Shifting by Bethany Wiggins Read Free Book Online Page B

made me physically ill. They knew each other. And Ollie knew details about my past, about the indecent exposure. What if he let something slip? What if Bridger learned the truth about me?
    â€œSeems you moved away from Albuquerque just in time,” Ollie said, pulling me from my thoughts. He spread my paperwork on the dining table. “A pack of wild dogs has been attacking bums and killing pets in your old neighborhood. The authorities have never seen anything like it.” He shivered and pulled an envelope from his breast pocket. “This is for you.”
    I took the envelope. It was from Jenny Sue and had been mailed to Mr. Petersen’s office. I tucked the letter into my back pocket.
    Ollie removed his glasses and cleaned them with his white button-up shirt before scanning my paperwork. He asked basic questions about how Mrs. Carpenter was treating me, how I liked school, if I was fitting in with the students.
    When we finished, he asked to see Mrs. Carpenter. I ran upstairs and tapped on her door. “Ollie’s here,” I called through the wood, and ran back downstairs.
    After a long moment, she came ambling downstairs.
    â€œWhy are you pulling an old woman from her bed, Oliver? I was trying to take a nap,” Mrs. Carpenter grumbled, squinting at him from bleary eyes.
    â€œI need to interview you about Maggie Mae,” he said.
    â€œWell, she’s the best kid I’ve ever met. I wish John had been half as good as her! And I already told him that. He called this morning just to see how she’s doing,” Mrs. Carpenter retorted, turning back toward the stairs.
    Ollie and I stared at each other for a long, awkward moment after she’d gone. He cleared his throat, took off his glasses, and began cleaning them on his shirt again.
    â€œWell, Miss Mortensen, you turn eighteen in a week and graduate in a month. Are you making the necessary arrangements to live on your own?”
    â€œI applied for a job. I mean, I have a job.”
    â€œGood. Well, I’ll let Mr. Petersen know that things are acceptable here. And don’t worry about seeing me to the door. I’ll show myself out. Take care of yourself.”
    As I walked to my bedroom, I heard the front door close. I pulled Jenny Sue’s letter from my pocket and tore it open.
    Dear Maggie Mae,
    I hope life is going good. Mr. Petersen told me he found a real good home for you. Paul and I miss you and hope that you get the help that you need. You’re a real sweetheart.
    The reason I’m writing this letter is because some guy has been by the house looking for you, but he won’t say why he wants you. He came the very day you were taken from my custody, and he has been coming almost every day since, even though I told him that you don’t live here no more. He’s been hanging around the house and neighborhood a lot, too, usually in a real fancy car. He gives me the heebie-jeebies. I am worried that he’ll follow you to your new house. That’s why I mailed this to your counselor. So please be real careful.
    â€”Jenny Sue
    I read the letter five times. Who’d be looking for me? And in a nice car? Some pervert who saw me naked and wanted to see more? I got a pen and piece of paper from my backpack and wrote a quick note.
    Jenny Sue,
    Stop worrying. I’m good. I live with a sweet older woman in the southern part of the state. I got a job at a restaurant called the Navajo Mexican. Totally weird name, I know, but the food rocks.
    Thanks for warning me about Mr. Creepy. I’ll keep an eye out, but don’t worry. I can take care of myself.
    â€”MM
    I stuck the letter in an envelope and wrote her address on it, but hesitated. Just to be safe, I left the return address blank.
    I got a stamp from Mrs. Carpenter’s desk and walked the letter out to the mailbox.

7
    On Monday morning, when the bus pulled into the school parking lot, the energy level in the air doubled. The sophomore