The Blondes of Bel-Air

LILY

"Thank God that's over. It was completely awkward!" I said, walking up the stairs with Gemma after an enormous six-course meal. I could barely put one leg in front of the other and judging from how sluggishly Gemma moved, she probably experienced a similar feeling. I should have never finished the last bite of coconut crème brûlée, but it was too good not to eat every morsel.

Kudos to the chef my mother had called in from an exclusive restaurant in Beverly Hills to cater the dinner party.

"I know, right? All that political talk? Bo-ring! I didn't know whether to say anything or sit there like a dork." Gemma yawned. It had been a long day.

"No, I don't mean that. I mean you and Zappos, excuse moi, Jason. The way you two kept looking at each other, was sick! It was so uncomfortable. Like, gross Gemma. I thought he was the gardener this whole time. Huh, so weird."

We reached the top of the stairs and paused, an unspoken thought passed between us. How could we not think back to Penny falling down? I couldn't stop recalling Penny tumbling down like a rag doll. I hadn't told Gemma, but I obsessed about Taylor's open-eyed stare as she fell out of the window, now I imagined Penny's body too. At least Penny was alive.

"So tell me again what he said. What does he know exactly?" I demanded as we reached my room. We lazily flung ourselves on the bed. I kicked off my wedge sandals and made a mental note to get a pedicure.

"I told you everything. He said he knew, he put it all together."

"I know that, how does he know? How did he figure out it wasn't a dog? What does he think we buried exactly?" Grabbing a pillow, I hugged it to my bloated stomach.

"Uhhhh," Gemma stared off into space.

"Accurately, Gem, what did he say? Put your thinking cap on. Recount each word." I stared directly at her which I knew made her uncomfortable. It also made her tell the truth.

Was it too much food or thinking about what Jason knew that caused my stomach to knot itself into a bow tie? I swallowed hard and my stomach flipped.

"He said, ummm, he put the pieces together of us burying something and the missing girl. I didn't tell him anything specific, he seemed to know. He said we shouldn't talk to anyone or admit anything. Like, don't talk about it. Ever."

I nodded brusquely. "Like we need a law student to tell us that! I think it's weird that he made the leap from seeing us digging in the court to Taylor. Don't you think that's odd? What would make him connect those two things? Why would his mind go in that direction? Why didn't you tell him, no insist, that we buried my old family pet? You should've covered our asses, Gemma!"

She grimaced and shrugged. The color drained from her face. Good, she should feel bad! Who knows what Jason would say? We couldn't trust anyone!

When she spoke, her voice came out low and raspy. "He just knew, Lily. I don't know how."

We had to proceed carefully now that Jason knew our secret. God, I didn't need this complication! My mind took off in a hundred directions and I rubbed my temples. When I looked up, Gemma was silently crying. I sighed.

"All right. Calm down. So what, are you two dating now all of the sudden? Did he ask you out? Because I still think he looks like a day laborer. Not to mention you're technically not eighteen until next month and he's like twenty."

Gemma threw a pillow at me and smiled, clearly smitten with Jason. If only all of our problems could be solved by discovering a childhood friend had grown up into a super hot law student, then we'd have nothing to worry about at all.

But Jason or not, we did have something to worry about. And it wasn't going to be resolved any time soon.