Chapter 98 You can always ask for help.
Help! Someone help me!"
I pulled at the door as hard as I could and screamed. The noise I made, the banging and my yelling, just disappeared into the dark hallway. Nothing came back to me but silence.
It was getting dark outside. The tour probably ended hours ago. Which meant I was completely alone in this observatory right now. Didn't a fancy private school like this have a security guard? Then again, it was summer. Who patrols buildings during summer vacation?
That thought made me panic a little. I was not scared of ghosts or anything like that. But being stuck in an empty building with no food and no water? That actually terrified me.
Mr. Thorne said he would find me after the tour. But the tour ended forever ago and he still had not come looking for me. Maybe he thought I left with Liam. Maybe something came up and he had to leave in a hurry.
If that was true, I was completely screwed.
"Fuck!" I hit the door with my fist, feeling more pissed off than I had all day. Nothing good had happened since I moved back to Northwood and ran into Liam again. MaybeRossi was right. I should stay away from him. The guy was like a disease, only brought bad things with him.
I looked around the room, trying to find a way out. There was a small window near the ceiling, up high on the wall. I might be able to squeeze through it.
I stacked some chairs on top of each other and climbed up. My stupid ladder wobbled under me like it was going to fall any second, but I grabbed the window edge right before it collapsed. I took a deep breath, sucked my stomach in as much as I could, and pushed myself through that tiny opening. The concrete scraped my skin raw. But I pulled hard and got myself out.
I twisted my right ankle when I dropped down to the ground. God, that hurt so bad. I groaned and cursed under my breath, then limped toward the gate.
I was trying to figure out how to get home when flashlights cut through the dark and I heard heavy footsteps coming toward me. I looked up, surprised, and saw a bunch of figures walking my way.
"Ms. Bennett!" a security guard shouted. "I found her! She is over here!"
Then I recognized Mr. Thorne among the men. He jogged over to me and slowed down the last few steps, looking so relieved I thought he might cry.
"Sophie, are you okay?" He held onto my shoulder.
"Yeah." I was surprised to see all these people. They must have been searching for me this whole time.
Mr. Thorne nodded and turned to look at Ms. Dave, who had just walked up.
"This is not acceptable." His voice went cold and hard. A few people actually flinched when he looked at them.
Ms. Dave stared at me. "Maybe we should let Miss Bennett explain first. What happened? Why did you not come back with the tour group?"
Valerie's name sat right on the tip of my tongue. But I swallowed it down. If I ratted Rossi out, I would have to tell them everything. That probably meant bringing Liam into it too. Things would get so much more complicated.
And I knew how much high school kids hated snitches. I did not want to start my first day with that reputation.
"I locked myself in the observatory. By accident. I tried to break out but the lock snapped shut."
A thin smile flickered across Ms. Dave's mouth. Mr. Thorne kept staring at me, thinking hard about something, then asked again, "You sure?"
I nodded. Did not say anything else.
"Then the school needs to fix their old facilities immediately. I imagine you have enough funding now to cover that expense. Correct?"
Ms. Dave smiled at him. "Of course. The school really appreciates your generosity, Mr. Thorne. You have my word that nothing like this will ever happen again."
They walked us to the gate and watched us get into the car. Mr. Thorne sat in the back with me. As soon as the car started moving, he spoke up again.
"Sophie, you can still tell me what really happened."
I swallowed hard. I knew my stupid little lies could not fool him. "It is nothing. Me and some girls got into a fight. It is stupid. Nothing you need to worry about."
"Really?" His smile got bigger. "Making enemies before school even starts? You are a lot like a thorn."
My face went red. I could not tell if that was an insult or a compliment.
"Well, since you already decided to handle this on your own, I have to respect that and stay out of it. But remember." He reached over and patted my shoulder. "You can always ask for help."