I shivered as a gust of cold air blew over me. Before I had the chance to turn to the tunnel entrance, arms were wrapped around me firmly. "You really ought to wear something warmer, Gallagher Girl. Like, I don't know, a jacket? Maybe one your boyfriend gave you…" Zach's teasing whisper rung through my ear. Our cheeks touched slightly and sparks threw themselves between us.
"Well I was kind of hoping that same boyfriend would warm me up himself." I turned to face him, holding his head in my hands. "If he can't, maybe I'll have to refer to a previous boyfriend…" I kept my tone light and joking, but I felt Zach flinch.
"Trust me, I can warm you up."
"I was hoping you'd say that."
His arms tightened around my body, but in a really good way. I felt safe, secure. I could almost believe that no one was trying to kill me. Almost. I sighed, thinking of Catherine, Zach's mom. How could such an evil woman create such an amazing guy?
"Tell me what you're thinking." He smiled down at me, tilting my chin up with his nose.
"Not much… Just how amazing it feels being with you." I hung my head again, cheeks flaring. I loved every moment I got to spend with Zach alone, but I also felt so much more self-conscious. One-to-one moments were intimate and incredible, but they usually meant I would say something cheesy that would embarrass him.
"I love being with you too." His voice was barely more than a whisper. I'm still not entirely sure if he even said it, or what he'd meant by it. But I loved the words all the same.
We sat together for hours that night, closely entwined together. My legs were draped over his as he played with my toes and my hands stroked his dishevelled hair. We stayed there for hours, talking about school, about the future. For some parts we'd go with minutes of silence, Zach occasionally leaning down to kiss my forehead, my arms, any part of me.
At 1:27AM I decided I should go back to my room. Zach offered to accompany me, but as Macey has often reminded me, that can only ever lead to trouble. "I think I'll survive the journey." I assured him, secretly touched by his gentlemanliness.
By the time I arrived at my room, the door was ajar. I'm not saying this meant anything, but it certainly wasn't normal. One thing we Gallagher Girls value is privacy. I guess it's ironic, we're taught how to pick locks and hack into people's personal accounts, yet there is an unspoken agreement that we do not intrude on each other (intruding on anyone else is totally allowed though). Therefore leaving your door open is basically like saying "Well come on in, take a look around," which trust me is not Bex style.
I edged carefully into our bedroom, my spy instincts in full mode. "Bex?" I called out in a hushed voice. "Mace? Lizzie?" No reply. Now I know it was a Friday night, but at the Gallagher Academy we don't really 'hit the nightclubs', so I was starting to panic. I wandered back down to the common room but it was empty. The rest of the rooms on our floor were closed, but I knocked softly on Anna Fetterman's door anyway.
After a lot of mumbling from behind, it finally flung open. "Cammie?" She asked, not really sure.
"Yep, Anna, it's me. You don't know where my roommates are, do you?"
"Huh?" A look of confusion clouded over her face briefly, but it was followed by apprehension. "They were with us earlier, we watched Pride and Prejudice, you know the one with Kiera Knightley? So cute! But I don't know what they did after. Sorry, Cam." She looked at me awkwardly, lingering in the doorway.
"Oh, okay, sure. Don't worry, you go back to sleep! I'm sure they'll turn up." I smiled. The door was shut in my face before I'd even finished the sentence, and as I took a step away, back to my room, I heard the faint sound of snoring.
I didn't know what to do. Go back to bed and hope they were there in the morning? Go find Zach or my Mum? I didn't want to get them in any kind of trouble, but what if they already were in trouble? I walked around the mansion, checking every hidden passage I knew. They were literally nowhere to be found. Finally I found myself at the last secret door, but they wouldn't be there. I didn't care though, I went in, knowing who to talk to. I expected Mr Solomon to be sleeping; it was the early hours of the morning after all. But there were hushed voices coming from his bedroom.
"We should count ourselves lucky that she wasn't with them!" I recognised my Aunt Abby immediately.
"You think I don't know that? I'm so glad Cammie was safe, but that doesn't change the fact that three students have been abducted." My Mom sounded really angry. I gasped, throwing myself into the room.
"Bex, Liz, Macey. They're gone?" My brow furrowed and I was biting back tears.
"Cameron!" My Mom didn't hug me or try to console me; she just stared at me irately. "Go back to bed." She ordered.
"No! Was it the Circle? Why do they want my friends?"
"We don't think it was the Circle, Cam." It was only then that I noticed Mr Solomon leaning against the back wall, his face a mask of perfect serenity. "It was done sloppily, and it's not your friends they want. The Circle doesn't even know that you've remembered the list, let alone that anyone else has seen it. We have to consider ulterior motives."
I nodded, feeling a tiny bit relieved. It was still terrible that my roommates were in danger, but it felt better to know it probably wasn't the Circle of Cavan.
Abby walked to me, rolling an arm over my shoulder. "It'll be okay, Squirt. We'll find them in no time." Her grin was taunting, like she thought this was a game.
"Cammie, you already know so much more than you should. Can you please just go to bed?" Mom looked exasperated. Her eyes were red and her skin pale. She was wearing grey sweatpants and my Dad's oversized hoody, but nothing about her looked comfortable.
I nodded, turning away. But it definitely wasn't my room that I was going back to. No way. I needed answers, and I knew who would help me get them.