All Chapters of Catch Me, Maybe: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

After leaving Evelyn’s room, Riley wandered around the mansion by herself for a while.Her mother’s old room.The picture Vivian had drawn.The paper napkin Evelyn had kept all those years.There was too much to think about.So Riley decided not to think about any of it for now.“I’m hungry.”It wasn’t even lunchtime yet.Riley went looking for the kitchen.She’d been there before.Probably this way.She turned a corner.Wrong.Backtracked.Tried another hallway.“...Where the hell is it?”This house was not built for walking around while distracted.Giving up, Riley opened the nearest door.“Kitchen?”“How could you possibly mistake this for a kitchen?”Grant was inside.A large desk.A laptop.Stacks of documents.There were even several monitors along one wall.Apparently, it was his office.“Wrong room.”“I gathered that.”“Okay. I’ll just close this.”“Wait.”“What?”“Were you looking for the kitchen?”“Yeah.”“It’s on the other side.”“Again?!”Grant laughed.“You’re getting wor

After lunch, Riley stood in the entrance hall with a notebook and pen.“Okay.”Three days left.If Evelyn had learned the entire layout of the mansion in a week, Riley could do it too.Probably.At the top of the first page, she wrote in large letters:HOUSE MAP“That’s a pretty vague title.”“Whoa!”Riley spun around.Marcus was there.“Stop appearing behind me like that!”“I’ve been here the whole time.”“Liar.”“I’m not.”“Then make your presence more obvious.”“You’re asking the impossible.”Riley started to close the notebook.Marcus glanced at it.“You’re making a map?”“Yep.”“Do not include the security room.”“I didn’t even say anything!”“I’m telling you now.”“What about the cameras?”“No.”“Blind spots?”“Especially no.”“S

The next day, at 1:12 p.m., Riley sat in the very back of the bus.T-shirt.Ripped jeans.Sneakers.Her full natural habitat, restored at last.“Perfect.”She looked down at her knees.Yeah. This was way more comfortable.Vivian had stared at the jeans right up until Riley left the house, but she hadn’t stopped her.Progress.Probably.There was just one problem.“...Which one is it?”Riley casually scanned the bus.One of Marcus’s people was supposed to be following her.That was what she’d been told, anyway. Apparently, whoever it was wasn’t going to introduce themselves.An elderly couple sat near the front.A college-aged guy was looking at his phone.A woman held a couple of shopping bags.And by the window, a large man was asleep.Riley’s eyes stopped on him.Black T-shirt.Thick ar

The walk from the gate to the mansion really was that long.“Are we there yet?”“Not yet.”“You said that before.”“We weren’t there before.”“We’re still not there!”Dana kept walking as if the distance meant nothing.Riley adjusted the bag on her shoulder.“Rich people are weird. It’s not enough for the house to be huge. Even the distance to the house has to be huge.”“Would you like to take a car next time?”“If it’s not black, I’ll consider it.”“I’ll let Hale know.”“A normal car!”“What qualifies as normal?”“Don’t ask. My definition and that family’s are definitely not the same.”At last, the mansion came into view.By the time they reached the front entrance, Riley was completely worn out.“The longest part of my commute was after I got off the bus...”“You made it.”“You’ve got way too much stamina, Dana.”“It’s my job.”“So all

After breakfast, Riley lay sprawled across the bed in her room.“Stay.”She stared at the ceiling.“Go back.”She looked to the right.“Stay.”Then to the left.“Go back.”Back to the ceiling.“...HOW IS THIS SUPPOSED TO HELP?!”She sat up.The more she thought about it, the less she knew.The mansion was comfortable.And her family was nowhere near as bad as she’d expected at first.Actually—“Nope. Thinking about that just makes it harder.”Riley grabbed her phone.◇An hour later, Riley stood outside her apartment building.No black car today.Just an ordinary gray sedan.“See? You guys can do normal.”“Do what?” Dana asked.“Drive a normal car.”“Hale arranged it.”“Marcus is growing as a person.”“I’ll tell him you said that.”“You don’t have to.”Riley looked up at the building.