Free Follow Me Back by Nicci Cloke Page B

flirty and full of possibility – and then I have to fast-forward to now, a year and a half later, when Lizzie is just a word whispered round school, a stranger.
    And I can’tstop thinking about what happened in between.
    A conversation bubble pops up at the bottom of my screen: Scobie.
    hey
    how’d it go with SuperBitch Barbie?
    weird, man
    that girl is – I don’t even know
    Thinking of Cheska makes me think of yesterday morning, seeing her and Deacon… Unexpected. And extremely disturbing. I don’t know if two people as self-obsessed as they are can get togetherwithout the universe imploding.
    ha
    yeah, she’s pretty much the worst kind of human
    See? This is why he’s my best friend. It’s like two guys, one brain, I swear.
    how’s your weekend?
    pretty quiet
    Frank’s decided he’s vegetarian
    hahaha really?
    This is surprising because for the last three years of his life, Frank Scobie has survived solely on a diet of chicken nuggets, fishfingers,and, weirdly, swordfish steaks. That’s Abbots Grey for you.
    yeah
    as you can imagine, it’s left him quite limited
    chips it is?
    for every meal
    lol
    occasional bit of toast for variety
    dunno what you’re on about, sounds like he’s got all the food groups covered
    lol
    It feels good to be joking, to be talking about normal, everyday stuff; like stretching a limb you haven’t realisedhas gone numb.
    you heard anything about Lizzie?
    Yeah, thanks, Scobes.
    no
    my brother said his copper mate Paul was saying they’ve had a sighting
    Whoa. My heart just did something I don’t think it’s done before.
    what?
    apparently someone who works at the station says she got on a train
    where to?
    London
    London. Where she thinks ‘Hal Paterson’ lives.
No.
She can’t. She wouldn’t.
    shit
    I know
    I feel sick. I click back to my homepage and scan through the status updates without really reading them.
Cheska Summersall is excited for the weekend, baby!!!. Jack Ciszewski is pissed off. Jorgie Mitchell is eating cupcakes with her bestie J. Cheska Summersall can’t wait for tonight’s episode… It’s a big one peeps!!!
(Cheska Summersall has Facebook diarrhoea). Scobie’s chatbubble bleeps at me.
    Shark Week tonight… I’m ready!
    He sends a photo of a bag full of Iceland snack platters, samosas and spring rolls and skewers and I have to smile. We did the same last Shark Week, but I know that this time he’s making a big deal of it to take my mind off this whole Lizzie thing. It’s not going to work, but it’s nice of him.
    Good work
    just what I need
    Anotherbubble pops up. Marnie Daniels.
    Hey
    hey
    you ok
    yeah
    thanks for yesterday
    no worries
    I should tell her what Scobie’s just told me. I should tell her that it’s true; Lizzie did leave by choice, she did run away to meet a stranger without telling anyone. But sitting here staring at the screen, I can’t bring myself to type the words.
    you ok?
    Do it,
I tell myself.
Get it overwith.
    Scobie just told me there’s a witness who saw L getting on a train to London
    The seconds until she replies seem like hours.
    what?
    …
    how does he know?
    his brother’s friend is a policeman
    …
    …
    oh
    at least it’s something
    …
    it’s a step closer
    yeah
    And that’s true. At least now we have something solid, a place she was. The not-knowing has been worst. And yet I’mso scared to know.
    the police came to my house yesterday
    they were asking about you
    My heart is doing strange things again.
    About me?
    yeah, just what i knew about you two
    …
    …
    don’t worry, they asked about other stuff too
    Right. That’s fine then.
    Not.
    what time you coming over dude?
    I check the clock. 14:23.
    6.30ish?
    cool
    Marnie’s bubble blinks at me.
    you ok?
    yeah
    just thinking
    Thinking about Lizzie. Boarding a train. Not coming back.
    Gotta go, Marnie writes after a while, and even though I feel bad, I’m relieved.
    K. I’ll call you tomo x
    I say goodbye to Scobie too, and I’m about to log out when