Deadly Beautiful | ✓

Chapter Fourteen

Hailey Thomas.

When the school day finally comes to an end, I'm extremely relieved. I'm tired, moody, and I just want to go home, take a bath, and then lay in bed watching Criminal Minds with a cup of tea.

I check the time on my phone. School got out at least five minutes ago, and I'm still standing by Jack's car waiting for him. He is my ride home, after all.

"Hey, Hails," I hear Jack's voice call out, finally, and I look up from my phone to see him and Kate approaching me.

I give a small wave. "Hey, guys," I say, placing my hand over my mouth as I yawned tiredly. "Ready to go, Jack?" I ask, fixing my backpack on my shoulders as one of the straps had slipped down a little.

Jack nods. "Let's get going, then. See you later, Kate," he says.

"Bye, guys," Kate says, waving goodbye before she walks toward her own car.

My hand grips the car's door handle, and I'm about to open it when I hear someone calling my name. I look up, my eyebrows raising in surprise when I see Olivia jogging towards Jack's car.

"I'll wait for you in the car," Jack says, rolling his eyes. He gets into the car, leaving me standing by my side of the car as Olivia stops in front of me, panting.

I wait for Olivia to speak. I don't have anything to say. It was her that came chasing after me.

"I'm worried about Aiden," Olivia says when she has finally caught her breath. "He doesn't know what he's getting himself into with Iona."

"What do you mean?" I ask, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "Isn't Iona your friend?"

Olivia nods. "Of course," she says. "But she's been acting really strange ever since Elle died. I mean, between you and me, I don't think it was an accident either. And a few days before Elle was found, she and Iona had a falling out. And Iona can be really petty. I'm afraid she went a little too far and..."

"You think Iona killed Elle?" I ask, shock taking over my full body as I stand frozen, my eyes wide.

Before she leans closer to me, Olivia looks to her left, and then looks to her right, making sure nobody else is around. "You didn't hear it from me, okay?" She says. Then, she leans away. "See you tomorrow!"

I watch as Olivia walks away, heading towards her car on the other side of the school's car park.

Did Olivia really think that her own best friend murdered her other best friend? I just can't wrap my mind around it. Iona always seemed like the... less crazy friend.

"Are you getting in anytime today?" Jack asks, causing me to snap out of my thoughts. "Come on, Hailey. I'm supposed to meet Brad soon, I don't have all day."

I shake my head, getting into Jack's car. "Sorry," I say, putting my seatbelt, staring straight ahead.

"Everything okay?" Jack asks, and I can feel his eyes burning holes into the side of my face.

I nod my head. "Everything is fine. Come on, you don't want to be late meeting Brad," I say, trying to give my best friend a reassuring smile.

Jack looks at me, long and hard, as if he's trying to read me. Eventually, he sighs and says, "Alright. You'll let me in when you're ready, right?"

"Right," I say, smiling softly at him, thankful that I have a best friend who is extremely understanding.

The drive back to my house is fairly silent. I ask what he and Brad are planning to do at some point during the ride, and Jack replies that they'll probably just order food and watch a movie.

When we finally stop outside my house, I look over at Jack. "Thanks for the ride. Tell Brad I say hi," I smile. Jack nods, waving me goodbye as I get out of the car and walk up the pathway to my front door. I look over my shoulder and wave just as Jack is driving away.

☟

I can't seem to get Olivia's words out of my head. I'm no longer mad at Aiden, but instead, I'm worried. What if Iona really has gone crazy?

I grab my phone from my bedside table and I sit up, crossing my legs as I pull up my texts with Aiden. I keep all of my texts.

Me: Where are you?

Aiden: I'm hanging out with Max, actually. I'll report back when I get home.

Me: Be careful.

The fact that he's with Max and not Iona puts me at ease a little. I'm not quite sure if Max is innocent in all of this, but I guess I'll know when Aiden knows. If Aiden finds out, that is. 

I decide to head downstairs and make myself some tea to help me relax. On my way into the kitchen, I hear my Mum on the phone, speaking in what she probably thinks is her hushed voice, but really she's just shouting. 

"Everything okay?" I ask, stepping into the kitchen and making my way over to the cupboard that holds all of our glasses and cups. 

Mum quickly says goodbye to whoever she's talking to and hangs up the phone. "Hi, sweetie. Are you hungry?" She asks, walking over to the fridge. "I can make you something. What do you feel like?" 

I shake my head, taking my cup from the cupboard and carrying it over to the kettle. "I'm not hungry, Mum. Who was that on the phone?" I ask, picking the kettle up and walking over to the sink to fill it with water. I set the kettle back down once it's full, and I let the water begin to boil.

"Oh, it was just your Dad," Mum says, closing the fridge. "He was just letting me know that he won't be home until later tonight. Something about a staff meeting."

"But, didn't he have a staff meeting yesterday? And it's only Tuesday. I thought his staff meetings were on a Friday?" I ask, frowning slightly. 

Mum doesn't say anything as she drops a tea bag into my cup, shaking her head a little. "I'm sure he has a valid explanation, Hailey. He's been really busy ever since school started back. He is a college teacher, after all." She then turns and walks out of the kitchen, saying nothing else as she heads up the stairs. 

'That was strange,' I think to myself, frowning. 

I sigh as the kettle finishes boiling, and I pour the boiled water into my cup, watching the tea bag turn the clear water into a light orange colour. I walk over to the fridge, grabbing the milk and then splashing some into my cup before returning the milk to the fridge. 

'I wonder why Dad has so many staff meetings,' I wonder, carrying my cup of tea upstairs to my bedroom, kicking my bedroom door shut lightly behind me. 'I mean, there's no way he has a staff meeting two days in a row. What could they possibly have to talk about today if they already talked yesterday?'

Honestly, everyone around me just keeps becoming stranger by the day.