Rhythm & Clues: A Young Adult Novel Read Online Free Page B

situation is for Child Services, it’s mine, so let’s make a deal, OK? I won’t judge if you won’t?”
    “Deal.”
    I pulled out my cell phone. “What’s your number? I’ll text you, and we can figure out when to meet again?”
    “Oh.” Gavin stared at the floor. “Let’s just make plans now. I’d rather not involve phones. Or anything that might lead back to my parents. But we can meet Tuesdays and Thursdays at seven pm.”
    I blinked at him. “Wow, that’s specific.”
    “Tuesdays are youth group night and Thursdays are when I’m supposed to be at piano lessons. That’s the only time I’m free of my parents. They’ll drop me off at the church and then I’ll bail. Our hideout here should be safe.” He bit his lip. “I hope.”
    “Okay, Tuesday then,” I said, realizing we had opposite goals. Because while he wanted to hide from his home life, I hoped this band would help me bust out of mine.

Present Day

A s I speed along to the warehouse, we pass Gavin’s church, located only a few blocks away and across a railroad track. Sabrina peers out at the white building, then promptly ducks down. Startled, I remove my foot from the gas.
    “Go!” she scream-whispers. “Mrs. Waverly was standing outside. I think she saw me.”
    I gun the gas. Mrs. Waverly. Gavin’s piano teacher. The one he ditched to start a band with me. My heart threatens to jump out of my chest. While most people’s hearts just tick, my surgery-enhanced one is more like a ticking time bomb.
    I’m so riled up by the time we reach the abandoned warehouse, I hit the brake harder than I intend, jerking the car to a rough stop. Sunlight emphasizes the building’s flaws, like catching a career prostitute under the unkind halo of a streetlamp. Graffiti bruises the exterior like prison tattoos, and the entire building leans a bit to the left as if the dented metal is caving under the weight of its own ugliness.
    Sabrina stares at me with her mouth open. “Gavin would never come here.”
    I smile to myself. Maybe I do know him better than she does. “I’m going inside. Wait here.”
    She grips my forearm tight. “This place doesn’t look safe.”
    I shake out of her grip. “It is, trust me.”
    She bites her lip, looking like she doesn’t want to.
    “Sabrina, I really have no idea what’s going on. But if Gavin did run away and leave us clues, then he wants us to follow them.” I meet her eyes. “He needs our help.”
    I let her stew on that while I march to the doorway. Shiny silver nails secure a wooden plank in place, hammered in so only the circular tips dot the perimeter. Did Gavin do this? I haven’t been here in weeks so I have no way of knowing when this blockade made its debut.
    A pink post-it sticks to the plank. It reads: Backyard Rebels.
    Behind me, Sabrina’s door slams shut and feet patter toward me. I rip the post-it off the door and show it to her.
    “What’s that mean?” Her eyes dart around as the sun slides behind a cloud, creating growing shadows.
    “It’s the name of our band.”
    Sabrina rakes her hand through her hair the same way her brother always does. “And how does that help us?”
    I shrug. “Probably just marking the door. So we know we’re in the right place.”
    “We don’t know it means that. This is insane. What if Gavin expects us to figure out his cryptic clue and we can’t and then we fail?” She stumbles backward. “What if we fail?”
    My chest cinches tight. “We can’t…won’t.”
    I inspect the wood for any false nails, hoping the plank is for show, like those alarm stickers people place in their windows instead of installing a real system.
    “Wait, I have an idea. I need your phone.” She holds out her palm.
    I shake my head. “You’re just going to call your parents.”
    “Gavin still has my phone. From Friday. So I’m going to call him and find out what the deal is.”
    “You mean he’s had your phone this entire time and you didn’t think of calling him