Power Play

24

I end up staying one more night in the hospital before I'm discharged the next day. As soon as I step outside I breathe in the fresh, albeit polluted air. It is New York after all. Sill, I'm suddenly grateful for all sorts of things, like the sun, air, sky, even the clouds. Trust me when I say being stuck in the hospital, even for a short amount of time, is a nightmare.

My mother forces me to miss school for the next week so I can rest up and heal. It's a blow not only to my perfect attendance, but also to the state of my mental health. Being at school would have at the very least, kept me busy. Now since all I do is lie in bed and be doted upon like some spoiled princess, I'm left alone with my scrambled thoughts. I still don't know what's happening with the case, and I have a feeling I'm being left out of the loop on purpose. It's driving me crazy not knowing anything going on.

On the bright side, Bagel keeps me great company, never leaving my side. I think he's as worried about me as everyone else, if not more. I talk to both Cecilia and Vienna over the phone, and the three of us even have a three way FaceTime call. They too, are being kept in what is starting to feel like solitary confinement. Vienna's injuries aren't even enough to warrant staying home from school for more than a day or two, but her parents insist on it anyway. Cecilia also explains to us her side of the story. After she found the pin, she became engrossed in reading the company records for more information, maybe a clue we missed. She'd been down there for some time when Mr. Warren arrived. The three of us came to the conclusion he came back for Gabriel's lacrosse pin, which he probably realized he left behind and could be used as evidence against him. That's when he discovered Cecilia and put two and two together, holding her hostage and threatening information out of her. Then he forced Cecilia to make Vienna and I meet her down in the archives under the ruse of her finding out more info. It was a complete but scary coincidence that Vienna and I happened to be on our way there anyway, even before she texted.

My mother makes sure to deliver all the work I'm missing at school, and so I also spend my week at home catching up on schoolwork. Just because I'm on forced bed rest doesn't mean I'm letting my grades slip. As for tennis, I'm benched for the rest of the season—to my utter displeasure—so I appoint Tiffany as the captain in charge during my leave of absence.

Winston sends infrequent texts to check up on me, but other than that I don't see him for that entire week. I assume he's busy dealing with the aftermath of this mess. I understand, but it doesn't stop me from missing him like crazy.

Speaking of Winston...

"Knock, knock," my mother says, opening the door. "Can I come in?"

"Why ask if you're just going to come in anyway?" I reply on an eye roll. Being stuck at home has worsened my attitude.

My mother ignores me and Coms to sit at the edge of the bed. "Is dad home?" I ask, already knowing the answer.

"No. He's at work. How are you feeling?"

I shrug. "Fine. Great. Ready to get the hell out of this house."

My mother chuckles. "You will soon, I promise. Anyway I wanted to talk to you."

"About?"

"Winston."

Of course. I was waiting for her to bring this topic up.

"You two seemed quite close at the hospital," she starts casually. I roll my eyes again.

"Just ask what you wanna ask mom."