“Please never let me do that again,” Blue pleads as she falls back onto her carpet.
“Do you know how hard it is to get you to not do something?” I shake my head before I make my way down the hallway toward her bedroom.
I hear her feet flapping against the hardwood as I slide open the door to her closet, looking for something warm to wear home; the mini dress I wore last night would not cut it.
“Want to grab some coffee and breakfast?” I ask as Blue falls onto her mattress. Pulling out a light blue chunky sweater, I strip out of the oversized tee I had somehow found myself in. “I need some food and caffeine in my stomach.”
“Yes, please,” she responds without hesitation, climbing to her feet and stopping beside me as I slip my arms into her sweater. Blue opens the middle dresser drawer, tossing a pair of black leggings at me before she grabs a pair for herself. “I’m starving.”
I hold up the leggings and glance down at my short legs. “I don’t think these are going to fit me, Blue.”
“Well, obviously.” Blue throws a large grey sweatshirt over the bra she had worn last night before stepping into her own pants. “Just roll them up at the bottom and borrow a pair of my fuzzy boots.”
Quickly putting on the pants and doing as she said, I follow her out of her bedroom and down the hall to the front door. She pulls out a pair of ankle boots, holding them out to me. Once the shoes are secure on my feet, the two of us walk out of her apartment and down the street to the little diner we frequented.
Breakfast came and went rather quickly, both of us downing two cups of coffee and eating our pancakes and hash browns in full. Leaning back in my chair with a content sigh, I reach into my purse, looking for my cell phone. Once I find it, I hit the lock button only to discover that it must have died in the middle of the night.
“Great,” I groan, resting my elbow on the table and my head in my hand. “Guess I can’t ask Heather to bring Claire home early for me. My phone’s dead.”
“You could always use mine,” Blue says as she pulls her cell phone out of the front pocket of her sweatshirt. She clicks the screen and unlocks her phone, her eyebrows furrowing as she reads whatever is on the screen.
I raise a brow as I watch her before her eyes slowly pan up to mine, a sad and pained look flashing across her face before she tries to hide it.
“What is it?”
“Nothing,” she answers hastily, putting her phone back in her pocket.
She climbs to her feet before I can argue, tossing a twenty on the table and walking toward the door. I scramble to my feet, digging money out of my purse and leaving it next to Blue’s. I throw my bag over my shoulder and run after her, the cold spring air seeping through the sweater as I try to dodge the few puddles that cover the sidewalk.
“Blue, what’s going on?” I snap once I reach her, grabbing her arm so she’ll stop walking away. I glance around, finally taking in my surroundings, and realize we have passed her street and are heading toward my apartment.
“What time did you get dropped off at my place last night?” Blue asks, looping her arm through mine and pulling me with her as we continue walking.
I feel my face contort in confusion as I try to remember. “I don’t know, around eleven thirty, maybe. Why?”
Blue bites her lip as she absentmindedly slips her hand into her sweatshirt pocket. We weave in and out of people, our pace quickening as my heart rate continues to spike, thumping in my ears. I swallow the lump in my throat, my hands growing clammy, the cold air no longer bothering me.
“What kind of car does your dad drive again? He got a new car, right?”
“Blue, you’re really scaring me,” I tell her as calmly as I can, coming to a stop outside of my building. “Please, just tell me what’s wrong.”
Blue looks down at me, her face more pale than normal as she drags her phone out of her pocket. She turns on the screen, unlocking the phone and clicking on something before extending it in my direction. I carefully take it from her and glance down at the article she has pulled up.
Three Car Pileup on 24th and 6th Results in Two Dead and Four in Critical Condition.
I quickly scan the article, realizing that no names are mentioned, when I glance up at Blue. The confusion must have been clear on my face because she places a gentle hand on my arm and scrolls all the way to the bottom of the article where a picture is located. I zoom in on the photo and feel my heart drop to my stomach as I recognize the blue sedan.
“No,” I whisper as I close out of the article and go to the phone app, dialing my father’s number. “The cops or the hospital would’ve called me if something happened. Many people drive that same car. This is just a coincidence. It has to be.”
“This is Paul Reyes. Sorry I can’t make it to the phone right now, but if you leave your name and number, I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”
“Marlowe.” Blue rests her hand on my shoulder as my own hands start shaking. She carefully takes her phone from my grasp and places it back in her pocket.
“I need to go inside,” I state, my gaze not settling on anything or anyone in particular. “I need to go home. Please take mehome. Neve is probably still in bed or watching some reality trash show, and my dad will come and pick us up for lunch like he promised. You’ll see, it’s nothing. He’s fine. My dad and sister are fine.”
I’m not sure who I’m trying to convince more.
Blue stares at me for a second longer before she gives me a weak smile and loops her arm through mine again. She lets her hand drift down to interlace her fingers with mine before she reaches for my purse with her free hand to grab my keys to let us into the building.
