AllFreeNovel
Share Us
By the time we reach my cell, I feel like I'm going to be sick. The guard closes the door behind me and leaves me alone with a man whom I guess is my new cellmate. He's older, lying in his bed, reading a book, and he barely looks my way before turning his attention back to his book.
Good. I'm not here to make friends or conversation. I just need to get in touch with my dad and figure out how the hell I can get out of here.
IT ENDS UP BEING hours before I'm given access to a phone, but it only takes a second after dialing my dad's number before he answers. He agrees to accept the charges and the two of us are connected.
"Jace?"
"Hey Dad," I sigh.
He lets out a relieved breath. "What the hell happened?"
I really wish I knew. "I'm not sure. I was out to dinner with Paige, Carter, and Becca, and the next thing I know, my arms are getting pulled behind my back and I'm thrown into a cop car."
"Yeah, Carter called me as soon as he left the restaurant," he explains. "I tried to get to talk to you at North Haven PD, but they wouldn't let me anywhere near you."
Running my fingers through my hair, my anxiety starts to take over again. "What's going to happen, Dad?"
It takes him a moment to answer, bu
t it sounds like he's trying to keep calm. "Just keep your head up. Tomorrow, I'll come up there with our lawyer, and we'll figure this shit out. All you have to do is stay strong, okay?"
"Okay," I tell him, but that's easier said than done.
THE WHOLE NIGHT, EVERY single noise is intensified. Some guy snoring like a truck driver. Other people telling him to shut up. Someone else taking a massive shit. With every second that passes, it feels like the room is getting smaller and smaller—cutting off my air supply and making it hard to breathe.
"Put your pillow over your head," my quiet cellmate tells me. "And tomorrow, go pick yourself up a pair of earplugs from commissary."
I'm surprised he's even talking to me, but I'm grateful for the tip. "Thank you."
"Thank me by not moving so much. Your bed is fucking loud."
Noted.
I do as he says, and finally let all my exhaustion pull me to sleep.
The air is cold, with the wind blowing in my hair, but the view is gorgeous. Everything about this place feels familiar to me, but I can't put my finger on it—until I turn my head to the side and see her. Davianna is sitting on the roof, her back resting against the water tower. She's looking out into the distance as the moonlight washes over the side of her face.
She's always been beautiful, but there's something tragically sad about it tonight. Like it's not being appreciated. Or like it's faked. The confidence she's always possessed is still there, but she's different.
Without a word, I walk over and sit next to her. She doesn't look at me, or even check to see who it is. She just stares at the skyline.
"Do you ever wonder how we could have such amazing penthouses, and yet nothing beats the view on top of this shitty roof?"
The question catches me off guard. Davianna was never the type to be so candid. Everything in her life was the best of the best, and if it wasn't, she pretended it was. There was nothing that could ever bring her down, because she was so high above everyone else that no one could ever touch her.
"I guess, but I also tend to like it up here," I tell her. "It's peaceful, and no one comes to bother me."
She laughs, and it's a beautiful sound. "I know. That's why you showed it to me. For the times I just need to get away from everything."
It's not a lie. I did show her this place. But it wasn't because she needed to get away. It's because this is the one place where we're away from the prying eyes of others. Where we don't need to pretend to be something we're not. Where we don't need to care what we say or how we look. It's just us. It's all that matters.
For the first time since I got here, she turns her head and smiles at me in the way she does that makes everyone stop and admire her beauty. It's like you don't have a choice when it comes to her. It's something I've always admired about her, but I'll never let that admission ever leave my mouth.
As she goes to reach for my hand, she stops, and every feeling in me changes. I don't feel comfortable anymore. Instead, there is a heavy feeling in my stomach.
This isn't real.
She isn't real.
