Knife's Edge

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

After grassing Bailey in, I take Stella and George's distraction as an opportunity to escape. Instead of waiting around to witness the aftermath, I go up to my room and leave Bailey to the wolves.

Does that make me a coward? Absolutely.

Should I have been more tactful? Absolutely.

Do I regret pulling the pin and running for cover? Absolutely not.

From the safety of my room, I flop down onto my bed and roll to face the ceiling, listening to the fight that breaks out in the kitchen below. I can hear lots of shouting – from both Stella and George this time – as they scold Bailey.

I listen as they tell her how disappointed they are in her for lying, some of their words muffled through the ceiling but most still audible. They tell her how reckless it was, lying about her whereabouts – especially after everything that's just happened with Oscar.

And, I'll admit it: their words resonate with me, too. It doesn't matter that they're aimed at Bailey because the guilt hits me just as hard. If Stella and George knew just how much I've lied to them, too, they would be just as mad at me.

Actually, they'd probably be madder, because I'm supposed to be the responsible one.

The guilt eats at me worse when they then bring me into the argument. They tell Bailey how unfair it was for her to put me in that position, dragging me into her lie and expecting me to cover for her. And that makes me tense up, hitting a little too close for comfort, as I wait for Bailey's response.

Because I'm fully expecting her to grass on me, too.

It would be so easy for her to do – "Well, it's not like it'd be the first time she's done it. Jade lies too, you know." I can hear the words in my mind, so clear it's like she's actually spoken them out loud. I am waiting for those words to be spoken out loud.

But they're not.

At a guess, her silence has far less to do with protecting me than it does her own selfish agenda. She probably doesn't want to dig herself into an even deeper hole, because telling on me would only raise questions about what I'd lied about.

Bailey won't risk them finding out about her friendship with the Coleman's, just for the short-lived victory of pulling me under the bus with her. In her eyes, the sacrifice wouldn't be worth it.

And so, instead, Bailey lies some more in order to keep the other lies safely contained.

I listen as she skilfully moves the argument away from me completely, returning the attention back to herself as she tries to patch over the damage I've created for her.

"I was just at Katie's house, alright? It's not even a big deal!"

But Stella's not stupid, and she proves it when she asks,

"So why did you feel the need to lie to us, Bailey? You could've told us that without making up some story. What were you actually doing?"

"I told you already!" Bailey snaps angrily. "I was just at Katie's house!"

"Doing what?" Stella demands.

"Oh, you know..." Bailey replies, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Just a bit of Ketamine. Maybe a small spliff or two. Nothing class A, though, Stel. No biggie."

As I'm sure you can imagine, Stella doesn't find the joke very funny. Neither do I, to be honest.

"Bailey..." I hear George mutter in warning, his voice so low I have to strain to catch the word.