I nod.
“Dad,” says Bella. “Can you get me a milkshake or something from the cafeteria? Anything with a bit of sustenance?”
Mr Thorne nods and leaves.
“Tell me,” Bella orders.
“You tell me first,” I say. “What the hell happened?”
“That guy,” Bella says, her voice almost indifferent. “Friends of his came over; they brought some party gifts.”
“Was it cocaine? Since when do you do drugs, Bells?”
“Yeah, well, sometimes it’s nice, gets my mind off things. I told the police that I was drunk, and the idiot made me take it?—“
“Bella!” I shout. “You can’t lie?—“
“Oh, I can. My mother will freak if she knows I took it on my own. Anyway. There were neurotoxins mixed in there to stretch it.”
I am speechless.
“That idiot died from it. Gave him a bj and he just collapsed. That’s when my mind got all fuzzy.”
Horror strikes through me as I stare at her with wide eyes.
“You look like you have seen a ghost,” Bella says.
“Because I bloody have,” I say. “You nearly died. I saw that dead guy?—“
A shudder runs down my spine from the thought of it.
“Guess I owe you one,” Bella says, casually, completely unaffected. And she might be. With Bella, the big emotions surface months after they happened, after a night of too much alcohol.
“Let this be a lesson to you,” I tell her.
“Nah,” she says. “It was quite fun, best trip I ever had.”
“You almost died!”
“Yeah,” she says, and laughs. “Was quite the experience.”
I groan.
“Now, Victoria Fitzroy. Give me the tea,” Bella says, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
“She sent her driver with a gift,” I say. “A book I wanted dearly, from her personal collection, with a note,” I say and add hesitantly, “With her number on it.”
“Ohhhhhh,” says Bella knowingly, a grin appearing on her face. “And did you call her?”
“Of course not,” I say.
“Miaaaaa,” she says.
“What do you want me to tell her?” I snap at her.
“You could start with a thank you and see what comes of it?”
“And what should come of it?”
