Chapter Thirty-One
It was the day of the Valentine’s Ball. My hair was done. And so was my makeup-Eliza had to help me with it, apparently I really don’t know the difference between bronzer and foundation. The only thing that was left was for me to put on my dress. It hung from its hanger, atop of my dresser. I had yet to remove it from its bag-because I just knew that I’d mess it up somehow.
My gaze shifted onto my best friend-who might I add, was dateless. Ever since her talk with her aunt Claire, Eliza had been mulling over her feelings with Will. Deciding that the feelings in her lady garden was a sign from her stars, Eliza broke it off with Will and for the first time ever, she was the single one in our weird dynamic.
“What do you think?” she asked. She was applying a red gloss over her lips. “Too much?”
“If you don’t plan on kissing anyone then yes, it’s perfect,” I replied.
Eliza rolled her eyes at me. “I told you Lynn, I’m over boys.” She puckered her mouth.
I frowned at her. “Why do I have a feeling that your attitude won’t last long?”
“Because it never does,” she admitted, with a grin. She glanced at my dress. “Now go on, put on that dress. I want to get the whole effect.”
My fingers unzipped the bag and I sighed a little sigh. No matter how much I stared at the dress, I could never tire of staring at it in awe. It glittered with just the right amount of gold and sparkled with just enough sequins. I finally understood why so many girls got so protective over dresses during prom. No one wanted someone else to wear their dream dress.
“Stop eye-raping the thing,” Eliza teased, “and just put it on already.”
I scoffed. “It was not rape. Or eye-rape for that matter. The dress consented.”
As I pulled the dress out of its bag, I turned to examine myself in the mirror. My hair was open, but tame for once. The frizz that I always suffered from was now tame-thanks to a boatload of hairspray-and my makeup had been done lightly enough that it didn’t resemble something Beth would use-you know, the tacky bright lipstick and super flawless skin. Okay that was an exaggeration. Beth was still pretty, even without the makeup-I think I just puked a little.
Slipping out of my dressing gown, I slipped on the dress. Just like it had when I tried it on, the dress fit my body snugly. It accentuated my waist and flared from my hips. And for once, the length was just the right amount of long-you would be surprised by how much I had to alter the lengths of my jeans, it was the woes of short people.
“Zip me up?” I asked.
Eliza zipped the dress for me and stepped away. We both stared at our reflections in the mirror. For a moment, it seemed like some scene in a movie. Best friends getting ready for a dance with amazing dresses and fabulous hairdos. I almost laughed at the strangeness of it all. Never in a million years would I have predicted that it would ever happen to me.
“Jace is a lucky guy,” Eliza murmured. She grinned at me. “Seriously, you look great.”
I smiled in return. “You look even better.”
Eliza beamed at me, before twirling around in her black dress. She decided that if I was going glam then she was most definitely going Goth. Although, Eliza looked more sultry than Goth. But I had a good feeling she already knew that. My thoughts were interrupted when I heard my phone buzzing. I fumbled around my room, until I found it, hidden beneath my pillow.
“Hello?”
There was a pause on the other end.
My mouth curled into a frown. “Uh, hello? Anyone there?”
“Marilyn,” came a reply, “it’s me, Jace.”
I frowned. “What number are you calling from?” I pulled away my phone and stared my screen. The number did not belong to Jace. “Is something wrong with your phone?”
There was another long silence, before Jace finally replied, “There’s been a change of plans.”
“What?” I asked.
“I’m really sorry,” he breathed, “but you’ll have to meet me at the school. Something came up.” A second passed before he added, “Something with Laura.”
My eyebrows furrowed. “What’s wrong? Did something happen to her?”
“Look, I’ll explain it all later. I’ll see you at the dance, okay?” Jace answered.
I opened my mouth, but the line went dead before I could reply. For a moment, I just stared at the screen in confusion. It was Eliza, who brought me out of my thoughts. She stared at me, with concerned eyes.
“What’s wrong, Lynn?” she asked.
I frowned. “It’s Jace. He says that something came up with his mother, and that I should meet him at the dance.”
“Why do you look so worried?” Eliza questioned. Her expression mirrored her own words.
I swallowed. There was a lump in my throat that hadn’t been there before. For a long moment, I didn’t know why my stomach was twisting or why my shoulders tensed. Something felt wrong about the way Jace had called me. Especially on the day we were supposed to kick Beth off of her high horse.
“He didn’t call me from his phone,” I stated. “Why wouldn’t he?”
“Maybe his phone was dead?” Eliza offered.
And then, Martin’s face popped into my mind. The way that Jace had told me it was dangerous for me to get close to him. Because no matter how hard he tried to forget his past, Martin was always there. My chest tightened in an uncomfortable manner. It felt the way it had when Mum had died. I looked up at the mirror again. And I knew that the scenes in movies were just that.
They weren’t real.
“Can you track the area code for the number?” I asked Eliza.
She frowned at me. “Well yeah, the internet is there for a reason you know.”
After a few minutes, Eliza read out the area, which only proved my suspicions. Jace had called me from the bad side of town. It could have been nothing. Maybe Laura really was sick or she needed to talk to Jace, but I knew it was too good to be true. Martin must have had something to do with it. He always did.
I started dialling the number that Jace had called from, but after the third ring, it went straight to voicemail. I bit my lower lip. Dialling Jace’s number proved the same result. I swallowed the rise of bile. My mouth felt dry, like baked mud. When I looked up again, I knew what I had to do.
“Eliza, I need you to do me a huge favour,” I replied.
After telling my father that Eliza and I were heading to the dance, Eliza had driven me to her house. Her parents were at work, so it was easy to slip out of my dress and into comfortable clothes, which were also good for not being seen in. For a moment, I stared longingly at my dress. And then, I thought of Jace. The dance didn’t seem all that important anymore.
