y-you still
drunk?” I sputtered. When I got upset I couldn't stop it. My face was flushed.
“I can’t believe Sage was
right! I can’t believe you would let Vince be more important than me. Get some
self-esteem and your own boyfriend, Lainey!”
“You are an ass-asshole.”
I turned and fled the room, hurrying down the stairs, past Lori who was about
to ask me if I wanted a latte as she always did, and Robert who got the front
door for me.
I jumped in my car and
drove to the gate, speeding down the road. I couldn't believe Sage had been
right about Lindsey being pissed. I couldn't believe Lindsey would think it.
Not of me. Vincent, okay, that made sense. But me? I
hadn’t ever done anything to make her think that.
My cell phone rang, but I
ignored it.
My head was filled with
hateful things.
When I skidded across the
road into my driveway, my back end swayed back and forth, nearly hitting the
gatepost.
I slid into my parking
place and hopped from the car, slamming the door.
My mom greeted me in the
entrance with a sneer. “Where have you been?”
Wiping the tears flooding
my cheeks, I jumped, pausing and swallowing most of my anger. It turned to fear
and a lack of self-worth in her cold stare. “Lindsey’s.”
“Your father and I stayed
up all night waiting for you to come home.”
Something changed in that
moment.
Maybe it was her lie.
Maybe it was that my best
friend had just betrayed me.
Maybe it was that nothing
was adding up, and my mind was a jumbled mess of information.
Whatever it was, I
snapped. “You and Dad? He’s home is he?” I cocked an eyebrow, asking it in a
way I didn't expect. My tone was horrid. Not much anger had faded away. “He
stayed here last night? Didn't sleep at the office?” I did the finger quotations on office.
Her eyes narrowed, but
she seemed a bit shocked by the tone. “He was here. He got home late.”
“Of course he did. He’s
always late. And just so you know, you can’t bitch when I go to the party and
then again when I stay home. It’s one or the other. Either you don't want me to
go or you do.” I folded my arms and leaned in, whispering my next words, “Maybe
worry about your own situation and not mine.”
Her lip trembled with
anger. “I will not be spoken to that way in my own house—”
“Lainey?”
I turned and looked at my
father on the grand staircase.
“What are you doing
talking to your mother like that?”
Pressing my lips together
I refused to look away from his stare. The words I wanted so badly to scream
sat on the tip of my tongue. They wanted out. He flinched before I did, maybe
seeing the truth and knowledge in my eyes.
“You’re obviously tired.
Why don't you go and have a lie down?”
Tears were flooding my
eyes and face, making everything in that moment a funny shape. I walked past
Mom and climbed the stairs, ignoring them both. I flopped down on my bed and
watched a thousand images dance upon the ceiling.
My cell phone rang again,
but I didn't acknowledge it.
Instead, I got up and sat
at my desk, drawing the note and the phone from memory. Sketching took the rage
away.
When I finished all our
little clues, I wrote down what Vincent and I had discovered and carried it all
into my closet, pinning them each in the right spot.
I leaned against a wall
of shelves and stared at the spider web and all the developments it had made.
Sage’s name gave me the
chills. She had told me to forget about her brother. Was that because she
wanted him to say away? In case I asked him about the stuff in her room?
I looked at the drawing
of Ashton holding the fish and knew I had to go there. What if he was
protecting her because he knew she had killed Rach? His staying away kept him
in the spotlight.
I bit my lip and
contemplated the possibility of going alone. I could but if I was being honest,
it scared me. I walked from the closet and grabbed my cell, ignoring the calls
from Vincent and Lindsey and pressing the name of the one
drunk?” I sputtered. When I got upset I couldn't stop it. My face was flushed.
“I can’t believe Sage was
right! I can’t believe you would let Vince be more important than me. Get some
self-esteem and your own boyfriend, Lainey!”
“You are an ass-asshole.”
I turned and fled the room, hurrying down the stairs, past Lori who was about
to ask me if I wanted a latte as she always did, and Robert who got the front
door for me.
I jumped in my car and
drove to the gate, speeding down the road. I couldn't believe Sage had been
right about Lindsey being pissed. I couldn't believe Lindsey would think it.
Not of me. Vincent, okay, that made sense. But me? I
hadn’t ever done anything to make her think that.
My cell phone rang, but I
ignored it.
My head was filled with
hateful things.
When I skidded across the
road into my driveway, my back end swayed back and forth, nearly hitting the
gatepost.
I slid into my parking
place and hopped from the car, slamming the door.
My mom greeted me in the
entrance with a sneer. “Where have you been?”
Wiping the tears flooding
my cheeks, I jumped, pausing and swallowing most of my anger. It turned to fear
and a lack of self-worth in her cold stare. “Lindsey’s.”
“Your father and I stayed
up all night waiting for you to come home.”
Something changed in that
moment.
Maybe it was her lie.
Maybe it was that my best
friend had just betrayed me.
Maybe it was that nothing
was adding up, and my mind was a jumbled mess of information.
Whatever it was, I
snapped. “You and Dad? He’s home is he?” I cocked an eyebrow, asking it in a
way I didn't expect. My tone was horrid. Not much anger had faded away. “He
stayed here last night? Didn't sleep at the office?” I did the finger quotations on office.
Her eyes narrowed, but
she seemed a bit shocked by the tone. “He was here. He got home late.”
“Of course he did. He’s
always late. And just so you know, you can’t bitch when I go to the party and
then again when I stay home. It’s one or the other. Either you don't want me to
go or you do.” I folded my arms and leaned in, whispering my next words, “Maybe
worry about your own situation and not mine.”
Her lip trembled with
anger. “I will not be spoken to that way in my own house—”
“Lainey?”
I turned and looked at my
father on the grand staircase.
“What are you doing
talking to your mother like that?”
Pressing my lips together
I refused to look away from his stare. The words I wanted so badly to scream
sat on the tip of my tongue. They wanted out. He flinched before I did, maybe
seeing the truth and knowledge in my eyes.
“You’re obviously tired.
Why don't you go and have a lie down?”
Tears were flooding my
eyes and face, making everything in that moment a funny shape. I walked past
Mom and climbed the stairs, ignoring them both. I flopped down on my bed and
watched a thousand images dance upon the ceiling.
My cell phone rang again,
but I didn't acknowledge it.
Instead, I got up and sat
at my desk, drawing the note and the phone from memory. Sketching took the rage
away.
When I finished all our
little clues, I wrote down what Vincent and I had discovered and carried it all
into my closet, pinning them each in the right spot.
I leaned against a wall
of shelves and stared at the spider web and all the developments it had made.
Sage’s name gave me the
chills. She had told me to forget about her brother. Was that because she
wanted him to say away? In case I asked him about the stuff in her room?
I looked at the drawing
of Ashton holding the fish and knew I had to go there. What if he was
protecting her because he knew she had killed Rach? His staying away kept him
in the spotlight.
I bit my lip and
contemplated the possibility of going alone. I could but if I was being honest,
it scared me. I walked from the closet and grabbed my cell, ignoring the calls
from Vincent and Lindsey and pressing the name of the one
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