DEAD INSIDE

(40)

"So they had you watch Scream and then scared the crap out of you minutes later?" Deedee was stunned.

"Hmm..." I put a grape in my mouth absent-mindedly.

"And they didn't apologize to you?"

I shook my head.

"And you still haven't heard from them?!" She went on and I groaned. Put like that, it didn't look so good.

I lifted my shoulders. She looked at Mel for support but our friend had been dead quiet all morning.

"You're ok?" I muttered and she nodded as if in a haze. "Want to talk about it?" I decided to be blunter this time.

I frowned when her caramel eyes were suddenly glistening with unshed tears and she shook her head vehemently.

"What did Mr. Tanner say about the text?" Deedee asked me, after wrapping her arm around Mel's shoulders.

"That he hoped they'd be able to trace where it had been sent from and finally locate my mother..." I murmured, hoping it would be the case.

"I hope she's ok..." Deedee voiced the thought that had been on my mind since the police officer had left me this morning.

I had tried to call my Dad four times as well but had been sent to an automatic voicemail each time. His voicemail was full.

"I phoned Mrs. Burlington during my free and she told me that if all her vitals were correct, they should wake Mar up this afternoon..."

"Why didn't you say so earlier? That's brilliant!" I exclaimed. I threw a glance at Mel and frowned when I saw that even this news hadn't snapped her out of her sorrowful mood.

I was about to demand she fessed up with what was wrong with her when my phone buzzed.

I grimaced when I saw it was Gregory. I still didn't know what to think of what had happened the night before.

Maybe listening to what he had to say would help me make up my mind.

"Who is it?" Deedee mouthed.

"Gregory" I mouthed back as I answered.

Mel's chair made a screeching sound as she jumped to her feet and ran away looking as pale as a ghost.

"Alison?"

"Hmm?"

He sighed loudly in the phone.

"You're mad, aren't you?"

"Good guess..." I mumbled.

"It's not what you're thinking..." He interjected, and I frowned, wondering what he was talking about.

Deedee gestured for me to put him on speaker, so I did.

"A friend called me right after we finished watching the movie..." He went on. "You'd already gone to bed..." My frown deepened at that interesting turn of things.

"It was a small party...I didn't stay long..." He then said. "I had a couple of beers and played pool with Ray and Karl..."

Deedee's eyebrows shot up.

"I didn't do anything stupid if that's what you're wondering..." I cocked my head at his cocky tone.

"Define stupid..." My voice was icily cold.

"Well, I ignored all the girls who tried to..." His voice trailed. "Not that you should be mad at me if I had, really! It's not as if we were..."

Here we are... I thought, incredulous.