I tap my phone, and Maeve stands. “Babe, don’t call him again.”
I huff, sitting on my bed. “You’re right. I just thought he was acting so weird. Don’t you think?”
She raises a perfect brow and nods. “He doesn’t ask you to stay the night.” And then she pauses. “Did you tell him you’re transferring?”
“No.”
“Okay, good.”
Maeve stays the night at my house. It’s my birthday tradition. She plays with my hair, asking me if I noticed that Julian and Penelope are getting closer. I play with the hem of our matching pink satin pajamas and nod because I have noticed. Maeve thinks they’re sleeping together, and I don’t deny that they have chemistry.
It’s near midnight when my phone finally rings.
Maeve smiles. “Told you he would call.”
I answer the phone. “Hey, babe. I was wondering when––”
“Adela,” a woman says, so I sit up. My heart is pounding. It sounds like she’s crying.
“Hello?” I say, pressing the speaker button. Maeve grabs my wrist, eyes widening when we hear her sniffle.
“Is this Adela?”
“Yes,” I say, horrified. “Who’s this?”
“I–– I’m not sure how to say this.”
Every muscle in my body goes still. Maeve’s grip on my wrist tightens.
“Where’s Cody?”
There’s rustling on the other end and voices in the background.
“Cody is in the hospital,” she says. The words tumble out in a rush. “I don’t–– I don’t know what happened. I just–– just come quick.”
My breath stops. “Serena?”
She inhales sharply.
“What hospital?” I can hear her start to panic. “Serena, what hospital?”
“UW Montlake.”
The call ends.
For a moment, the world goes muted around me. My vision narrows to a warm, sharp pinpoint. My lungs forget how to work. I should’ve stayed the night with him. I shouldn’t have been upset that he left without singing Happy Birthday to me.
Maeve releases my wrist and jumps up.
I swallow, but nothing goes down. “I–– I have to go.” The words scrape out of me, brittle and wrong.
“I’m driving you. Let’s go.”
My heart is a pounding ache inside my ribs as Maeve pulls me through my dark house. My parents are asleep, but they won’t notice I’ve gone until the morning. The drizzle outside hits my skin. I clutch onto my pink pendant like it’s the only thing tethering me to this earth. Cody is in the hospital, and I don’t know what happened.
Maeve unlocks her Lexus and practically throws me into the passenger seat. My hands are shaking as I put my seatbelt on.
I’m scared. Terrified.
