“Huh?” I look up from my screen. Ellie is on her hands and knees, digging under a futon. This room isn’t in much better shape than the rest of the house. The carpet is stained, the drywall is crumbling and yellow. The bookshelf is barely standing, with a layer of dust that tickles my throat. Is this how Pacey was living? I hope she never comes back to this place.
“Are you going to help?”
“Yes, sorry. I just need to reply to Penn so he doesn’t call.”
I start typing, telling him I’ll call him shortly, but halfway through the sentence, the phone starts ringing in my hand. My thumb was already hovering and, in my panic, I accidentally accept the FaceTime request. His face fills the screen, and I squeal. “Oh! Hi!”
My fear-filled eyes seek out Ellie.Help!
“Where are you?”
Shit, I forgot he could see me. I’m not thinking straight. I don’t do well under pressure. Well, unless it’s academic pressure. I’m good at pop quizzes.
“Uh, I…” I’m still staring at Ellie. She’s mouthing for me to hang up the phone, waving her hands frantically in the air.
“Olivia,” Penn snaps, and my eyes fly to the screen.
“I’m nowhere!” As if that wasn’t an awful attempt at lying, the abnormally high pitch in my voice is a dead giveaway.
“What the hell? Where are you?” His voice is panicked, and guilt slams into me.
“Well…” I stall, trying to think up a lie. A better lie.
“Tell him we’re at a friend’s!” Ellie whisper-yells.
“We’re at a friend’s!” I have no idea why I’m screaming.
“Okay. Why didn’t you just say that? Wait, how did you get there?”
“Uber,” I say, thankful at least that answer is the truth.
“Did you guys find the vinyl?” Pacey asks.
Penn’s eyes move behind me to his sister. “Vinyl? What’s going on? Pacey, why are you carrying a trash bag?”
I spin around, and the bag Penn was talking about falls to the ground. Pacey’s face goes pale as she looks from the phone to me, betrayal slicing across her features.Dammit.
“Motherfucker!” Penn roars, making us both jump.
I glance back at my screen, but he’s moving so quickly that everything is spinning. I sway. There goes my stomach again. I slap a hand over my mouth. Vomit is coming. I shove the phone into Pacey’s chest. “Bathroom?”
She fumbles, trying to catch it. “Last door on the right.”
I sprint, push through the door, and drop to my knees right as liquid expels from my mouth. It tastes like rotten strawberries and my throat burns. My stomach cramps as I heave again and again. I vaguely hear yelling from down the hall, but I can’t make it out over the sounds of my vomiting.
“Liv, you okay? Oh, no.” Ellie rushes in, reaching for my hair. She moves it away from my face, but some is already stuck to my mouth, with chunks of sangria fruit in it. I don’t even want to know how filthy this bathroom is. Oh God, the knowledge that I’m curled over someone’s dirty toilet has me hurling again.
I’m not sure how long I stay camped on the floor. When a door slams in the distance, rattling the walls, I puke again.
41
PENN
I speed through the streets,running every stop sign and blowing through red lights when I can do so without dying. Because if I’m dead, I can’t kill Ryan. Or get to the girls.
“Dude, slow down,” Tanner says, holding on to the Oh-Shit bar for dear life.
“Fuck you, I told you not to come if you’re not gonna be helpful.”
