“No, we can’t leave now. This is my story to tell,” Jamie says, shaking her head.
37
Amelia
She meets my eyes defiantly. “The truth is I needed the drugs. I couldn’t handle the pressure my parents put on me. They expected me to be pre-med like my dad, and president of the sorority like my mom and grandma. I turned to the college dealer out of desperation.”
Greer now looks as shocked as the rest of us feel. “What? Jamie?”
“It started as a one-off—a little something to help me stay awake all night so I could cram for a test. And then there was another test, so I went back for more. Then I went back again looking for a little something to calm me down when I was having a panic attack about my course load.” She sighs and gazes at her husband, who remains silent.
“Sunny knew the truth,” Jamie continues, her voice quiet, shaky. “I’d run out of money, and between classwork and sororityduties, I didn’t have time to get a job. So I started stealing from the sorority to fund my habit. Sunny was the treasurer. She figured out it was me siphoning money from the account.”
Beth stands and puts her hands on her hips. “That was you? Sunny told me someone had taken money from the account, but she wouldn’t tell me who. She wanted to talk to the person first, find a way to help them with whatever problem they were having.”
“Yes, that’s what she did. She talked to me,” Jamie says. “She wasn’t happy about it, but she agreed to let me go on the spring break trip, and then she was going to turn me in when we returned. I couldn’t repay the fund, so that was her only choice. I would be kicked out of the sorority, disgraced. She was going to turn Brett in too.”
We all exchange uneasy glances around the table.
“But she never made it back from spring break,” Ryan says, standing up. “I can’t be here right now.” He drops his napkin and stomps out of the room.
Greer, looking as angry, stares at Jamie, shakes his head, and follows Ryan out the door.
“Well, ladies, we sure do know how to clear a room,” I say and take another sip of champagne. I look across at Beth, then down the table to where Jamie stands next to Roxy. “A top-quality group of sorority sisters, that’s what we are. Class acts.”
“Knock it off, Amelia,” Roxy says. “I for one am glad it’s all come out. Secrets eat you up inside and ruin things, people, and relationships.” Some color has returned to her face, so shedoesn’t look like the ice princess, but she still is one, inside. I smile. I love her discomfort.
“Well, I guess I agree. It’s time to let it all go,” I say. “Sunny’s death was tragic, but it was an accident. Let the past stay in the past. Nothing will bring her back.”
Jamie drops into her chair, seemingly exhausted. Maybe she needs some pills. I’m kidding. What she needs to do is get over herself.
“You know what?” Jamie says, tucking her blond bob behind her ear before looking down at the table. “I don’t agree, Amelia. I can’t let it all go.”
“Good. You shouldn’t,” Roxy says. “You should come clean. Tell us everything. It must be eating you up inside, everything you’ve hidden. How embarrassing, really.”
“Roxy, stop. I’ll tell you,” Jamie says in a quiet voice. Tears stream down her face. A dam has broken. “You’re right. I can’t keep this inside anymore.”
Oh, great. Now what? This is getting good! What this group needs is more drama and dirt to be revealed.
“And I can’t let it go,” Jamie says. “Because Sunny’s death wasn’t an accident.”
38
Beth
My blood has run cold and I’m shaking all over. What does Jamie mean? I look down the table at her like she’s a stranger. She’s tucked her hair behind her ears, and she looks fragile and afraid. I don’t recognize her. Maybe all along she has been a stranger. Maybe they all have been.
I drop my head and stare at my hands. The dust particles against the windows of the dining room have diminished, leaving in their wake a smell of fire. Despite the assurances we are miles from the actual fire line, it’s an edgy quiet that has engulfed us. It was almost better when the relentless drone of the storm outside kept us company. Now it’s just us, the sorority sisters, here in the dining room reliving a nightmare that happened so long ago.
We are all, I suppose, primal forces of nature in our own right. Sunny’s smile pops into my head, that delighted grin asshe was talking me into accepting the free trip. The spring break trip she never came home from. She never left Palm Springs. I have my own side of the story to tell, of course, but first, I need to find out what Jamie did to Sunny.
Even though I don’t want to know the answer, I must hear it. I look up at Jamie.
“What happened that night at the pool, Jamie?” I ask. The room is silent and still except for the flickering candles on the table, the acrid smell of ash outside.
“It was our last night of spring break, and I couldn’t sleep. I knew Sunny was planning to turn me in as soon as we got home. I was terrified,” Jamie says in a quiet voice. She wrings her hands together.
“Of course you were scared; anyone would be,” Amelia says. “Sunny was a fierce one when she set her mind on something. Very black and white.”
