The Not So Girl Next Door

Chapter 26: The Consequences of my Untimely Disappearance

“KELSIEEEEEEEEEEE!”          

Abby’s screech made the hair on my skin stand on their ends. The three of us agreed to meet at Starbucks so I can tell them all that’s happened on my holiday vacation.

“Oh my gosh! You shouldn’t go on disappearing like that, Kels. You had me and Precious worried sick all week! I mean what were you thinking; leaving us without a clue to where you’ve been?”

Abby and Precious hugged me so tight I had to push them away so I could breathe.

“Look, guys, I’m really, really sorry I didn’t tell you. See, our flight was moved so my dad sort of had to kidnap Danny and me to the Bahamas. I was about to call you guys to let you know I’ll be having an early vacation but my phone got broken on the airport, which isn’t very surprising, really, considering my luck. Anyway, I wasn’t able to call you guys in Bahamas, either, since calls were really expensive and the reception was really crappy. So, yeah, that’s pretty much it.”

“Wait, let me get this straight,” Precious said, “So no one knows that you went to the Bahamas this week?”

“Not that I know of, no.”

“How about Chase and Jared? Did you tell them?”

“Well, I got to talk to Chase before I broke my phone but I wasn’t able to call Jared.”

“So Chase is the only one who knows,” Abby concluded.

“Yeah...” Abby and Precious exchanged worried glances.

“Why?” I said.

“Well, Jared’s sort of…well…he’s kind of…mad. At you,” Precious answered.

“Why? Is it because I failed to call him before leaving? ‘Cause I swear it wasn’t my fault! It was that stupid pho—”

“No,” Abby said, cutting me off. “Remember you were supposed to go with him to his basketball tournament, right?”

“Yeah. Is he mad because I didn’t come? ‘Cause I can totally explain—”

“No,” Abby cut me off. Again. “It’s not that. He’s mad because he thinks that you blowing him off his basketball tournament and being gone for a week and not being able to contact you on your phone means that you chose Chase over him.”

“What? I don’t…I don’t understand…” I mumbled.

“Come on, Kels. Did you, like, hit your head in the Bahamas or something? Remember Chase asked you to accompany him in the art auction the same day as Jared’s basketball tournament? Well, Jared thinks that when you didn’t show up at his game, you went to the art auction. To be with Chase. That’s why he’s angry at you. He even lost his basketball game.  And you were gone without a trace for a week and you didn’t answer your phone which didn’t really help much since he got madder at you. He thinks you’re avoiding him,” Precious explained. She shoots another worried glance to Abby as if she is still hiding some information from me.

“And, uh, Amanda’s kind of been keeping Jared company these past few days,” Abby said, avoiding my outraged gaze.

“Amanda?! Why the hell is Jared hanging out with Amanda?!” I said, spitting Amanda’s name like it was acid.

“We don’t know either,” Precious said, “but we’ve been seeing her and Jared together all the time, like they’ve become joined in the hip again or something.”

I try not to let what both of them said to me. But their words kept spinning in my head.

“Kelsie? Are you okay? You look sorta pale,” Abby said.