Paper Flowers (Pretty Plastic People) ★

039. Face to Face

039. Face to Face

At Aquino High, people always expect proof.

I don't hear anything from my blackmailer all day Saturday.  Instead, I enjoy a peaceful day in my bed with my laptop in front of me, typing nonsense that I try to assemble into my speech for Monday.  Taylor texts me a few times and I halfheartedly reply, declining his invitation to meet him at his house.  Right now I feel like I just need a few days to myself, to think about everything that's happened.

I know logically that I need to tell my friends what I know, but something's holding me back.  To announce to everyone else that Liam is guilty is to confirm it in my head, to acknowledge what I know now to be the truth.  As long as I stay silent, there's a minuscule chance that I could be wrong.

Plus, there's still the issue of my blackmailer.  Until I receive her final call, I'm hesitant to talk about the situation with anyone.  Who knows what she has in store for me?

It turns out I don't have to wait long.  Just as promised, my blackmailer calls me before the weekend is over.  Sunday morning I'm awoken by my ringing phone, startling me out of a bizarre nightmare about Liam and Taylor.

"Hello?" I ask groggily.

I hadn't bothered to check the caller ID, but my blackmailer's voice is as recognizably crisp as ever.  "Hello, Erika.  How has your weekend been?"

"Great."  I swing my legs over the side of the bed and rub at my eyes, trying to open them fully.  Bleak winter sunlight is already streaming in my windows, and I suspect it's ten in the morning.

"I have your reward for you," she says, pausing only long enough to let that sink in before she adds, "I'll need you to meet me at the park across from Cold Front in an hour."

"What?"  I can't imagine that she'd actually want us to meet.  That would be putting a face to the girl who's been harassing me for weeks.  Then it would be easy for me to get her in trouble, or at least to get back at her for what she's done to me.  Right now her power is only in her anonymity.  "You mean I'll actually find out who you are?"

"I guess you could consider that the first part of your reward."

"And the second part?"

Another pause, this one slightly longer than the first.  "I'll see you in an hour and you can find out."

I don't like the gleeful tinge to her voice, but I'm too curious not to take the bait.  As soon as I hang up, I hurry to my closet to pull out jeans and a sweater.

The house is dead silent.  I suspect Dad's already out running errands and Allison is probably still sound asleep—she'll likely stay in her bed until at least noon.  I'm surprised, then, when she opens the bathroom doors just as I've finished applying my mascara.

"Where are you going so early?" she asks.

I twist the tube shut and through it onto the counter, thinking fast.  "I have some errands I have to run and thought I'd get them out of the way so I can focus on homework later."

"Oh.  Want me to come with you?"

"No, it's fine."  Now I pick up my eyeliner, contemplate, and set it back down.  I don't know why I'm considering so much makeup just to intimidate my blackmailer.

"Are you sure?"  She leans against the counter, her eyes pleading.  "I'm bored out of my mind.  I was supposed to have a sleepover with Celia last night but Liam came over instead." A roll of the eyes, paired with a dramatic sigh.  "I don't even get to spend time with her anymore."