Chapters (95)
- Front Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Contents
- Video #1
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Video #2
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Video #3
- Sixty-Six
- Sixty-Seven
- Sixty-Eight
- Sixty-Nine
- Seventy
- Seventy-One
- Seventy-Two
- Seventy-Three
- Seventy-Four
- Seventy-Five
- Seventy-Six
- Seventy-Seven
- Seventy-Eight
- Seventy-Nine
- Eighty
- Eighty-One
- Eighty-Two
- Eighty-Three
- The Final Video
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Back Cover
“‘I’ve been looking all over for you guys,’ she said, ‘and here you are in the food court.’
“I thought she was confused. That she’d mistaken us for other people. Or had something wrong with her. But Chloe didn’t act that way at all. Chloe just went along with it.”
“‘Yeah, I’m so sorry we didn’t see you sooner,’ Chloe said to the girl. ‘But you’re with us now, so it’s all good.’”
“And then Chloe went ahead and pushed her french fries over to this girl. And then offered her half of her sandwich. And all the time, I was wondering who she was. I assumed she must have been a friend of Chloe’s, but Chloe hadn’t introduced me yet. The two of them talked for a few minutes, even though the girl was acting kind of anxious and looking over her shoulder all the time, like someone was following her.”
“Finally, Chloe asked her, ‘Is someone going to pick you up? Or do you need a ride?’
“And the girl said, ‘I texted my mom. She’s meeting me outside. She should be here by now.’”
“‘Why don’t you walk out with us?’ Chloe said.”
“And I was thinking that I wasn’t finished eating yet, but Chloe grabbed her bags and stood up. And she looked at me and nodded, so I stood up, too. And the three of us walked out of the food court and over to the doors leading out of the mall.”
“As we walked, I heard Chloe say something to the girl in a low voice. ‘Do you see him?’”
“And the girl said, ‘No, I don’t. Thank God.’”
“When we got outside, an SUV pulled up, and it was the girl’s mom. The girl ran over and opened the passenger door and climbed in. She looked back once, tears in her eyes, and said to us, ‘Thank you, guys. So much. Thank you.’”
“And Chloe just waved, and we watched them drive off.
“We started walking to our car, and as we did, Chloe could tell I was clueless, so she explained it to me. She said that the girl was being hassled by some creep. He was probably following her around, trying to talk to her. Maybe he even offered to buy her something or take her somewhere.”
“‘She was probably alone,’ Chloe said to me. ‘But girls are taught that if they’re ever in that situation, they should go up to another girl and act like they know each other. Just start talking. And we’re all supposed to know to play along, because then the creep will think the girl is with other friends, and he’ll leave her alone. That’s what that girl was doing.’”
“‘And you just knew what to do?’ I asked.”