“This is crazy Lynn,” Eliza mumbled. “You should just call the cops.”
“Not with Jace there,” I answered. “If he gets caught with Martin, he’ll get sent to jail this time.”
Eliza sighed. “You’re really stubborn, when you get like this.”
I frowned at Eliza, watching as she pulled on dark leggings and a hoodie.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Isn’t it obvious?” she retorted. “I am not letting my best friend go risk her life to save her boyfriend without my help.”
“But you have to go to the dance,” I replied.
“What, and miss having some badass moment you only get in a cheesy spy movie? No way. Besides, someone’s going to need to drive you to the mysterious warehouse,” she explained.
The drive to the warehouse, where I had first met Martin took longer than I had expected it to. In the setting sun, the roads seemed to jumble together and the houses looked all the same. Eventually, I spotted the large building. I wondered why it hadn’t struck me as a storage for drugs the first time I had seen it. It was so obvious now.
Parking a few blocks away, Eliza and I snuck on foot towards the warehouse. Dressed in black hoodies, we fitted in with the other lingering teens who didn’t seem to mind us. A few guys wolf-whistled as we walked past-I had forgotten all about our hair and makeup until then-but the others simply ignored us.
“Try Jace’s phone again,” Eliza hissed.
We were hiding behind a crate, nestled against the warehouse. My fingers shook as I dialled Jace’s number. A few seconds passed before it began to ring. And then I froze. I pulled the phone away from my ear, and followed the sound of ringing. Eliza plucked up a silver phone, which had been half-covered in dirt.
“That’s his phone,” I whispered.
Eliza stared up at me. Her eyes were wide and full with panic.
“Okay, maybe now would be a good time to call the cops,” I murmured.
Eliza nodded and began the call. I frowned as sounds of a conversation filtered through an open window. I glanced at the crate. It was almost too easy. Pulling myself up, I peered into the window. It was dark inside, the only glow coming from a single overhanging light.
There was movement at the corner of my eye. I followed the movement, and found the person who was responsible for all of this. Martin. He was smirking at something, and then, I realised that the something was someone. My eyes widened. The thud of my heart quickened. It felt like I couldn’t breathe. It was Jace.
“I’ve called the cops,” Eliza whispered.
“Jace is inside,” I hissed. Eliza joined me on the crate and peered in.
My eyes moved back to Martin. Behind him, I noticed another figure. Probably his lackey, Bob. Martin began speaking, but his words were too faint to hear this far away. But I didn’t need to hear words to know what was happening. The figure stepped forward. It wasn’t Bob. No, it was Laura and she was holding a gun.
“Oh shit,” Eliza breathed.
“Well, well, what do we have here?”
I startled, my heartbeat threatening to leap from my chest. The voice belonged to Bob. He wore a lazy grin on his weathered face, his eyes eying me and Eliza in a way that sent chills down my spine. Eliza stumbled back, slipping from the crate. I grabbed out for her, but it was useless. Eliza slipped through my grasp and onto the ground.
Bob was on her in an instant.
My body stilled. Fear crippled me for a moment too long.
Bob pulled out a gun. He placed the barrel against Eliza’s temple.
“Don’t hurt her,” I begged.
Eliza went still, a whimper escaping her lips.
“Or what?” Bob snarled. “You going to make me regret it?”
“No, but I will,” a voice replied.
A sickening crack resounded through the air, followed by Bob slumping onto the ground. Eliza shrieked as she jumped away, her eyes wide and fear evident in her face. I looked up. My breath got caught in my throat.
“John?” I breathed. “What are you doing here?”
John scowled at the back of Bob’s head, before his eyes met mine. There was a flash of concern, before annoyance filled his gaze.
“What am I doing here?” he retorted. “Saving you and your friend.” He helped Eliza up before lending me a hand as I hopped from the crate. “The real question is why you’re here?”
Eliza slinked towards me, her hand tangling with mine.
“I’m here because Jace needs my help,” I retorted.
John sighed. For a moment, a sad look passed his face. “You can’t help him Lynn. Martin has a reputation to keep and this…this is personal.”
I scowled. “You can’t be serious John!”
“He’s got a gun,” Eliza whispered.
I glanced down and found Bob’s discarded gun in his hand. When my eyes moved back up, any traces of the old John that I had known were gone. How could I have been so stupid? Where else would someone as young as John have gotten money for recording at Dad’s studio? Memories of Bianca warning me about John, and the way he hated Jace flitted into my mind.
“John,” I breathed. “I have to help him.”
A moment passed. And then another. My heart thudded. I daren’t move. It felt like torture. Waiting for John to say something. My body tensed. Expecting a bullet. I was suddenly sorry for letting Eliza come with me. Sorry that I hadn’t accepted Mrs Davis. That I hadn’t told Dad that I was happy for him. That it was okay for him to move on. For me to move on.
John sighed. “Fuck.” He shook his head. “Why’d you have to make this so complicated? Look, we only have one shot at this. Screw it up, and we’re dead.”
I let out a breath. “Thanks John.”
A/N: Yes, I know I said I'd update sooner, but life happens (read writer's block and a whole lot of procrastination). Anyway, second to last chapter (excluding the conclusion) and well, it would have been the last chapter but there was way too much to write for one chapter. Besides, it's better to break it up where the action really starts, right?
So what do you think will happen? Will Laura shoot Jace? Can John be trusted? Will Lynn and Eliza ever get out of it alive? Say tuned for the next episode of...okay, I'll stop now. Remember to vote and comment! I live for your feedback (seriously, I have no life).
xoxo
Mona :)