“Oh,” Abigail said in surprise, putting her flashcards down, “That’s weird. He was here with you pretty late last night. I wonder when he left.”
“And why he left,” Tessa says with a sigh, “And now he’s not answering his phone.”
“Practice maybe?” Amber asks with a hopeful voice.
“No practice today,” Tessa replies flatly. Dialing his number again only to get voicemail. She grunts and pads over to their couch, flopping down as she begins to nervously chew her nails.
“You better not be chewing,” Abigail says dryly, and Tessa instantly takes her shaking hand away from her mouth.
“I’m sure he’s fine,” Amber says gently as she comes to sit next to Tessa on the couch. Tessa loves each of her best friends for different reasons. Abigail is good at keeping it real, helping Tessa see the facts instead of emotions, and always keeping her thinking rational. Amber is the opposite, and is great at being gentle, encouraging, and perhaps a little bit delusionally optimistic. Tessa isn’t sure which one she needs right now.
“Have you tried calling one of his friends?” Amber asks.
“No, I should probably call Jordan, right? I’m mean I’m sure he’s fine, but it is kind of weird and out of character.”
“For sure call Jordan,” Amber agrees, nodding her head slowly.
“Let me pee first and get some coffee,” Tessa says with a sigh. She returns a few minutes later, and after taking a few sips of the coffee she feels a bit more awake and ready for this phone call with Jordan. She is unsure why, but something tells her whatever she will be met with on the other side of the phone won’t be great.
“Put it on speaker,” Amber says, and surprisingly Abigail comes over to sit on the couch with them as well.
“Okay,” Tessa says nervously, biting her bottom lip so hard she’s surprised she doesn’t draw blood. She dials Jordan’s number and then places the phone on the coffee table in front of them. It rings twice before Jordan picks up.
“Tessa.” His voice comes through stern and deep; it makes Tessa’s pulse immediately speed up.
“Jordan? Have you heard from Trist?” She asks, trying to keep her voice from shaking.
“Have I heard from Trist?” His voice comes out rough and dripping with sarcasm. Tessa is taken aback and doesn’t quite know how to react.
“Um…yeah? He was here with me last night, but when I woke up this morning, he was gone and I haven’t been able to--”
“Trist is in fucking jail, Tessa.”
All three of the girls gasp in surprise and Tessa’s blue eyes go wide with shock, and she immediately looks at her two lifelines sitting next to her, but they look just as shocked and confused as she is.
“What the fuck?” Tessa blurts out, her heart pounding in her ears, her eyes starting to sting and water. “What do you mean he’s in jail?”
“What do you mean,what do I mean?” Jordan’s very annoyed voice slices through the phone speaker, “He got arrested last night and is jail for the weekend. He won’t see the judge until Monday.”
Tessa is speechless, her mouth hanging open but no words come out, her mind racing a million miles per hour. What could have possibly happened overnight?
Abigail notices quickly that her friend is unable to speak, so she decides to take over.
“What did he get arrested for, Jordan?” She asks, her voice just as curt and cold as his.
“He beat the absolute shit out of Gardner,” he replies, and Tessa immediately feels her heart drop to her stomach and a wave of nausea come over her.
“Oh my God,” she whispered, holding her head in her hands and letting a few tears slip down her face. Amber is next to her, holding her tight, and Abigail continues to take charge of the conversation for Tessa.
“And why the fuck did he decide to do that?” Abigail asks. “He was here last night with Tessa, and everything was fine and normal. Why did he leave without letting anyone know and go beat up Jake?”
“Fuck if I know!” Jordan yells, “Ask Tessa!”
His voice is harsh and accusatory, and Tessa is not used to Jordan speaking to her like this.
“I begged him not to retaliate against Jake, okay?!” Tessa’s shaky voice suddenly breaks through their conversation, “I told him to promise me, but he wouldn’t!”
“This is not your fault, Tessa,” Amber says into her friend’s blonde curls.
