Trouble in a Fur Coat (The Fur Coat Society Book 1) by Sloane Meyers Page B

her on.
    Silver danced the best she had ever danced that night. She poured her whole soul out onto that stage. Through all of the pain, and the moments where she felt lightheaded and feverish and would have rather just gone home to fall into her own warm bed, she persevered. When the final bows had been taken, Silver stumbled once again to the dressing room, exhausted, but happy to know that she had made it. Now, she could truly rest. She had a few weeks off before she had to start rehearsing for her next big show, and she was looking forward to relaxing.
    Silver quickly changed into leggings and an oversized sweatshirt, ignoring the happy chatter and laughter surrounding her. Energy and excitement was running high after a spectacular grand finale, but as the high of the performance started to fade, Silver’s own energy was fading, too. She could feel the room starting to spin again, and she held onto the wall to steady herself as she walked toward the exit.
    When she left the backstage area, she found Jack, Grant, Storm, Bash, and Juno all waiting for her. They were all grinning, and Bash was holding a big, colorful bouquet of flowers. But as soon as they saw her, the smiles fell from their faces.
    “Sil, what’s wrong?” Storm asked. “You look really pale.”
    “Uh, I don’t feel too great,” Silver said, struggling to focus on Storm’s face. The spinning sensation was getting worse, and everything was starting to look a little blurry. Moments later, Silver was filled with a weird sensation, like she was going weightless.
    “Silver!” Jack screamed. That was the last thing Silver remembered before everything went black.

Chapter Ten
    Silver blinked her eyes open in a daze. She was staring up at her living room ceiling. Bright sunshine streamed in through the windows, and a big, soft blanket covered her body. She tried to sit up, but it was a bit of a struggle. Every muscle in her body felt stiff and unresponsive. When she finally made it up onto her elbow, she glanced over and was surprised to find Jack slumped over and sound asleep in her armchair. He was wearing scrubs, and looked like he had come directly over from the hospital. His I.D. badge still hung on a lanyard around his neck.
    “Jack?” Silver asked. Her voice was raspy and rough, as though she hadn’t had a drink of water in days. Jack stirred, but didn’t wake up. Silver furrowed her brow and tried to figure out why she was sleeping here on her couch during what appeared to be the middle of the day. The last thing she remembered was seeing her friends after the show last night. Everything after that went completely blank.
    “Jack?” Silver tried again. Jack stirred again, but this time he slowly opened his eyes. When his eyes focused on Silver he sat up straight with lightning speed.
    “Silver! Oh my god you’re awake!” he said, then jumped up and ran across the room to her. He placed one of his palms on her forehead, and reached to feel her pulse with his other hand.
    “Yeah, I’m awake. What happened after the show? Did we go out and party too much or something? I don’t remember anything. And, oh my god! Did you have to work after the show? Why are you in your scrubs? I can’t believe you guys all got tickets to the show.”
    Silver was starting to feel better as she woke up a little more. She sat up straight, and then smiled. “Hey,” she said. “The room isn’t spinning anymore. I wasn’t feeling too great last night before the show.”
    Jack’s look of concern deepened. “Silver, do you really not remember anything?”
    Silver frowned. “You mean about after the show? No, not really. Oh, god, did I drink too many margaritas again?”
    “Silver, you almost died!” Jack exclaimed, his voice frantic.
    Silver stopped talking and stared at Jack, dumbfounded. “I almost died?” she asked, racking her brain even harder to try to remember what had happened.
    “Yes. As best we can tell, you were poisoned. You had some really