An Accidental Murder

Chapter 8

Cassie, I'm sorry...forgive me.  I was a total bitch this morning - pms, big time  :/  Still friends? I texted, from the back row in my third hour advanced algebra class.

If I knew Cassie, I knew she wouldn't be mad for long, but I waited impatiently for her to respond and confirm, and pouted when the first response that came was a text from my mom.

Hey beautiful, missed you this weekend. Your dad and I should be headed home in a few more days. You know where the cash is if you need more food or anything. Gotta go, super hectic around here. Call ya later .

Thinking about my parents reminded me that I hadn't gotten my car back and that was going to have to happen soon.  Most of the time my parents would call me and let me know that they were boarding the plane, but sometimes they wanted to surprise me and would just show up out of nowhere. If I didn't have that car when they showed up, I was done for.  

Of course it hadn't even been 24 hours since the accident, but for me it seemed like days or weeks had gone by.

No big deal, Amber. Still friends. We'll talk at lunch.  Sorry for all that pregnancy talk.  I hope you'd tell me if something that big was happening in your life.  That's what BFFs are for.  Look for me, Jess, and Hail at lunch...smooches!

I breathed a sigh of relief and tucked my phone into my purse - one less drama to worry about.  I had enough on my plate. 

 When the lunch bell rang, I couldn't wait to catch up with Cassie, Jessica, and the girls.  We usually met up with our group of guys at one of the local restaurants - today it was La Taqueria, the popular Mexican grill across the street from school.  There was a large group of people there but we found a table toward the back that was big enough for all of us.  

Ryan showed up also and thankfully seemed to be acting like his usual self which I was grateful for. He planted a kiss on my cheek and pulled me close as he sat down, his sexy smile showing his perfect teeth. He was so handsome.  I felt a smile creep onto my face thinking about how lucky I was.  We belonged together and we were together, there was nothing else that mattered.

"So okay, there's a party at the fraternity house this weekend," Josh Beckham, captain of our high school soccer team began, "It's going to be mad crazy over there, lots of hotties - no offense for those taken," he smiled my way, " and unlimited alcohol.  "Because we're cool, they're letting us in for free.  Who's down?"

Everyone cheered and agreed to hit the party and the girls immediately started chatting about who was going to wear what and setting up appointments to get our hair and nails done. Nothing in our world was simple, we had to make an entrance everywhere we went. Jessica Hammond, my other best friend, was already clammering on about heading to the mall for some new clothes and I joined in complaining about how desperately I needed some new accessories because I'd worn everything I had at least twice already.

For a moment I felt like my old self again.  This was my world - all of the glitz, glamour, and everything that came with it.  I loved this.  It was like nothing had ever happened as we sat there laughing and throwing food at each other.  

 Ryan leaned over and whispered something in my ear, but I didn't hear it because at that moment I looked up into a pair of pleading hazel eyes and a dense fog engulfed me.   Suddenly every word that was said drifted into nothingness like a shout in the wind. All I could do was sit and stare at the man who stood staring at me - Michael.