The Blackout Girl ✔️

chapter three

"It's perfect," Lexi assured her.

"I hope you like chocolate. I wasn't sure if I should make cookies or cupcakes."

"I know I'll love them and my brother will too. He eats everything."

"You better hide them, then," Dorothy replied. "You have a few messages waiting for you, by the way. The boss is calling us in for a meeting in a few hours, but he wanted the work done before then."

Lexi hated her boss from the moment she met him. What made it worse was that she couldn't seem to remember his name for the life of her during the first week, which meant most of the time she referred to him as "the boss" and left it at that. Phil was an asshole, constantly piling on extra things for her to do, as if she wasn't busy enough.

"I can take a few messages," Dorothy offered, reading Lex's expression.

"It's fine," Lexi said. "I got it."

She checked the first note, dialed the number, and put on her best customer service voice. Most people didn't respond well to being told they owed money to a hospital, so she had to do her best to be patient. At least it was easy. That was her only consolation.

She and Dorothy made small talk when they weren't busy taking calls. Lexi listened to stories about the grandkids, occasionally chiming in with a joke Quinton told her. She was grateful to have a friend to work with. It made the day go faster.

Around noon, they were startled out of their chatter when Dan, a man who worked in another apartment, showed up at the front desk with a grim expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" Lexi asked, cocking her head.

"Phil's out today," he reported. "His brother was the victim killed the other day. He just found out. The staff meeting's been canceled."

"Oh, God," Dorothy said, cupping her hands over her mouth. "Poor guy! How long is he going to be gone?"

"I don't know," Dan answered. "Probably a while. I can't imagine what he must be going through."

"Neither can I," said Dorothy. "I'll keep him in my prayers."

Lex frowned, looking down at the papers fanned out on the table in front of her. She felt a little bad, yes, but she was mostly confused. It seemed so odd that a crime like that could affect anyone she knew. The tragedy seemed so distant before now. Now, it had become real.

"My sister knows a gal whose daughter was on campus the night the kid died," Dorothy whispered to Lexi after Dan walked away. "They closed it down for a few days while the cops were around. I heard the FBI is getting involved."

"The FBI?" Lex repeated, surprised. "What do they have to do with this?"

"I guess that's what happens when things get too big for the cops to handle," Dorothy said with a shrug. "It makes me sad that anyone would ever do something like this. Can you imagine that? I don't think I could ever be capable of anything like this."

Lexi glanced at her nails, which were stained with dried blood. She'd woken up with it caked under them a couple of days ago without the slightest idea where it had come from. Even despite vigorous scrubbing, it hadn't completely come out. It worried her. Then again, a lot of things worried her these days.

"Me neither," she said quietly. She hoped it was true.

* * *

The migraine never went away. Lexi spent the rest of the afternoon discreetly massaging her temple, but it did nothing to make the pounding relent. She was miserable, attempting to look on the bright side. Optimism wasn't one of her skills, but she tried to pretend it was.