Secrets

Chapter Twenty Five

"And the Grammy goes to ... Random Access Memories, Daftpunk!"

Kimby had jumped up from the couch at hearing the first syllable, but then plumped down again.

"Noo!" she exclaimed, gesturing wildly at the TV in disappointment.

She felt sad seeing Taylor's reaction so similar to her own, and knew that the singer would not take the loss well.

Kelley came into the living room, making her way between the rest of the people standing around, holding a full red cup in her hand.

"You missed it! They already announced it!" Kimby said when her friend had approached the couch.

"She didn't win."

"What? Noo" Kelley said, looking disappointed.

"I really wanted her to win."

"Yeah, me too" Kimby said and reached for the remote to switch off the TV, no longer interested in the award show.

She got up from the couch and went with Kelley to look for their friends. They were at a house party of some dude from the men's soccer team that Kimby didn't know, but Kelley had dragged her along. She had agreed to tag along under the condition that she was allowed to watch TV to see if Taylor would win Album of the year. The host of the party hadn't minded, having gotten weirder requests from guests at parties.

Kimby had felt a little bit like a third wheel all night. Her roommate Tobin was away for January camp for the national team, otherwise she would have been there. Kimby admired her roommate for her soccer skills and everyone had been happy when the girl had received her first call-up two weeks earlier. Soon enough she would be rooming with a celebrity athlete, Kimby had joked.

They had found a group of people they knew and joined them. Kelley was back at trying to impress Emily, the girl she had a crush on and the other reason Kimby felt like a third wheel. She pulled out her phone to text her sisters who were also watching the Grammys. Karlie in NYC, and Kariann with Christen in their dorm room, not wanting to go out to party on a Sunday.

She texted back and forth with her sisters. Karlie let them know she had called Taylor and that her girlfriend was already on the way home, not feeling like going to the after-party. She hadn't been very talkative and just wanted to be left alone. Kimby knew enough about the singer by now that she knew she took the loss very personal. She briefly considered showing Kelley the conversation as a joke, but then decided it was best to let the topic rest. They had already been clutching at straws enough trying to downplay Karlie's acquaintance to Taylor.

A while later she decided to head home early. She wasn't drunk enough and there were no interesting guys to talk to. Besides, she had an 8 am class the next day. She said goodbye to Kelley, who seemed to be attached to Emily's hip, and texted Kariann that she would be back soon. The party was at a house not far from the dorm, so she decided not to call an uber for the short distance.

The air outside was cold, but a welcome change from the stuffy air at the party. Kimby took a deep breath and wrapped her scarf around her neck. She tucked her headphones in and started walking along the empty street, lost in her thoughts. There were some lights visible behind the curtains of the houses on the side of the street, but it was a quiet night.

Her thoughts got interrupted when she suddenly had a vision of herself being dragged into a car flash before her eyes. She looked around herself in panic and saw a car she hadn't heard coming close behind her, slowing down as it approached. She shrieked and started running, but the car accelerated its speed and caught up to her.