day was slow, but Loganâs mind couldnât have stopped racing if heâd begged it to. All those years spent certain he was crazy, exasperating his parents, visiting doctors and refusing prescriptions, answering questions and absorbing doubts and suspicions that were anything but fair . . . all of that, overturned in an instant by one stalking silhouette. Heâd been right. This whole time. And he didnât know what to do about it.
He hadnât told his parents. If theyâd believed the story of his walk home, it would have been a miracle; more likely it only would have led to a disappointed look and perhaps another doctorâs appointment.
He would not tell Erin either. Logan was already angry with himself for going on so long about his sister and his fears the night before. Next time he and Erin talked, Logan was determined it would be about how much homework they had, or how the teachers compared to those in Beacon, or where to find the best pizza in town, or which after-school activities they might be interested in joining together.
âSo!â Logan said. âGot any big plans tonight?â By the time economics rolled around, he had practiced this opening line about a hundred times.
âHuh?â Erin asked. She looked at him as if from a far-off place.
âUh . . .â Logan cleared his throat. âI said, âGot any big plans tonight?ââ Heâd rehearsed the words so extensively in his head that when he said them a second time, they came out in exactly the same cadence.
âItâs Tuesday,â Erin said, brushing him off. âWhy would I have plans?â
Logan was crushed. He couldnât have guessed that her response was coming from a place of paranoia and guilt.
Truthfully, Erin did have plans that night. And not only were they big; they were illegal. They would begin with the deliberate theft of classified information, and she couldnât imagine theyâd get any rosier from there.
âI just . . . thought . . . maybe . . . I mean . . .â Logan struggled to form a complete sentence. He hadnât prepared for this particular contingency.
But Erin laughed in a way that was friendly and genuine, and Logan caught his breath and shut up.
Heâs not onto me , Erin thought. Heâs just being dorky olâ Logan .
âIâll probâly mostly be doing homework,â Erin lied. âDonât wanna get behind already, being the new girl and all.â
âThatâs smart,â Logan said. âIâll probably be doing that too. Maybe study for the Pledge some.â He felt himself calming down now. This had been the idea. This was exactly the conversation heâd had in mind.
âIf I finish early, maybe Iâll sneak a movie on my tablet,â Erin continued. Sheâd heard once that the key to dishonesty was specificity. âSounds boring, I know.â
âThat doesnât sound boring.â
âOh, it will be.â Erin laughed. âItâd just be some romantic comedy.â
âI like romantic comedies,â Logan said.
Erin laughed again, more nervously now. âYeah, but . . . like . . . thisâll be a really awful one, though.â
âHow bad could it â â
âBad,â she insisted. There was much too much to be done before her father got off work tonight for Logan to get any ideas about following her home again.
But Logan wasnât inviting himself over. He was simply making the small talk he had been so determined to make. And throughout the lesson, each time heâd lean over to whisper a joke, or to pretend to need clarification on a point the teacher had made, Logan forgot a little more completely about the stress he was under and the danger he was in.
In all of it, Logan never once mentioned the stalker on his walk home from Erinâs the night before.
And Erin never once mentioned her unfolding plans to moonlight as an unlicensed