Dead Jealous

Careful

It wasn't exactly how Sky had planned to spend her morning, but she certainly didn't mind.

They spent at least two hours in that park. They walked around - they sat at the water's edge and dipped their feet in the bay, sat on the playground's swing, fell asleep on the grass in the hot sun. And they talked. A lot.

After they had lain on the grass by the water's edge and fallen asleep in the sun, she had slowly woken up and realized that she still needed to talk to Tiarna.

His hand was holding hers, and his eyes were closed. He looked so peaceful and calm.

And she knew that he would never do what Cassie had claimed.

But she still needed to make sure.

She turned her head and kissed his cheek to wake him up. When he did, she smiled down at him and he yawned adorably.

"I need to go do some stuff," Sky said softly.

"Do you have to?" Christian said just as softly. She nodded.

She didn't want to leave him. And it was all the more reason to. She needed to know the truth.

They got up and brushed leaves and dirt off of them. Sky leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Christian's chest and he held her even closer.

"Can I see you tonight?" she whispered.

"Of course." It was simple as that.

Half an hour later, she was peddling down Tiarna's street and to her front yard. It wasn't ideal, but she had to know.

She didn't even need to knock on the door when it came to it. Tiarna Lewis, with her straight-as-a-ruler bob, piercing blue eyes and iPhone was perched on a swinging outdoor chair on her porch. She was a vicious cynic and firm believer in the signs, and what resulted was a conflicting personality and a mood that never failed to give anyone whiplash. They'd never been close friends, but their friendship circle were somewhat similar to a penn diagram and as such, overlapped frequently.

Tiarna eyed her as Sky dropped her bike on the yard and walked up to the porch nervously. Tiarna didn't seem to be broody, grumpy or even mildly curious. She just continued typing on her phone.

"Hey, Tiarna," Sky said, nervously playing with a curly strand of hair.

She looked up again and smiled politely. "Hi. Whats up?"

Sky took a breath. "I wanted to ask a few questions. You know, about the month I can't recollect."

Tiarna nodded; of course, anyone and everyone knew about that. God, it must have been the hottest gossip of the year. Shame and embarrassment rose up in her throat like acid and she struggled to choke it down.

"You see, because I can't remember anything, I can't...deduce...what happened to my sister," her voice quavering for a moment. "And when I talked to Cassie, she had a suspect."

Tiarna raised her eyebrows. "Cassie talked to you? Wow."

"It took a while." Great. So everyone knew that her old friends hated her now.

"Must have. So...she suspects Christian?" When Tiarna queried this, emotions flickered across her face momentarily relief, fear, and - regret?

"Well, yeah. But I know him - like, again. And I know he wouldn't do... what she suggested. To you. Right?"

"Wrong. He did," Tiarna insisted. "I was at a party with my boyfriend when I went to get a drink. I bumped into him, and he freaked when...cherry schnapps got on his white shirt. He gripped my arm really hard, left freaking bruise marks on my arm. And he was really angry."

"Why would he do that?" Sky said. She wasn't sure what to believe.

Tiarna shrugged. "Why should I know? Anyway, if you don't mind - I have a date in an hour and need to get ready." She stood up and stretched her arms up lazily.

"Who's the lucky guy?" smiled Sky, attempting to fall back into a casual conversation.

"Daniel. We've been going out on and off since a couple of months ago."

"Cool. Well, I better let you go. Thanks for talking."

"No problem," Tiarna stood up and stretched her arms. "So, yeah. Christian has major issues. He shook me up. Be careful."