Synchronized Swimming

Chapter 35: Caught

Sang

After Luke leaves, we all sit down in a circle. I end up sandwiched between Silas and Nathan. "Do you think that Luke's okay?" I whisper to Silas. He smiles at me.

"I'm sure he's fine, Aggele, don't worry." he says. I still can't get that feeling out of my head that something's wrong. I take a deep breath to calm myself; I'm probably just overreacting.

The side conversations taking place around me quiet down when Gabriel begins speaking. "I know that I had suggested truth or dare, but I just remembered that Mr. Blackbourne specifically banned that at synchro meets. This is close enough to a meet that I don't want to push it." he says, wincing.

I'm both relieved and saddened at his words. On one hand, truth or dare could bring up some pretty shocking information about my past. I also have absolutely no idea what the scope of the dares would be, so I don't want to end up sledding down the roof or something ridiculous like that. Truth or dare would be a nice way to learn more about the boys, though.

"We could have an improvisation contest." Kota suggests. I perk up at his idea- this sounds like fun!

"Like for synchro? I have a pool and an underwater speaker we could use." Tasia says. Kota nods.

"We could play different songs and have people improvise one lap solos to them. The coaches could be the judges, so then we would know who won." he explains.

I've never tried choreographing a routine myself, let alone improvising one! I've swam enough solos that I should be able to do this no problem though. It sounds like Victor is the only other Synchro Shark with solo experience, so I should have an advantage over them.

"All the guys can go and change in one of the guest rooms and that way the girls can stay here and change." Tasia says. Everybody nods like that makes total sense, but internally I'm freaking out. They're all going to change in front of each other?

I stand frozen until after the boys leave. "I'm going to go to the bathroom." I mutter. Grabbing my swimsuit, I try to remember where the bathroom is as I walk around. I see Luke enter Nikolas's bedroom and pause- I thought that he would have been lying down somewhere. Luke glances around and out of habit I hide behind a corner. What's he doing? He doesn't have a suit with him so he's not changing...

He closes the door, piquing my interest even more. Using my years of practice from sneaking around my house, I creep over and open the door just a crack. Yay for non-squeaky hinges! I hold in a gasp when I see Luke stick a flash drive into Nikolas's computer. I watch, unbelieving as he copies over file after file. He's a thief!

I close the door and lock myself in the bathroom. What should I do? My hands shake as I pull out my phone. I'll tell Mr. Blackbourne and Sean- they'll know how to deal with Luke.

Sang: Can I talk to you two? It's important.

I wait with baited breath for their response. Hopefully I'm not overreacting to something that has a reasonable explanation, but I would rather let them be the judges of if it's serious or not. My phone buzzes, startling me out of my thoughts.

Mr. Blackbourne: Of course Miss Sorenson. Meet us downstairs in the kitchen. Coach Laura left to look at something so it'll just be us.

Sang: Thank you.

I leave my suit in the bathroom; I don't think that I feel like swimming anymore. Listening for anybody approaching, I carefully head downstairs. The boys come down in a noisy heard a moment later, but they don't see me as they head out to the pool. They're so happy, so carefree that it makes my heart pang- do they know about Luke? What will I do if they're all thieves? I don't think I'd be happy being alone anymore.

The kitchen light shines warmly. "What's the matter Miss Sorenson?" Mr. Blackbourne asks. His expression is even more serious than usual. Besides him stands Sean, who looks worried.

I hesitate- what if he told Luke to steal? You have to trust someone... Besides, they don't look like they suspect anything. Now, how to phrase this gently? "Is Luke a thief?" I blurt out. Instantly, I wince- that was not the subtle approach I wanted.

Mr. Blackbourne's eyes widen momentarily before they harden. "What makes you ask that?" he asks carefully. Sean looks equally wary.

"I saw Luke stealing files off of Nikolas's computer." I state bluntly. There's no point in sugarcoating it now- the cat is definitely out of the bag.

"That idiot!" Mr. Blackbourne mutters. They exchange a meaningful glance- I think they forgot I'm standing in front of them. I let it go on for about ten seconds before clearing my throat.

Their attention snaps back to me. "Luke?" I prompt them. Sean groans and wipes his hand through his hair. Mr. Blackbourne looks at me with a calculating expression.

"I think some explanations are in order." Mr. Blackbourne says. I sigh with relief that they're going to tell me something; I was afraid they would just gloss over it. "This is not the place, though." he continues.

They are trying to cover it up! "I'm not trying to cover it up, I just want somewhere with fewer cameras. Can you wait until we get back to Charleston?" he asks. Is he a mind reader? My mind says no but his searching stare says yes.

"I don't want to wait until tomorrow." I hesitate. Sean laughs and looks at Mr. Blackbourne.

"This is more important than the clinic- we'll leave as soon as everyone is ready." he says. It seems rude to leave the Guppies in the lurch, but my senses are tingling- I know that this explanation will change my life.

Thirty minutes later, we're heading back to Charleston. Mr. Blackbourne had given a profuse apology to the Guppies and promised to come again.

"I'm sorry to leave so suddenly," he had said, "But an unexpected family emergency has arisen that requires our immediate attention."

Before we left, Raven stopped by and talked with Luke for a few moments. Since I was watching them carefully, I saw Luke pass the flash drive into Raven's waiting hand. What is going on around here? I really hope I didn't just take part in some huge criminal conspiracy.

I stare at the buildings flashing past us. The mood in the car is completely different now than it was driving up- everybody knows that something went wrong. I carefully maneuvered myself so that I'm sitting between Kota and North; I don't think I could sit next to Luke right now.

"Who wants a candy bar? It's slightly chewed on one edge, but it's still edible." Luke offers. My stomach turns at the thought of food.

"Nobody wants your chewed up candy bar Lucian, quit offering!" North yells, causing the atmosphere in the car to spiral even lower.

The sky grows dark around us. We don't stop for dinner, but I don't think I could have eaten anyway. The silence is soothing- I'm not used to the constant chatter the boys normally keep up. Somewhere past Florence, my eyes begin to close.

"Lean on me, Sang." Kota urges. In my half-asleep state, I accept and drop my head onto his shoulder. I'm fast asleep moments later.