Help Me by Clara Bayard Read Free Book Online Page A

Veronica wasn’t kidding about the clothes thing. She won’t let you in the door in anything that isn’t some overpriced designer she recognizes.”
    “Oh,” was all I could manage.
    “Ten, okay?”
    “All right.” I was too exhausted to say more.
    I got out of the car and exchanged good nights with Trey. Deep down, I was hoping I’d get upstairs and find Kat waiting. But as I went up and unlocked the door, I knew she wouldn’t be.
    Inside, her apartment looked even worse than I remembered. I glanced around, unsure what to do next, and then gave up. Kicking my shoes off by the door, I made my way into her room, curled up on her bed and fell asleep fully clothed, with every light in the place still on.

Chapter Five
    The next morning I woke up not sure where I was. I could hear cars driving by and smell all kinds of food cooking around me. It reminded me of being back in the dorm, except the food smelled good and I wasn’t worried about anything catching on fire.
    I got up and stumbled into Kat’s bathroom. There were a few things on the floor, but overall the room seemed to have been spared. Looking at her perfectly organized products made me smile, and then almost cry. I felt so connected to her being surrounded by all her things, but so distant when I thought about everything I’d learned last night, and the things I hadn’t figured out yet.
    I grabbed a towel from the little linen closet and climbed into the shower. Everything is better after a nice hot shower. Or so I hoped.
    When I got out, I toweled off my hair enough so it wouldn’t drip, and let it air dry while I pulled on a pair of yoga pants and a t-shirt. After scarfing down a couple of pieces of fruit – all I could find in the kitchen that didn’t require cooking – I started straightening things up as much as possible. Everything that was broken or stained went in trash bags I put next to the door. Things that looked salvageable went into piles to be washed or fixed or put back.
    Just as I was finishing up I got a text message and my heart leaped into my throat, but it was just my friend Alana from school. She wanted to find out how things were going. I considered writing back, but decided against it. I wouldn’t begin to know what to say.
    While holding my phone I thought about calling the police again. But then I thought about what Trey had told me. My sister worked as a “companion.” If she was okay, and the cops started looking into things, she might be in even bigger trouble.
    “One more day,” I said to myself as I went back to brush out my hair before pulling the dark waves into a messy bun. “If I can’t find out where she is by tomorrow morning I’ll call the police, no matter what the risks.”
    Before I knew it, it was almost time for Trey to pick me up. I changed into jeans and a button-down blouse, hoping it was nice enough for wherever he was taking me. On my way downstairs I shoved a bag of trash into the chute and smiled at a guy who was unlocking the door across the hall.
    “Good morning,” he said pleasantly.
    “Hi.” He was cute, in a hipster nerd kind of way. Definitely the sort of guy I’d flirt with under different circumstances. But Kat was my priority now. “Um, do you have a second?”
    “Sure.” He left his door hanging open a little and turned to look at me.
    “Thanks. I don’t know if you’ve met the girl who lives there or not.” I pointed at Kat’s door. “But she’s my sister.”
    He arched an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? You don’t resemble her at all.”
    “Yeah, I know. We each favor one of our parents. Anyway, have you seen her lately?”
    He tapped his chin with one finger that had a bandage around the middle of it. “Not sure, really. Maybe a couple of days ago? We don’t run into each other much, but I think I saw her in the parking garage earlier this week. Everything okay?”
    “Oh, sure. Just…uh…checking.”
    He looked at me like I was insane. But what other choice did I have?