Solace In The Silence ✓✓

chapter 26

"WHAT THE HELL?" Jake said, throat working. "I swear to God, Bess, you saw me put the necklace in your purse."
Panic fired inside me like buckshot, and I was getting all up and personal with what happened to the girl who cried wolf.

My necklace was actually gone, for real this time, and my brain emptied of anything to say.
How could it have just disappeared in the ten minutes or less that Jake and I had our backs turned? And, more importantly, why would anyone at this party steal that out of a purse, and not the cash or my phone? I might've understood if they'd emptied it of all my possessions, not just the necklace.
"Shit, I'm so sorry, babe," Jake murmured. "I know how much that necklace means to you. I never would've put it in there if I thought that—"

Blinking back the sudden rush of tears, I told him. "No, it's okay. It's not your fault." I felt ten kinds of stupid for crying over a necklace, but it was the last connection I had to my brother.
Jake leaned in, his arm around my waist, and I could feel the heat emanating from him. Waves of shivers raced through me. "Come on, you should go dry off in one of the bathrooms," he suggested, nodding toward the house.
Wheeling around, I made it halfway up the stairs and onto the deck before I sensed that Jake was no longer behind me. "Aren't you coming with me?" I asked, frowning when I noticed he was still standing beside the pool, hands on his hips.
"Nah." He shook his head just barely. "I'll ask around, see if anyone saw anything."
That was so sweet and typical of Jake, and my heart seized with emotion.
"You don't have to do that."
"But I want to." His tone dropped a level, becoming even more serious. "If you go up to the second floor, there's a bathroom on the right. I'll meet you inside."

Conceding, I grabbed my purse and ventured back into the house—AKA party central—and did my best to ignore the bounty of curious glances I earned. I knew I must have been resembling a drowned rat when one girl covered her mouth with her hand, sniggering inconspicuously as I brushed past her.
The downstairs bathroom had a long line, which prompted me to follow Jake's instructions. I quickly dashed upstairs, keen to towel dry my hair and wipe down my mascara-streaked face.
Sidestepping the random hamper of laundry abandoned in the middle of the hallway, I approached the first door on the right and tapped my fist against it softly. When there was no answer, I reached down and twisted the handle. Swinging the door open, I was relieved to find that it was indeed a bathroom and not an occupied bedroom.

Heading over to the towel rack in the corner, I almost didn't hear the sound of someone letting out a slow, weary breath.
Fear coated my insides in ice.
I caught sight of blonde curls out of my periphery, and then the shower curtain was flung aside, all the tiny hooks clinking against the rail.
There was a girl laying in the shower bath.
"Oh my God!" I jumped like a high-flying cat. "You scared the absolute shit out of me."
Seemingly unfazed by my presence, her eyes flickered shut again. "Sorry about that," she murmured. She was combating a small smile, proof that she'd found my reaction amusing. "I just needed somewhere quiet. My head feels like it's about to roll off my neck, and the guy I've liked for years is downstairs with another girl."

Hesitating, I said, "Well, if it makes you feel any better, the guy I like didn't give me a second glance for years. Then, one day, something changed. Maybe it'll happen like that for you, too."
I knew that Jake and I were probably the exception, but I didn't want her to lose hope.
"Maybe," she whispered dully. "Either way, as much as I'd like to, I can't hide out in here forever."
I was still battling the initial fright as I watched her inelegantly climb out of the tub, but my unease only spiked when she pushed her hair out of her face.
I recognized her immediately.
She was easy to remember. That disconsolate expression was exactly the same as the morning I'd first met her at Jake's apartment.
It was Jennifer.

My stomach tumbled over, and the surge of dread I felt was paralyzing.
Her eyes aligned with mine and they widened a fraction of an inch, recognition dawning for her, too. "Well, this is fucking awkward," she declared.
We both laughed humorlessly, and I forced myself not to avert my gaze as she studied me closely, almost disdainfully.
"You look like you want to say something," I announced. And seriously, it was scarily impressive how quickly her demeanor switched from girl-next-door to ice queen. "If you're worried I'm going to blab to Jake, assuming that he's the guy you were referring to, I won't."
"Do you honestly think I care?" Jennifer's perma-scowl was back, contorting her face.