CHAPTER 17

Not waiting for Edward's reply, I tore out of there and up the stairs, not looking at his amazing home. I came out the front door to woods surrounding the house. Pausing for no longer than a second, I jumped off the steps and took off running down the longest driveway I had ever seen. All I was thinking was that I wanted to get Mike for betraying me. And I wanted to hurt Angel for setting him up with those lies. How the hell could they be in this together?

Edward's voice floated after me. Calling me back. Half of me wanted to turn and run into his arms, but the other half, the slayer half, kept me going. I stopped when I came to the end of the driveway, and looked around. To the right I saw the outskirts of Forks. Ok. So I wasn't that far away.

A car was coming from the left, and I hailed it down; not really caring about the dangers of hitchhiking right now. The guy inside was about in his mid-twenties, and looked nice enough.

He rolled down his window. "Yeah?"

"Can I get a ride? It's only into town." I asked. He thought for a moment then nodded. I hopped in and gave the directions to Charlie's house. Thankfully he asked no questions and got me home in a hurry.

"Thanks!" I called, jumping out of his car.

The front door was open, and I charged in, scaring the shit out of Charlie, who was on the phone. The instant he saw me he hung up. I ran to him and gave him a hug. In return he squeezed me so tight that I could hardly breath.

"I thought I'd lost you."

"I am so sorry Dad I-" He didn't want an explanation. Which was good, because I didn't have one.

"Yon are to never go out with that boy again. Do you understand?"

"Not going to be an issue." I promised. I pulled away noting the time on the clock. "Would it be Ok If I ran to school and pick up my missing work?"

"Is the school even open this time on Fridays?" He looked uncertain. "And won't your teachers be gone by now?"

"Um, no. They usually leave by six-thirty." I lied. He finally said that I could go if I came right back home. Then he gave me his cell phone, and told to call if there were any problems, Yada yada ya. Charlie, for some reason, never had a phonebook and I needed to find out where Mr. Newton lived. Running upstairs. I quickly changed clothes, then glanced at myself in the mirror. With the expression I wore, I felt like that I could scare off fear itself.

The sky was growing rapidly darker by the time I drove into the school's parking lot. Go figure. I actually did need to get my homework, but that was not my top priority. I came to the office, which was dark. Perfect. The door was locked. Not perfect.

I looked around again to make sure that no one was in seeing or hearing distance, then kicked to door in. The lock broke off, but thankfully the door wasn't that badly damaged. Closing it behind me as I walked in, I went to the front desk and switched on the computer. The screen cast a dim glow, and I looked out the office windows to check and see if anyone was coming down the hall.

The main page popped up. Mostly files of events and attendance records. But no records of the students personal information. I turned it off, and moved my gaze around the office, biting on my lower lip. In the shadows I spotted the filing cabinets. Bingo. Creeping over to them, I laughed silently in my head for no apparent reason. Just, this was kinda fun.

I turned on a small lamp to get some light, then opened the top drawer of the first one. Well some good news. It held the entire student's profiles. Skipping the next drawer, I opened the third drawer, looking for the 'N's.

"Newton, Newton, Newton." I muttered, flipping through the files. "Newton, Michael. Gotcha." My heart sped up a little as I pulled his file out and flipped through the papers. My eyes scanned down the pages and found what they were looking for.

Newton, Michael Christopher

Grade: 11

Address: 6248 Seventh St. West. Forks, Washington 33467

Home Phone: (147)823-4977

I didn't bother to read any but the address. I swiped a pen off the side table and copied it down on my hand. Then I slipped the folder back in its place and shut the drawer. I snapped the light off and stood there listening for a moment. Nothing. I moved to the door and looked out. The hall was now dark also. Looks like everybody left. I crept out of the office, and as soon as I was clear of the building I broke into a run to my truck. The Waxing Crescent moon was sideways as if to frown at me. It's for a good cause, I reminded myself silently.

The roar of my truck's engine cut through the silent night, and it made me jump a little. Wow, real subtle.

Unfortunately my plan to ambush Mike in his sleep was crushed. The boy wasn't home.

"Damn!" I pounded a fist into my steering wheel. All that work for nothing. How could I do this? Suddenly a slow smile spread over my face as I formulated a new plan. As I was driving, I decided to get Mike on Monday at school. I'd play innocent and not remember anything that had happened on our date. I came to a stoplight and rubbed my hands together mischievously. Ohhh, this was going to be good.