I step cautiously forward. “Kelly?”
The low buzz of the air conditioning units is all that answers me.
I move around, turning in a slow circle to scan the full expanse of the roof. Silver railings on the edge of the rooftop catch my eye.
I gulp.
We’re more than twenty-seven floors up. A drop to the bottom would shatter every single bone in my body.
Heels click behind me, and I whirl around to find Kelly sauntering out of the darkness. She’s wearing tight-fitting jeans and a low-cut blouse beneath a cream blazer.
“J!” she wails and runs over to me. I’m wrapped in her arms, and she squeezes me until I cough.
“Kelly.” I pat her back. “I got your text. What happened? Why are you up here?”
She pulls back, and big, fat tears roll down her face. “Shawn… Shawn isn’t backing down. He says he’ll divorce me no matter what. I need him, J. I can’t live without him. What do I do now?”
“Kelly, let’s go down and talk. I don’t think the kitchen has any more Jello cups, but we could substitute a pudding cup and?—”
Suddenly, I hear a metallic hiss and feel a stinging bite in my neck.
I scream and flail my arms to get at whatever stung me. A vial with a wicked-long needle clatters to the ground.
Oh my go?—
I try to run, but two thick hands curve around my shoulders. Panicked, I twist my neck and gasp when I recognize the nurse that I met when I visited Kelly’s aunt.
“What did you do to me?” I squirm to break free, but the nurse is too strong, and the fight ends before it begins. “Kelly, help me!”
Like flipping a switch, Kelly’s tears dry up, and she looks at me through mascara-smeared eyes. “I did some research, J. And it turns out, your little heart”—she points at my chest—“beats with the help of a pacemaker. The machine that keeps you alive is also a bomb right there in your chest. If one chemical throws off the solution,poof.”She makes a flying gesture with her hand. “It explodes.”
My watch beeps.
I stare at my friend in terror. “Why are you doing this, Kelly?”
“You stabbed me in the back first.”
“I’ve done nothing but be there for you. I thought we were friends!” My pulse stumbles, tripping over itself.
“I thought so too, J. Or should I call you… Jinx?”
Dread holds my body captive, and shock slides its way through my veins. I suddenly realize… I made a very,verybig mistake coming up here alone.
“How do you know that?”
A slow, disdainful smile spreads across her face. “I’m so curious. Why did you shut down your little blog about The Kings? I really like reading about them at Redwood Prep.”
My mind races through my next move. I want to push my hand into my mouth so I can vomit, but will that even help if a toxin was injected straight into my blood stream?
“Why didn’t you keep focusing on high school drama, Jinx? Instead, you put your nose where it didn’t belong.” A crazed sheen enters her eyes, and she steps into me, her voice climbing. “You blackmailed Shawn when I’d just gotten him under control. You ruined my perfect life!”
“Your life wasn’t perfect, Kelly. I saw the bruises. I know Shawn was hurting you.” I grit my teeth as a frightening painslithers past my neck to my chest. “What the hell did you inject me with?”
Kelly lets out an exasperated breath. “See, Elise? I told you. She doesn’t even feel sorry for what she did.”
Elise?
As in… Mrs. Codd’s other daughter.
