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Cara shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.”
She started packing up her things, placing them carefully back into the small oak box. It was intricately carved with symbols and drawings, passed down from her great-grandparents until it reached her mother. It was given to Cara on her last birthday.
“Cara, are you sure you’re okay?” Julia asked.
“Of course.”
Quinn took another look at her. “Are you sure? You don’t look okay. Maybe you should take a break from the crystals for a minute. Come sit with us.”
If Quinn was concerned, Cara was doing a terrible job of hiding her mood.
“I’m fine,” Cara said, and she was saved from any further questions by Jackson opening the door. He’d only been gone for a few minutes, taking a phone call in the other room, but Cara had completely forgotten he was in the house.
Maybe she did need a break.
Jackson sat down beside Quinn and casually threw his arm behind her, over the back of the couch. Quinn didn’t move away, but she didn’t move closer, either. She glanced at Julia, trying to be subtle but failing entirely. Fortunately, Julia wasn’t looking at her.
Ever since Julia broke up with her girlfriend, Quinn was trying not to invite Jackson over too often, since she didn’t want to force Julia to be around a couple. Julia hadn’t said anything, and she probably didn’t care, but the breakup was still fresh. Quinn didn’t want to put her through anything that would bring up painful memories.
Of course, when Quinn mentioned all this to Cara, Julia wasn’t in the room, and neither of them had mentioned it to her. Julia would see it as pity, and she’d hate that.
Right now, Quinn was sneaking glances to see if Julia was uncomfortable with them sitting so close together. Cara looked, too. Julia, as usual, didn’t seem to care, but she was always hard to read.
“How did it go the other night?” Jackson asked.
It took Cara a second to realise he was talking to her. “What?”
“The other night, you know, with Nick. You guys spent some time together, right?”
“Oh, yeah.”
She knew he was talking about Nick walking her home to get her jacket - he didn’t know anything else happened - but it still sent her heart beating faster.
Quinn and Julia were both looking at her, too. She’d been unusually quiet about it, and they stopped asking when they got the hint. They probably guessed it didn’t go well, and she was too embarrassed to talk about it.
They had no idea.
“We haven’t heard from him in a few days,” Jackson added, when Cara didn’t answer his question. “Me and the lads, I mean. He sent some message about needing to deal with family stuff, but he didn’t give details.”
“Really? Is he okay?” Julia said.
“I hope so,” Jackson said. “He said it wasn’t serious, but I haven’t heard anything since.”
Quinn looked at Cara. “Is that a coincidence?”
Cara blinked. “What?”
“You’re acting weird and Nick is off the grid. Now that I’m thinking about it, you’ve been weird since that night at the house party. Did something happen?”
“Nothing happened,” Cara said.
“You’re not a great liar,” Quinn said.
Cara rolled her eyes. “I’m fine! I told you I’m fine. Julia, can you talk some sense into her?”
Julia hesitated. “You have been acting strange. We’re just worried.”
“I’m telling you I’m fine.”
