Page 11
“What?” I nearly drop the bagel. “You hid in the pantry? Zay that's so weird.”
Her shoulders slump. “Yeah, I know. I’m pathetic.”
“You’re not pathetic,” I assure her as I untwist the tie on the bag of bagels. Then with a smile, I add, “It is a little spy-eques. Were you like living out your James Bond fantasy or something?”
She cracks the tiniest of smiles. “No.” Another heavy sigh. “I don’t know what I was doing. I just knew he was up there cheating on me. And I caught him red handed. And you know what the fucker did.” She doesn’t wait for me to respond. “He jumped out the damn window, climbed down a tree, and tried to take off. But I followed him.”
“You followed him out the window?” I question, trying to visualize this.
It does explain why she had twigs in her hair and dirt on her face last night.
“Yep. And I made it about halfway down the tree before I fell and landed right on my ass.” She winces as if remembering. “I bet my tailbone is bruised, but it doesn’t hurt nearly as bad as my heart.” Tears bubble in her eyes. “And my pride.” She lowers her head to the table. “God, what am I going to do? Everyone saw me act like a pathetic, clingy loser.” She bangs her head on the table.
I hurry toward her and put my hands on her head so she’ll stop banging it. “No banging your head on the table. You probably already have a headache.”
“So? The pain can distract my mind from my embarrassment,” she gripes, but sits up straighter.
Zayla has always been a bit dramatic, but it’s never bothered me. What bothers me is how hard she’s being on herself.
“Everyone makes mistakes, Zay, especially when they’re drunk, so if people from that party judge you then they're hypocrites. And besides, Ollie should be the one who’s embarrassed.” I nudge the coffee toward her. “Now drink up while I make you a bagel.”
“Fine.” She sulks but collects the coffee and takes a sip while I return to the kitchen and grab the cream cheese from the fridge.
“I guess there is one positive thing that happened last night,” she abruptly says as she sets the coffee cup back down on the table.
I grab a butter knife from the drawer. “And what’s that?”
The corners of her lips tug upward into a small smile. “No one saw me fall out of that tree.”
I smile at that. “See, silver lining.”
“Yeah, silver lining.” Her smile remains for a moment longer but eventually it dwindles, the silver lining quickly fading into a dull grey spot.
Her frown deepens as she grabs her phone from off the counter and checks her messages. “Oh my god, so many people are messaging me about last night.”
“Just ignore them,.” I toss the knife into the sink after I’m done finishing putting cream cheese on the bagels.
“Not everyone’s being a jerk, but some people are… assholes!” She shouts then curses under her breath. “Ollie texted me and asked me for his hoodie back.” She starts furiously typing up a text.
“Um, Zay,” I start to say, wanting to stop her from whatever she’s about to do.
It’s not that I don’t think Ollie deserves to get reamed into, but she should have a clear head when she does.
But she suddenly stops texting, her forehead creasing as she rests her arms on top of the counter and stares at her phone. “Hey, did you get this text about Ivy?”
I nod. “I think the school sent it out through their emergency notification system.”
“I saw her last night,” she tells me, glancing up at me. “At the party.”
I pause, mid-bite. “You did?”
She nods, straightening. “Yeah, a few times. Everything’s a little blurry, though. I think on the dance floor once, and maybe when I snuck upstairs. But I’m not positive.”
“You should call the number listed on that text.”
“I will…” Her confusion deepens. “It’s so weird. I know her. She’s in a couple of my classes and I’ve talked to her a few times.” She lifts her bloodshot gaze to me. “Do you think she’s okay?”
I want to answer immediately with a: yes. I want to tell her that she probably just hooked up with someone and is still lying around in bed. That her parents are overreacting. It happens all the time, and that’s the side of life most people only know.
