Ten Too Many

figuring things out and fencing

* (^^ Jake)*

That evening when everyone was outside, I took advantage of the quiet and pulled out my laptop. I'd been distracted all morning thinking about my conversation with Noah. Just to make sure I didn't miss anything, I had gone back to the hall and looked at the back of the dusty picture frame. It still just said, 'Isabel & Noah, August 16' in the same loopy handwriting.

Now, I Googled 'Isabel, Belle Creek Montana'. It was going to be a long process before I found anything related. I sighed.

I wish I knew her last name, but I could hardly ask anyone. Especially Noah. Ever since we'd argued, he had replaced his usual dirty looks with level stares. It was a slight improvement, I guess.

I scrolled through the entire list of results, but nothing sounded right. I was scrolling back up, a bit defeatedly, when one that I must have missed caught my eye.

"Isabel R. Meyer, nine, in fatal accident," I almost whispered out loud. I clicked on it and scanned the paragraph.

'The small town of Belle Creek, Montana, is devastated at the news of young Isabel Meyer's death.

"She was the smartest little girl I knew," says resident Mrs. Brown. "She always came into the library where I work and asked for books about animals."

A large photograph of Isabel came onto the screen. She had brown hair cut short, in a pageboy style, and her blue eyes stared back at the camera. Maybe it was the history behind the picture, but there was something haunting in her gaze.

"On a Saturday afternoon, Isabel was reportedly playing hopscotch on the sidewalk outside her house and ran into the street, in front of a speeding car.

"I didn't even have time to take my foot off the gas." Leroy Valdez reports. "The airbags went off and broke my collarbone, and that's all I remember."

Valdez is now in the hospital to treat his injuries. None of the Meyer's were available."

I sat back on my pillow, stunned. Oh no. Oh god.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes briefly before clicking off the page.

A couple of taps on my door brought me back to reality. "Alex?"

I glanced in the mirror and rearranged my face to look natural, even ignoring the nickname that most of the boys had taken to calling me. "Yeah?"

Logan pushed open my door but didn't come in. "Jayden wants you."

He disappeared and I went out into the hallway and down the stairs when I ran into Jake. Literally.

"Woah," he smiled at me. "What're you doing?"

I was distracted by the pile of green stems in his arms. "What's that?"

"Grass," he grinned.

I gave him a look. "I mean what's it for?"

He laughed. "Evan's rabbits. I mowed the side yard and I know they like this type. Anyway, what are you doing?"

I shrugged. "I was just going outside."

He squinted. "Would you mind doing me a favor?"

"No. What do you want me to do?"

I ran down the stairs and out the door while cramming a baseball cap on my head.

"Much better," Jake said as he took in my jeans, old T-shirt, and boots. After he'd told me what we were going to do, I'd followed his suggestion and changed.