I watched her face flicker, its expression switching from optimism to hatred. “Okay, go ahead,” she said evenly. “Tell him I cheated. I’ll tell him I was raped.”
She crossed her arms, looking smug. “I’ll tell him I got way too drunk and some guy took advantage of me, and that you were so drunk that you were confused by what you saw.”
She couldn’t actually be saying this. “Alex,” I said. “I’m telling him the truth.”
She snorted. “Right. And who do you think he’s going to believe? His girlfriend of four years or his fourteen-year-old sister, who just got drunk for the first time? Be serious. He’s in love with me. He’s going to believeme. If I were you, I’d keep my mouth shut.”
I had no words. I didn’t know what to say. Alex waited a minute more for me to respond and then smiled fully.
“I’m going back to the party now,” she said, pulling the tank top back over her head. “I’ll tell Cassandra you’re on your way.”
I waited until she was gone before I leaned over and vomited.
18
I sat with my father and Tommy for another half hour before we split up—my father to go to bed, even though it was barely seven thirty, and Tommy to go home to his kids. I stayed on the couch, trying to make sense of everything I had learned that day. I was more determined than ever to follow Hazel’s trail. It wasn’t only her life at stake, but my father’s now too.
Cassandra still hadn’t answered my text from earlier in the day, so I sent her another.
Seriously, Cassandra? We NEED to talk.
I watched the three bubbles pop up this time. So shehadseen it.
I don’t want to talk, Rose, she wrote. I have nothing to say to you.
I pushed down my irritation and answered her immediately, my thumbs flying across the screen.
It’s about Hazel. It’s serious, Cass, I wrote.She’s missing.
I know, Cassandra answered.I spoke to Victoria. And I’m sorry, but I haven’t heard from her. Hazel didn’t contact me, so please leave me alone.
Can I call you?I asked.
My last message sent but didn’t show delivered. Frustrated, I clicked her contact and dialed. It rang only once before it went straight to voicemail. Had she turned her phone off? Or worse, blocked me? I guessed it didn’t matter. If Hazel hadn’t spoken to her, then I didn’t need to either. In my head, I crossedSpeak to Cassandraoff my to-do list.
Next, I perused some more old yearbooks on my phone, searching for the mystery Nick. If Hazel thought he was worth looking into, I was going to follow her lead.
While I searched, my phone rang with one of its special ringtones. The prison. Will was calling. I knew I should answer, I never ignored his calls, but I was irritated with him for keeping his contact with Victoria a secret. Especially from me. And a smaller part of me, the more rational part, didn’t want to have to tell him that we still had no updates about Hazel. So, for the first time in a decade, I silenced his call.
It rang again thirty seconds later. Prisoners typically weren’t allowed a second call, so this had to be a favor from someone, and I felt a shot of guilt for ignoring the first call. I picked it up, wrestling with my annoyance and loyalty to my brother.
“Hello?”
“Rose? Any news?” Will sounded desperate.
“Not yet,” I told him, feeling the same kind of frustration I’d felt earlier when I told Kayleigh the same. “Well, not from the police anyway.”
There was silence on the other end of the phone as Will processed what I’d said. “What do you mean ‘from the police’?”
I’d been planning on visiting him tomorrow in person and then confronting him about the Victoria bombshell, but I decided I couldn’t wait. “I started following Hazel’s leads,” I said carefully. “And I spoke to her friend Kayleigh, who told me she had talked to Victoria.”
More silence. “Hazel spoke to Victoria?” Will asked tentatively. His voice was higher than usual, panicked almost.
“Uh-huh,” I said, coyly.
“And … um.” Will paused. “Did you talk to her?”
“I did.”
