away from him for two weeks made me reassess my stance on things. Made me realize how much I thought I’d lost. And how I’d been wrong about what would cause our friendship to end.

Anger flared like a lightning bolt within me. She wasn’t trying to get to know me. She was trying to find out how much more she’d need to pay me to go away. “My relationship with your son is none of your business,” I spat. “And frankly, I don’t care what you think of me, I’m not going away.” I reached into my pocket and set the thick envelope between us.

She nudged it back toward me. “I’m not asking you to stay away from him. I’m asking you to look out for him.”

I blinked at her, totally thrown off guard after that comment.

As I tried to make sense of what just happened, she stood up, hands on her hips, relaxed expression on her face. “I wonder what’s taking Sabrina so long. I didn’t think we made the scavenger hunt that hard.”

Gavin’s head snapped up. He checked his watch again. “We’ll go see if we can find her.”

I scrambled to my feet, head pounding from Josephine’s last statement, and picked my flip-flops off the edge of the blanket, letting them dangle in my fingertips. I stumbled after Gavin in a daze, the scent of burgers growing fainter as we kicked up sand. Ahead of us, the sky streaked pinks and oranges against the crashing waves.

“I think she’s screwing with me,” he finally said.

“Josephine?” I asked as my mind replayed her last comment.
I want you to look out for him.

He let out a sharp laugh. “No, Sabrina. I’m worried she left.”

I stifled a groan even though her leaving meant that Isla was gone too. “Let’s check if Isla’s car’s gone.”

He covered his eyes with his palm. “I can’t believe Isla would leave me here, but…okay.”

My heart deflated a little.

We changed directions and headed toward the boardwalk. Sand snuck into the crevasses between our toes. The music pumping from the boardwalk reminded me of the Mermaid Lounge, of how Gavin had seemed to want to kiss me then and I’d pushed him away. Pushed him toward Isla. I shivered at the thought, wrapping my arms around myself.

“Are you cold?” He hesitated for a second, stopping in place. I stopped too, and he pulled me to him, rubbing my arms with his hands. “Better?”

I leaned into him, pressing my cheek to his chest, his heart thumping in my ear, like the rhythm from one of his digital guitar riffs, steady and consistent. I thought of the last time I pressed my head to his and he’d told me he was confused. “Are you still confused?” I asked.

He trailed his palms along my bare arms, leaving a trail of tingles in his wake. “By that question? Yeah.”

I swallowed. “No, I mean. You told me you were confused a few weeks ago.”

“Oh. That.” He closed his eyes and glanced away. “No, I have a pretty clear head now.”

“I’m confused by that answer,” I said.

“Let’s just say I learned a lot these last few weeks.” He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. The cool breeze or maybe his touch sent goose bumps popping all along my arms. But this kiss was nothing but brotherly. Because Gavin wasn’t confused and that finally meant he understood my signals:
I just wanted to be friends.

Except I didn’t anymore.

He pulled away but reached for my hand. “We really should find my sister.”

He tugged me along to the parking lot, lacing his fingers within mine. The muggy air threatened to make his fingers slip, but he only squeezed tighter.

We spotted his parents’ white Volvo first, glinting under a street lamp. Empty spaces surrounded it, sand trailing in circles where the cars were now absent. Isla’s unmistakable monster SUV was nowhere to be seen.

Gavin punched the side of his car. “I seriously hate her right now.”

I knew he meant Sabrina, but I couldn’t help hope maybe, just maybe, he meant Isla.

“She’s going to get us both killed.”

The blood drained from my face. I judged his expression for any indication he was kidding but he was gravely serious. “For real?”

His Adam’s apple bobbed. “Hopefully not.”

I spotted a white piece of notebook paper stuck in the door handle of the side Gavin had occupied on the way here. It definitely wasn’t there when we first arrived. “Hey, there’s a note.” I plucked it out. Sabrina’s familiar loopy handwriting filled the page.

Gavin read over my shoulder.

Here’s the stupid phone, silly boy. I slid it under the car so no one would steal it. Congrats on winning! ;-) We got bored of the game, so Isla and I are on our own scavenger hunt. Cover for me, okay? You know they wouldn’t let me out if I didn’t trick them. You owe me now. Tell mom and dad I’ll be home later.

Gavin dove onto his stomach. He swept his long arm under the car to grab the phone, struggling to reach as far in as possible. He grunted, and I wished I was small enough to crawl underneath, but I wasn’t that small. It took him a few tries before he finally reached the phone.

He brushed himself off and walked across the parking lot where he jammed the phone against his ear. I leaned against the metal door, trying not to listen.

A minute later, Gavin lowered the phone and stared at it for a few seconds before sliding it into his pocket. He returned to me and leaned next to me against the car, both of us looking out toward the lights flickering to life on the boardwalk.

“So?” I asked, breath stilled.

“Got the machine. So now I wait.”

“For…what?”

His comment about writing a death sentence didn’t exactly ease my fears.