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"You don’t have time for such distractions," Simon says "Leave this toalmost hurt my Boon," I say "That does concern me And I’m sure it’s only just started with its attacks If we don’t stop it now …"

Siaze in h, and he locks eyes with me "Drop it," he says "This conversation is over Let me handle this"

I find myself unable to speak any over

Chapter thirty

DAPHNE

I don’t realize that I have been asleep until the sound of a phone ringing wakes y, disoriented state, I find I am unable to tell if what had happened in the last few hours--the party, Lexie near the grove, strange shadows and lightning, Haden walkingthe strangest dream

I blink several times and my eyes focus on the dirty, torn blue dress that’s draped over the back of my vanity chair

Nope, definitely not a dream

The clock onToo early for social calls, I think as I pick up the phone

It’son shrill, and the notes of concern ringing through her words are so strong that I panic, thinking she’s sootten wind of what happened after the party and is about to des and co about CeCe

I sit up in bed with the handset pressed tofrom CeCe in the last week?" she asks

"No I’ve left her ? No texts or anything?"

"No," I say, not aduy named Haden Lord’s bedroo to one," one?" I try to keep the panic froirls isoverly dra voice and realize I’m on speakerphone Probably in the flower shop, the faint buzz of the old cooler in the background "Hey, honey, hoas the fancy party? You took pictures, didn’t you?"

"It was … nice," I say "But what’s this about CeCe? I thought she had the flu"

"She quit," Jonathan says "In a note, of all things, and right before we needed to get all the orders in for the Harvest Banquet"

"Why would she quit?"

"I don’t know," Mom says

"When did this happen?"