Echoes by Marissa Lete (best books for students to read txt) 📕

“Laura?” Grace’s voice is strained, and by the sound of it, I can immediately tell that something’s wrong.

“What’s going on?” It seems weird to be talking directly to her after all these weeks of being avoided.

“Laura, I’m so dumb,” she says, her voice shaking through the phone. She lets out a muffled sob.

“Is everything okay?”

There’s a long pause before she replies. “I’m such an idiot. I should have listened to you. I’m so, so sorry,” she chokes out.

“Grace, it’s okay. Tell me what’s happening.”

Grace hesitates, then her words tumble out between sobs. “I went to this party with Andy tonight. Everything was fine at first. And then—then Dana showed up. She started calling me names and making fun of me. Others started doing it, too. Andy—he—” she pauses, sucking in a shaky breath. “He just sat there. Let them say all these things to me. So I ran to the bathroom to calm down, and when I came back they were sitting there, kissing.” Her voice cracks on the last word.

I close my eyes, regretting ever wishing for this moment. I hate hearing Grace like this.

“I know you probably hate me. I was a jerk, I know that. I just… I need help,” she cries.

I think about it, about how I’m still mad at her for treating me the way she did, and how I’m worried that this will happen again. But then I think of the echo I heard earlier, and remember all the fun times we’d shared. I can’t just throw it all away, not when she’s one of my only good friends. “Where are you?”

“Jet’s Warehouse,” Grace replies sheepishly. I pinch the bridge of my nose with my free hand. “I snuck out, my parents don’t know I’m here. I need to get back home, but Andy was my ride.”

I sigh, looking at the clock just as it strikes midnight. “I’ll be there in a little bit,” I tell her, then hang up the phone. My parents are fast asleep and I consider waking them to tell them where I’m going, but decide against it. I should be back within the hour, and it’s probably not the best time for me to be explaining the whole situation with Grace to them, either.

As I drive through the cold, black night, I try to think of how I should deal with Grace. Can I really just put everything she did behind me and be friends with her again? If she gets back with Andy eventually, I don’t want to go into this circle again.

And what about Leo? How will his confession of love change the dynamic of our friend group? Will we ever really be a group again?

I’m so lost in thought that I miss the turn into the abandoned industrial park. I snap into focus, watching my GPS as it recalculates the route. When it finishes, I see on the map that the road ahead of me comes to a dead-end where I can U-turn. I follow its direction, making a three-point turn at the end, then drive back toward the turn I missed. I’m not far from the turn when in front of me, my headlights reflect off something metal, the object growing larger as I get closer to it. My stomach drops. There, parked sideways across the middle of the road, blocking my path, is a car.

My stomach falls even lower as I recognize it.

The Suburban.

Chapter 17

Panic takes over as I slam on the brakes, my car jolting to a stop about twenty feet away from the Suburban. My heart pounds in my chest, and I hesitate there for a moment, sizing up the gap between the back end of the Suburban and the ditch on the side of the road. I’m not sure if I can get past it without getting my car stuck, but with the dead-end behind me and a steep hill along the other side of the road, my options are pretty slim. I’m not about to sit and wait for a friendly reunion with the guy who had chased me.

I hit the gas and swerve to the left, holding tightly onto the string of hope that I can make it out of this. A loud grinding noise hits the air as I pass the Suburban, its back bumper scraping against the side of my car. My side mirror collides, too, and gets ripped off. But I’m free. I made it past the car.

I press the gas pedal to the floor, watching my rearview mirror as the Suburban turns, racing after me. I make a hard right turn onto the road that leads into the industrial park and it follows, tires screeching.

I speed into the industrial park, taking in my surroundings. It’s big, a maze of disintegrating buildings and parking lots overgrown with weeds taking up about a square mile. My GPS tells me to go left to get to Jet’s Warehouse, but I’m not about to lead the Suburban there. I move in the opposite direction and zigzag through the streets like I’d done on foot when I was chased downtown, hoping that I’ll lose the Suburban. It follows closely, but after a few twists and turns, it starts to lose some ground.

When I make a sharp turn onto a side street, I spot an alley between two buildings that looks just big enough to fit my small sedan, but not the Suburban chasing me. I turn down it, and while I check my rearview mirror to see if the Suburban can follow, I almost miss the giant chain link fence blocking my path. Luckily, I spot it just in time and slam on the brakes, my tires squealing as my car slides toward it, then collides, stopping abruptly. Behind me, I see headlights shining into the alley, and I curse. I’ve trapped myself.