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If people didn’t stop calling me a murderer in the hall and in classes?
Then I’d have to consider another option.
But right then, anything looked better than what I was going through.
Anything looked better than continuing to live my life without Brett. Without kissing him, touching him, feeling his amazing hands sliding over my body.
The wet grass was soaking through my skirt, but I didn’t care.
I could stay out here for the entire class period and I didn’t think anyone would look for me.
Stretching out, I laid down in the grass, goose bumps popping up on my skin thanks to the dew. Just a short nap and maybe I’d feel up to going back to class.
Chapter 21
“Rose? Rose? You okay?” Maggie’s voice pulled me from my nap and I woke up with a start, sitting up quickly and wrenching my back.
When I moaned and reached back to rub it, she quickly moved around to my side, wrapping her arm around me and pulling me up to help me to my feet.
“What happened?” My words were slurred and thick from sleep and I felt like all of my clothes were soaked. Glancing around, I saw that students were walking around us on their way to class. Maggie was the only one who had stopped, but Harper came running up as we sat there.
“I think that you fell asleep out here and missed class, Rose. You’re soaking, so let’s get you to your room to change and then to lunch, okay? I bet that you’ll feel a lot better once you have something in your stomach.” She slipped her arm through mine and Harper looped her arm around my waist. We were halfway to our dorm when Kaleb and Jackie came running up.
“You found her!” Jackie looked stressed and I noticed right away that he had dark circles under his eyes. “I wanted to come look for her during Spanish but my teacher said that if I left I would be in detention for the rest of the month.” He scowled and reached for me, but Maggie tightened her grip on my arm.
“We’ll take care of her right now, Jackie. Let us get her cleaned up and we’ll meet you guys in the dining hall, okay?”
Kaleb and Jackie eyed her cautiously, like they didn’t trust that she would do what she said, but finally they both nodded and walked off, but not before Kaleb kissed me on the forehead. The warmth of the kiss spread through me and I felt a bit stronger.
“I’m really sorry, you guys.” We climbed the stairs to my third floor dorm slowly. “I just…I ran into the harpies and then I sat down to rest. I guess I fell asleep.”
“Nobody’s mad, Rose.” Harper made it to the top of the stairs first and reached down to help me boost myself up. I was moving slower and slower and her slight tug helped me make it to the top landing. I still had to baby my left wrist, and I kept it close to my body to keep from hitting it on the wall. “We’re all just really worried about you. Maggie and I were actually wondering if you should go home for a bit and spend some time with your mom. I know that she’s going crazy worrying about you.”
She was right, but I didn’t want to hear that from my friends. “You guys don’t want me to leave, do you?” The hurt in my voice was obvious but I couldn’t shake it. “That’s all that the harpies want, and now you two?” Frowning, I turned away from them. I was acting like a baby and I knew it, but I didn’t care right then.
“Geez, Rose is that what you really think? That we want you gone? Hell no, we don’t want you gone. We just want you safe, that’s all.” Maggie’s voice sounded strained, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at her. Instead, I looked down the hall towards my room. I knew that I needed to change and continue on my day, but resting sounded so good right then.
There was something hanging in the door of my room. Trailing my right hand along the wall to help keep my balance, I walked towards it. I was unsteady on my feet, but I shrugged off Maggie’s hand when she reached for me.
“What is that?” My voice sounded far away. Just a few more steps and I’d be able to tell for sure what it was, but even from where I was standing, I thought that I knew.
The gasp behind me confirmed it.
“Is that a noose?” Of course, I knew what a noose looked like. What I couldn’t believe is that there was one hanging in my doorframe. Jerkily, I crossed the hall, grabbing the wall by my door for support.
The noose hung there, barely swinging.
God, it looked inviting.
That was probably the point.
My hands shaking, I reached for it to pull it down, but there was a bit of paper pinned to it. Instead of yanking the noose down, I carefully unpinned the paper. It crinkled when I unfolded it and I dropped the pin to the floor.
“What does it say?” Harper slipped up next to me and looked over my shoulder. When I didn’t respond, she read the note out loud. “You’d be doing us all a favor.”
“Rose, that’s bullshit.” Maggie ripped the note from me and tore it into confetti before letting it fall to the floor from between her fingers. “Don’t listen to that shit, okay? Someone’s fucking with you, and it’s probably Amelia.”
“Oh, I’m sure it’s her.” I slid my fingers along the noose. The rope was rough but it slipped easily through my grasp. For a moment, I thought about what it would be like to slide it over my head and tighten it around my neck. Swallowing hard, I grabbed the noose, yanking it down and letting it fall to the floor.
