The Heart of Beacon Heights

Across the Universe

Chapter 5:

Across the Universe

Alison stared at Ava for a good long two minutes, trying to determine if it truly was the booze talking or if she'd really seen Taylor Hotchkiss. She'd learned to never dismiss information, no matter how crazy it sounded. And now that Emily was missing there was a whole new element of danger and she couldn't afford to not take everything into account.

"What do you mean she's alive?"

"Walking. Breathing air. You have another definition of alive?" Ava asked sarcastically.

"Ava." Dylan frowned at her disapprovingly.

"Dylan." She uttered his name back in the same tone.

"We came here for her help..."

"She can't help us." Ava lowered her pounding head. She pressed her fingers against her temples and muttered, "No one can. We're living in a fishbowl. We have no idea what's really going on. We just stay here, mindlessly swimming in circles, people watching our every move...poking their fingers in at us and treating us like toys..."

Alison understood exactly how that felt.

"Ava..." Alison said, her tone soft. "I know after everything that's happened you have trouble trusting people, especially those you don't know..."

"I know who you are." Ava looked up, staring right at Alison. "What you did when you were younger..."

It didn't surprise Alison to hear it. Dylan had admitted it. Ava had even said something herself about Alison being another dead girl brought back to life.

"All the lies you told..." Ava's voice sounded angry, but her eyes were full of pain. It was clear she was thinking about Nolan. "Who does something like that?"

"There is a lot that the news reports don't say," Alison explained. "There was a lot more to it than what the media shared. I'm willing to share if you're willing to listen..."

"Why should we trust anything you say?" Ava asked.

It wasn't an aggressive statement. It was a legitimate question. Ava was smart...smarter than she let on in class. She had more street wiles than anyone else on campus. Alison knew there was more to her than what could be seen on the surface. She wasn't the least bit surprised that Ava was skeptical. Alison remembered being in her shoes and not knowing who to trust.

"For all we know, you helped Taylor play Gone Girl 2.0..." Ava was waiting on Alison to talk.

"Okay, that's enough." Caitlin interjected. "We've all done terrible things in life. That doesn't mean we should be judged on them for the rest of our lives."

Alison peered at Caitlin curiously. What terrible things was she referring to? From what Alison knew, the girl had a squeaky clean record. She'd been getting high marks in academia since she was in primary school. Her mothers had gotten her the best education money could buy. In addition to that she didn't have one blemish on her disciplinary record. She didn't even have a traffic ticket. All Alison could think about was what Nolan had said in class her first day.

"They did terrible things, and they got terrible things done to them..."

"Just tell me one thing." Ava looked at Alison. "Why did you do it? And I want the truth. Not the bullshit you told the media, playing up the whole 'woe is me, I was completely innocent' act. Because I know there is more to it. I know people like you. I was you when I was in high school."