Odd One Out

CHAPTER 29

Bailey
Friday, November 14

My hands angrily swiped at the hangers in the closet, pushing away each garment in search of the specific coat I was trying to find for Naya.

"...and throughout this whole week, I literally have not even noticed a difference. But there's something. There is definitely something with that kid."

"You say 'kid' as if he's younger than us," Naya blurted out from her bed, sliding her middle finger under her lip to fix the lip gloss she had just applied.

"Yeah well, he acts like a kid."

"I thought Viktor told us that he didn't notice anything wrong with Daniel Patrick. Remember? He'd been observing him for a bit. And I think Ellis too. Jake is the only one who was still on edge about him...besides you, apparently."

"There's just something off about him — ugh, Naya, how many coats do you have?"

"Well," she sighed, standing up from her bed to walk over to me, "I needed something to match my red heels. Then I got red flats, and the coat didn't go with flats, so I got a new one. Then I realized I had these gorgeous purple sneakers, so I bought a purple one too..."

I looked over to her incredulously, watching as she smiled sheepishly before adding, "I never realized how many pieces of clothing I actually had. Now that I'm looking at them, I realize...I guess, in retrospect, it doesn't matter." She chuckled before gently moving the hangers, one by one.

"It's not like they'll let us use fun coats in jail, anyway."

"Relax," I answered, turning back to her coats closet and choosing a new place to move coats from. "If anyone's going to jail, it's me."

What. The. Hell.

Had this case messed with my head that much? Was I really just blurting out the first thing that came into my head without giving it much thought?

That does not sound like you at all.

Naya seemed to notice me freezing in spot, thinking deeply about what I said, and yet her immediate reaction was the question:

"Bailey, what exactly is it that you did?"

When I didn't answer, she went on with, "We all did pretty bad things, actually. And I'm sure whatever it is that you did, it really isn't as bad as you think. When I was exposed, I thought the world would end but...here we are."

Trying to ignore her eyes burning into my temple, I quickened my pace on moving each coat out of the way before pulling out a sleek, black coat. I was hoping the plastic material shining in the light would distract her enough to keep her from prolonging the awkward situation, and by the way she was staring at the coat, it seemed to work.

"This one," I started, handing it to her. "You said you wanted something that would make you look...what word did you use? Fierce?"

"So that Laney and Gia and Rachel can see how well I am without them. I mean, considering the fact that I'm still under investigation for murder. Wow, I literally forgot I had this in my closet."

"Why does it matter to you so much?"

"Because it's so pretty, I could have worn it with so many outfits—"

"No, I mean...impressing your friends. Why is it so important for you to make such a big impression on them?"

Her smile fell slightly, her body slumping onto the wall by her enormous closet. Her hands continued to explore the plastic-like material of her coat's puffed sleeves, and while it looked like she was simply exploring it, I could tell it was her way of keeping busy. She's nervous.