I lick my lips a moment. Then it hits me. This is aJell-Oshot. “There’s no alcohol in this, right?” I ask stupidly. Crap. I haven’t had a sip of anything even remotely fermented after my father died, not a moment before either. Cole never felt that strongly about it to initiate some self-imposed alcohol ban, then again, I was younger when it happened. I was daddy’s special girl.
“Of course, not. Do you think I’d waste some premium Grey Goose on a loser like you? Just swallow the thing so we can both get off this damn bridge.”
“Did you just call me a loser?” I’d throw the cup in her face like Jeanie did to me earlier, but it wouldn’t have the same effect.
“No I called you aboozer.” She rolls her eyes. “Look, do you want the spot in Alpha Chi or not?”
“I guess.” I run my tongue over the concoction, and the happy taste of artificially flavored strawberries greets me—not that I’d know what vodka tastes like.
“See?” She balks into me. “Just pinch it back. It practically glides down on its own. The sisters are waiting. If you don’t do this, you can’t get in.”
I give the small cap a squeeze, and the concoction jumps down my throat as promised. I swallow hard, and it all goes down in one smooth lump.
“I did it,” I marvel. And, it didn’t taste like anything, so I don’t really feel like I went back on my word not to inebriate myself at random. “So I guess we’re done,” I say, eyeing the dirt road from where I came, and the bridge splices in two for a moment. My arms and legs feel like they weigh a million pounds, and I’m suddenly exhausted beyond belief.
“I’d better go.” She touches her pearls as if petting a kitten. “Say, you didn’t happen to mention any of this to that hot boy-toy of yours, did you?”
“No.” My tongue feels thick in my mouth—dry as cotton. “Bryson…” I start to say something then lose my train of thought.
“Yes, Bryson.” She twists her lips “Want in on a little secret?” Aubree leans in, and her face expands and retracts as if I were looking in a funhouse mirror. “He gave me my first and last rejection ever.” She wrinkles her nose. “Asshole, that one.”
Excuse me?I meant to say it out loud, but my lips don’t cooperate.
“I asked him to be my prom date way back when. Me asking him.” She shakes her head and laughs. “Can you imagine? You’d think he’d be honored since he was just a measly little junior but,no, he was too far gone with that little brat Stephanie Jones. And she was about as annoying as you are. Anyhoo, I took care of that little bitch just like I’m about to take care of you.”
She gives a firm shove into my chest and sends me backward into the icy cold stream.
My body seizes. My limbs refuse to move as the water washes over my face.
Can’t breathe.
So cold.
So quiet.
The world fades to darkness.
Bryson
Holt and I watch, pissed as hell, while Jeanie Waters dances like a seasoned stripper on the slick granite of the bar.
“You know if she breaks her neck, she’s going to fuck us sideways in court,” I tell my brother. “Get her down.”
The Black Bear is hopping tonight with every good little goul dressed for fornicating successes.
I keep scanning the place for signs of Baya. I’ve texted her twice, but she hasn’t responded. Laney said she borrowed her car to do a quick change and come right back. I should have kicked Jeanie out as soon I heard she threw a drink in Baya’s face.
Laney comes over looking visibly shaken.
“What’s up?” I lean into her. “You get stiffed again?” It can be pretty tough sometimes to squeeze a tip from a drunken co-ed.
“No, it’s not that.” She snaps off her rabbit ears and stares down at them. “It’s almost two-thirty. Baya left hours ago.”
“I was thinking the same thing.” My heart starts ticking like a bomb. “I’m going to take off and see if I can’t find her.”
“Wait,” Laney calls after me. “She didn’t go home to change.”
“What?” Every muscle in my body goes numb.
