Crave (Harlequin Teen)

it?”
    Huh?
    She glared at me. “Right. Too many big words. Moving on. I suppose you’re trying to be nosy and ask about a certain sick person?”
    Surprised she’d already guessed what I wanted, I nodded in silence.
    She hesitated, as if thinking about what to say. “I’ll tell you, but you’ve gotta tell me something first.”
    “Okay?”
    “Why do you care?”
    “Uh…” Now how was I supposed to answer that one?
    “Let’s get something straight, Coleman. Savannah is really nice.”
    “I know.” She’d have to be to pick you for a friend, I added silently.
    “So she deserves someone nice. Not a player who just sees her as some sort of challenge.”
    Was that how Savannah thought of me, too…as a player? I shrugged off the question for now. “Aren’t you kind of laying it on thick here? All I’m asking is if she’s okay. Nothing more. No big deal.” I tried my smoothest smile on her, the one that even won over the dragon ladies in the front office.
    “Fine. In that case…”
    My heart missed a beat.
    “She’s not dead.” She turned and walked away.
    Something hot and furious that had been building in my chest all week exploded. I yelled to her, “That’s all you’re going to tell me?”
    “Yep. That’s all you get, Coleman,” she yelled back without stopping or turning her head. “You want more information, go buy it from somebody else.”
    Unbelievable.
    It took a few seconds for me to calm down enough to see straight. When I could, I stomped off toward the main hallway and my locker. Too bad it was the off-season and we were mostly focusing on weight and cardio training. Otherwise I could have at least hit something during football practice.
    In the main hall, I spotted one of Savannah’s other friends. Michelle something. She was an office aide during first period every day and was a whole lot nicer than Evil Anne.
    I took a chance, leaning against the locker beside Michelle’s. I gave her a smile and hoped it worked better this time around. “Hey, Michelle, how’s it going?”
    She turned pink, always a good sign, and giggled. “Fine, and you?”
    “Good.” Switching strategies, I tried not to show any personal interest this time. “Listen, some of the girls at lunch were talking about your friend Savannah Colbert. They said she’s missed a lot of school this week, and they’re pretty worried about her. Sounded like they were thinking about sending her a get-well card or something. I told them I knew you and would ask how she was doing. You wouldn’t happen to have any updates I could pass along, would you?”
    “Oh! That’s nice of them. I heard she’s doing okay. I’m not sure when she’s supposed to be back at school, though.”
    That wasn’t the kind of news I wanted to hear. “Huh. Sounds like she caught something pretty serious, then. Did you get to talk to her?”
    “No, just her grandma. You know, Mrs. Evans didn’t actually say what was wrong with Savannah, now that I think about it.” Her smile turned hesitant. “If you want, I could call them again tonight and find out more details.”
    Her head tilted to the side like a bird’s as she inspected my expression. She was getting too curious. Not good. “Aw, it’s no big deal. I’m sure the girls were just a little worried about her. I’ll tell them she’s okay.” I straightened away from the lockers. “But hey, let me know if you hear any updates?”
    I gave her another smile, waited till she nodded in agreement, then I walked off with what I hoped was a casual wave.
    Why did I feel even more worried now?
    Savannah
    Fire and ice. They were my entire world for days. That and weird conversations I overheard between Mom and Nanna. Or maybe they were dreams.
    “Sav’s never been sick like this. Never,” Mom whispered sometime during the first night. “Should we take her—”
    “Take her where, Joan? If they do blood tests…” Nanna murmured.
    “Oh, Lord, you’re right. No telling what they might find. And we can’t call the Clann’s doctor, either. He’d tell the Clann, and that’s the last kind of trouble we need. So…what do we do?”
    “I don’t know. Everything I try makes her fever shoot up higher. It shouldn’t do that. I’ve gone through all the books, read everything twice. But she’s too special. There just isn’t anything about her. There never has been. We’ve always been so lucky with her. She’s never been sick in a way I couldn’t fix.”
    “Are you