The noise of the bar seemed to drop away.
His grip on the phone tightened. "What about her?"
"She's here," Laila said, lowering her voice. "She's back."
For a second, Theo didn't breathe. Then he let out a short, disbelieving laugh. "That's not funny."
"I'm not joking."
His eyes hardened. "Please, don't do that."
"I wouldn't lie about this," she said quickly. "She's here. She came back late last night."
Theo stood up without realizing it, chair scraping loudly against the floor.
Kelvin looked at him sharply.
"You're lying," Theo said, but there was no strength in it now. "We searched everywhere. There was nothing."
"I know," Laila replied softly. "She came back but, she didn't want anyone to know yet."
His heart was pounding now as tears welled up his eyes."…Why?" he whispered.
"She wants it to be a surprise," Laila said carefully. "She doesn't want the whole dramatic reunion before tonight. She wants everyone at prom. Especially you."
