Burning Willow

XVI

I crawled towards him and lifted my hand gently to his face. "I'm not the only one with dark circles under my eyes."

"Yeah, but I don't need sleep as bad as you do."

"Chase?"

"Yes?" He looked at me distractedly.

"Go to sleep."

Without waiting for a reply, I settled in and made enough space for him. By the time we were both under the covers, my eyelids were already heavy.

I knew I would get nightmares. About Chelsea. About her killer. But right now, I needed sleep so bad I thought I could handle it.

So I turned around and rested my forehead against Chase's arm. His body leaned in towards me and he whispered, "You okay?"

But I had already begun to drift off.

When I woke up, my first instinct was to check the time.

It was two. That funeral was in an hour.

I looked around for Chase, but the room was empty. There was no one in the bathroom either. I guess he had left.

My eyes fell upon a familiar black dress, which was draped across my chair. It definitely hadn't been there before.

There was a knock on my door. I got up to open it and saw my mother's petite figure in the hall, inspecting a fingernail like it was the most interesting thing on the planet.

"Oh good, you're alive." She said in a voice devoid of any emotion.

"Did you want something?" I tried to rub away the sleep from my eyes.

"Yes, actually, I promised the press you would give a detailed account of that night's events."

"You...what?"

"Yes, and the interview's at four, so chop chop, you need to get ready in time."

"Mom... I can't go. Chelsea's funeral is at 3. Won't end till 5."

She sighed. "So what? You can leave early."

I frowned. "Chelsea was my friend."

"Darling, showing up to her funeral is more than enough--"

"No it's not." I crossed my arms. "It's bad enough I was there to witness her death, now you want me to talk about it?"

"Maybe talking will do you good." She said.

A sudden course of anger ran through me.

"Oh, it will?" I asked. "Why don't you tell the media how you got the money for your last runway, mom? I'm sure they would love to hear that."

I saw her forehead twitch. "You don't want to go there."

"I'm going to the funeral." I said finally. "And I'm not talking to the press about anything."

I knew what she wanted. She wanted me to take a few interviews in light of recent events, about how none of this was really our fault. But the truth is, half the city already hated my dad. And now a murder at one of his parties? This could go either way.

I went into my room. Suppressing my anger was something I wasn't known for, so I surprised even myself when I didn't slam the door.

I picked up my phone and called Chase. I remember him telling me his car broke down yesterday and he didn't have time to fix it. "Do you still need a ride to the funeral? Why'd you leave, by the way?"

"Never a hello with you, is it?"

"Hello, Chase. Where the hell are you?"

"At home." He said. "Daniel's gonna go with Maya, but I'll get there somehow."