Remember Me Gone by Stacy Stokes

Author:Stacy Stokes [Stokes, Stacy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2022-03-22T00:00:00+00:00

19

Twenty minutes later I turn onto Manuela’s street. I spot the house with the rainbow pinwheel sticking out of the yard and lean my bike against a nearby tree. A dog two houses over announces my arrival. The low guttural growl doesn’t match the ten-pound ball of fluff it’s coming from. Not that I can blame the poor thing—I’d kick up a fuss, too, if I had to wear a fur coat in the middle of a July desert.

The curtains on Manuela’s front window peel back and I catch sight of her scowling before they snap closed again.

She’s home. Thank God.

I walk slowly up to her porch, remembering the reflection of her tear-streaked face on the drive back to her house the other night. Maybe I’m a fool for coming here, but she’s the only person I can think of who might be able to help.

I’ve barely lifted my hand to knock when the door flies open. The porch wind chimes clang in protest. Manuela stares back with crossed arms.

She’s wearing an oversized T-shirt, pajama pants with little hearts running down the legs, and no makeup.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she demands, eyes narrowed.

“Hello to you, too,” I say, not really sure how to answer.

She rolls her eyes. Behind her, an older woman sits in a faded yellow armchair that looks like the sun’s bleached the color right out of it. She’s staring blankly at a television set. Manuela sees me looking and closes the door farther so I can’t see inside.

“What do you want?”

“Have you seen Marco?”

Her face twists into a grimace at the mention of his name, and she starts to close the door. I have to hold out a hand to stop her.

“Wait, please. I’m worried about him. I haven’t seen him in a few days. I’m afraid something happened.”

“Sounds like you got dumped, princess. Not my problem.” She starts to close the door again. I take a step closer and put my foot against the door to block it.

“This is serious, Manuela. Please.”

I can see her evaluating my words.

I keep going. “Can you just tell me if you’ve seen him? I’m afraid something bad might have happened to him.”

“What makes you so sure something happened? Maybe he really just dumped you.”

“Do you really think I’d come all the way to your house if that were the case?” There must be something in my voice, because this time, she pauses midway through trying to shut the door in my face.

She turns to look at the woman in the faded chair, then back at me. “He hasn’t been at Miracle Lake the last few nights. And some of the guys said they haven’t seen him around town. I figured he was with you. Why, what’s the big deal?”

Dread tiptoes down my spine. Shit.

“Listen, I have a favor to ask.”

She lets out a loud huff of laughter and shakes her head. “You must have been dropped on your head a lot as a baby.”

“I’m serious. I need your help.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.