Shes gone, p.25
She's Gone,
p.25
“My family’s been incredible. And all of my friends. I’m really happy to be back in school and acting like a normal kid again. I never thought I’d appreciate that, but I do. After the last month or so, all I want is for my life to be normal.”
I remind myself not to ramble. No one has a long attention span anymore. Even me.
Get to the point, Hunter.
“Chloe’s dad is going to jail for a long time. A long time. If he’d just told the truth about the accident that night, he likely would have been put on probation. And then Daniel…all of it would have been avoided. But Scott couldn’t imagine telling Laura that he’d caused their daughter’s death. He thought that was worse than anything.”
“And Ron Hartman is never going to teach around here again. I wish I could say he’s never going to teach anywhere again, but we know that may not be the case. That’s just the world we live in. A lot of people have been talking about Scott and Ron and how they could do the things they did. And sometimes it feels like no one is talking about Chloe. Or they’re not talking about her enough. I started wondering what I could say about her and… I couldn’t really come up with anything that felt right. It was either too many things or not enough things. So I decided I’d just tell a story.”
I take a deep breath. And try to keep my shit together.
“At the end of last August, Chloe and I went to the mall together. It was a Saturday, and the place was packed. Back to school shopping and whatever. Chloe needed clothes, so we went to a few stores. After we shopped for a while, we sat down in the food court to get something to eat. And, as usual, the two of us just started talking about everything—the upcoming school year, college applications, our friends. As far as I was concerned, the rest of the world—the mall, the food court, the other shoppers—had all disappeared.”
“All of a sudden, someone flopped down into a seat at our table. The person sat down so fast that I jumped. It was a girl, about fifteen, and I’d never seen her before in my life. But she sat down like she belonged there and started talking to us like we knew her.”
“‘I’ve been looking all over for you guys,’ she said, ‘and here you are in the food court.’
“I thought she was confused. That she’d mistaken us for other people. Or had something wrong with her. But Chloe didn’t act that way at all. Chloe just went along with it.”
“‘Yeah, I’m so sorry we didn’t see you sooner,’ Chloe said to the girl. ‘But you’re with us now, so it’s all good.’”
“And then Chloe went ahead and pushed her french fries over to this girl. And then offered her half of her sandwich. And all the time, I was wondering who she was. I assumed she must have been a friend of Chloe’s, but Chloe hadn’t introduced me yet. The two of them talked for a few minutes, even though the girl was acting kind of anxious and looking over her shoulder all the time, like someone was following her.”
“Finally, Chloe asked her, ‘Is someone going to pick you up? Or do you need a ride?’
“And the girl said, ‘I texted my mom. She’s meeting me outside. She should be here by now.’”
“‘Why don’t you walk out with us?’ Chloe said.”
“And I was thinking that I wasn’t finished eating yet, but Chloe grabbed her bags and stood up. And she looked at me and nodded, so I stood up, too. And the three of us walked out of the food court and over to the doors leading out of the mall.”
“As we walked, I heard Chloe say something to the girl in a low voice. ‘Do you see him?’”
“And the girl said, ‘No, I don’t. Thank God.’”
“When we got outside, an SUV pulled up, and it was the girl’s mom. The girl ran over and opened the passenger door and climbed in. She looked back once, tears in her eyes, and said to us, ‘Thank you, guys. So much. Thank you.’”
“And Chloe just waved, and we watched them drive off.
“We started walking to our car, and as we did, Chloe could tell I was clueless, so she explained it to me. She said that the girl was being hassled by some creep. He was probably following her around, trying to talk to her. Maybe he even offered to buy her something or take her somewhere.”
“‘She was probably alone,’ Chloe said to me. ‘But girls are taught that if they’re ever in that situation, they should go up to another girl and act like they know each other. Just start talking. And we’re all supposed to know to play along, because then the creep will think the girl is with other friends, and he’ll leave her alone. That’s what that girl was doing.’”
“‘And you just knew what to do?’ I asked.”
“‘Women have to know how to do those things, Hunter,’ Chloe said. ‘We’re always in those situations where we have to deal with that crap. I just did my best for her. That’s all I could do. No, I had to do it.’”
I swallow hard. I’m almost finished with the video.
“I guess I’m not sure what to do next. I don’t know what my life will be like. But I’m just going to do what I have to do and hope it works out.”
“And I’m never going to forget Chloe. I hope none of you do, either.” I try to think if there’s anything else to say, and there’s just one more thing. “I love her. I really do. Still. And that’s all I’ve got.”
I reach out and click off the camera.
The red light goes out.
And I begin the rest of my life.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to Kara Thurmond for her web prowess. Thanks to Samantha McAllister and my nieces, Emma and Melanie Brandt, for their thoughtful insights along the way. Thanks to all of my writer friends, especially the very supportive community in SCBWI Midsouth.
Thanks to everyone on the talented team at Sourcebooks. Big thanks to my editor, Steve Geck, for his guidance and wisdom. And special thanks to Eliza Swift for taking a chance on this book in the first place.
Big thanks to Laney Katz Becker for her relentless work on my behalf. And big thanks to my agent David Hale Smith and everyone at Inkwell Management.
Thanks to my family and friends.
Thanks to all the readers!!!
Thanks to Molly McCaffrey for everything.
About the Author
DAVID BELL is a USA Today bestselling, award-winning author whose work has been translated into multiple languages. He’s currently a professor of English at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky. She’s Gone is his YA debut.
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David Bell, She's Gone
