The End of Innocence

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-One

LEXI AND MICHAEL are the first to leave. They walk out silently, both staring at the ground. "Let me walk you home," Lexi says to Michael as they reach the sidewalk.

Clare doesn't hear him reply.

Emma, Nate, Tanner, and Anneliese all leave pretty quickly after that, all looking uncomfortable. Worse off than they were when they came in. That leaves Layla stuck with Clare, Will, and Adelia. They're standing in Layla's room in one of those awkward circles people make when they don't know where else to be.

"Adelia, how could you do that?" Will is saying. "Lexi's so sweet. She's so..."

Innocent.

Adelia doesn't say anything.

Layla can see the pain in her friend's face, so she turns to Will. "Look, Lexi needed to admit the truth," she points out. "To help Emerson. I don't want my best friend stuck in jail when Lexi could be helping to get her out."

"I'm sorry," says Adelia, her head down. She ignores Layla. "I don't know what got into me. I was just so mad after I found out that Alexandra had been spying on people. I thought the same thing Layla just said—she could help a lot of people with whatever she knows about them."

Will crosses the room so he can place an arm around Adelia's shoulders. She brightens at his touch. "I'm sorry, Ads," he says. "And I'm sorry about that day at the coffee shop too. Maybe we could redo that? I think the coffee house is still open."

Clare turns to Layla. "Do you want to do something?" she asks.

Layla shrugs. "I don't know. I think I just want to go to bed."

"It's eight-thirty," says Adelia, rolling her eyes. "Why don't you guys come get coffee with us?"

Will shakes his head. "No, Adelia, not right now." He looks at Layla and Clare, adding, "I'd love to invite you all, but me and Ads have some stuff we need to talk about. Maybe another time? Will you guys be around over Thanksgiving?"

Thanksgiving! It's almost Thanksgiving. Layla had forgotten. That means her birthday is Friday... and so is Serena's.

God. She had totally forgotten about this. Can she face her birthday without Serena? They always celebrate together with a joint party. It's usually at Serena's house, too, because Layla's is too crowded.

What is she going to do?

"Yeah," she says slowly. "I'll be around. Do you guys think Friday would be a good day for another meeting?" She knows how badly she'll be needing a distraction that day.

"Sure," says Clare. "It's not like I have family to go visit."

Adelia gives Clare a weird look, and Layla reaches out to clasp Clare's hand in her own. She doesn't know Clare's story, but there's obviously a lot to it.

"I won't be here," Adelia mutters. "I have to go visit my cousins in New Jersey. Nick's all pissed because he's missing a stupid hockey game, but now I'm missing this."

"Hey, don't dis hockey," Will says, and Adelia's eyes widen. Will laughs, punching her lightly on the shoulder. "I'm kidding, Ads," he says.? "Yeah, Friday would be good. It's Serena's birthday after all."

"It is?" Clare gasps. "That's... that's morbid."

Even when everyone is gone and Layla is alone in her bed, she keeps hearing that sentence over and over again, rattling around inside her skull. Her birthday used to be the best day of the year. She would count down the days until it came on a little calendar, and then she'd be up at five in the morning searching for gifts in her parents' closet. But her birthday is no longer something to look forward to.