Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 69018 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69018 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
Trance shrugged. “I’ll probably stand at the fence. Where do the ladies want to sit?”
Viddy and Oakley only shrugged, so I took them to the fifty-yard line and parked them about halfway up the bleachers.
“I’m going to leave this here and run to the bathroom,” I said as I dropped my bag. “Y’all can watch it? I don’t want it stolen. It has my last clean pair of underwear in it.”
Viddy snorted. “Yes, we can watch it.”
I grinned and took off down the bleachers, only remembering Banner’s order not to go to the bathroom by myself once I was already in there.
Thinking that it wouldn’t matter at this point, I went ahead and did my business, coming out five minutes later to it significantly darker, as well as more people milling about.
I was about halfway to the bleacher’s stairs when I felt something tug me from behind.
I turned to tell them to back off when I saw Vance’s face.
Then I saw nothing at all because his elbow met my face.
Chapter 18
You’re panicking at the wrong disco.
-Coffee Cup
Banner
I tossed a beautiful pass that sailed right into Graham’s open hands and grinned before holding a thumb up.
Coach then called us in to get the pep talk going before the game started.
Automatically, I looked to the bleachers for my family, just like I did every single time before the game started.
I found them in the middle where I’d seen them the moment I’d walked out onto the field earlier.
My eyes narrowed when I didn’t spot Perry.
Then again, now that I was looking, I saw my mom, Oakley, and Ashe, but I didn’t see my dad or Ford.
I automatically started looking along the fence where my dad and brother tended to hang, but didn’t see them there, either.
My eyes once again went over the bleachers, and my heart started to pound.
Perry wasn’t there.
Where was she?
“What’s wrong?” Titus asked.
I swallowed the worry that started to fill my gut and gestured to the bleachers. “I don’t see Perry. Or my brother and dad.”
Titus was silent for a long second as he scanned the area for them, but shook his head when he didn’t see anything either. “Not in the concession stand line, either.”
I was almost to the coach when I saw my dad standing next to the bathroom.
I instantly felt better.
Until I realized that he was standing next to the bathroom talking to a police officer.
Gut churning, I studied my dad, seeing that he was worried.
He always stood with his hands on his hips when he had something bothering him, and he was doing that now.
“I’ll be right back,” I said, breaking away from Titus to head in the direction of my father.
“Hey, Spurlock. Get back here!” Coach called.
I ignored him and kept walking, stopping at the edge of the fence where I could yell at my dad.
“Dad!” I called out.
His head snapped my way, and I saw instantly that it wasn’t frustration on his face. It was worry.
He came over to the edge of the fence and looked at me.
“Perry’s gone,” he said. “We can’t find her.”
I felt something, a sick knot of dread, fill my stomach.
“Did you try calling her?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Looked through her bag. Her phone and wallet are in it. Didn’t know her number.”
I looked along the row of kids milling about and spotted Rebel.
“Hey, Rebel!” I called.
Rebel turned and smiled, jogging toward us. “Yeah, Banner?”
“You seen Perry?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No, actually. We were all looking for her. She’s not answering her phone.”
My dad then went on to explain that he hadn’t seen her in a while since she’d gone to the bathroom by herself. Like I’d told her not to do.
I swallowed hard, then jumped the fence in the next second.
“Let’s look for her. She’s missing,” I ordered.
“Spurlock!” Coach called.
I stopped and turned to find him staring at me with annoyance.
“Perry’s missing,” I said. “No one can find her. She went to the bathroom and never came back. Her phone and wallet were with my parents. It’s been twenty minutes.”
Coach’s face immediately went worried.
“She got into a tussle with Vance before we got here,” I said. “That was why I left during your talk.”
Coach’s face went murderous. “Let’s look. I’ll get the announcer’s box to make an announcement.”
I heard the announcement being made, but I was already shoving my way into the women’s bathroom.
After a quick check in there and finding nothing, I went into the men’s. Then the concession stand.
It was only as I was coming out of the back that I looked under the dark bleachers and got a really bad feeling.
Reaching out to some freshman that was waving his phone around, I yanked it out of his hand and said, “I’ll be back.”
Then I flipped his phone’s flashlight on and walked farther into the darkness cast by the bleachers.