Loser || WlW

Twenty-Three

"Jordan, wait!" Grace jogs to catch up and grabs my elbow. "Are you okay? What happened back there?"

Too many thoughts are racing through my head. "They found Claire's body. The girl in my class who died."

"What does that have to do with you?" Grace pulls her bag higher on her shoulder.

I kick some pebbles. "I told you. They think I killed her."

Grace's eyes go wide. "They really think that? Why?"

We stare at each other for a moment. "Yeah." I shake my head. "I don't know. She was the only person in the whole school who was kind to me and they think I killed her."

We start walking together, slowly this time.

"What evidence do they have? Why are they trying to frame you?" She glances at me.

"Because I'm a dumbass." A long exhale escapes my lips. I don't tell Grace I was having dreams about Claire and woke up in the middle of class proclaiming her death.

She smiles and shoves my shoulder. "You're not dumb." We walk in silence for a moment before Grace clears her throat. "I thought you were ignoring me again."

I flash her a confused look.

"You ignored my call earlier, you know, and I thought maybe I went too far at the party?" Her eyes scan my face.

I press my palm to my forehead. "I'm so sorry. I completely forgot you called. I was in this," I clear my throat, "Meeting and then they found Claire and I've been at the police station since." I pause, my eyes narrow. "I saw you at The Mariana yesterday." The words burst out of me before I can think about them.

Grace gives me a nudge. "You should have said hi," and as an afterthought, "I could have introduced you to my best friend."

I rub the back of my arm. "I, um, thought you were on a date. I didn't want to intrude."

Her lips twist into a curious smile. "No, I'm not dating anyone... Else. Why didn't you talk to me about it?"

My eyes focus anywhere but her face. "There's just a lot going on right now."

"Well, why don't you come to my place? We could watch a movie?" She flashes a playful smile.

As the words leave her lips, I notice something white across the road. I squint at the image. I must be losing my mind. My mother is standing, halfway hidden by an alley, staring at me with those dead eyes.

Grace nervous chuckles. "It's okay. I'll see you some other time then."

"What?" I shake my head and grab her hand. "No, I would love to," I tell her. "Did you see that woman over there?"

Grace shields her eyes from the sun. "No, who was it?"

I shrug. "Could have sworn I saw my mom." To change the subject, I ask, "So, what were you doing at the police station?

Grace shrugs. "I have to write a report on a historical event for my journalism class."

"Sounds boring." I smile.

She grins and rolls her eyes. "It's super interesting actually."

We spend the walk talking about her classes and her roommate, and finally, make our way to the apartment where Grace pours us two large glasses of dark red wine.

I'm sitting on the opposite end of her sleek black sofa as she flips through movies on Netflix when she stops and faces me. "Can I ask you something?"

I face her and nod, clutching the chilled glass in my hands.

"What is," she motions between us, "this?"

I swallow hard. "Um."

She sighs. "Some days I think you're into me," her eyes fall, "and other times it feels like you'd rather just be friends." She places her glass on the coffee table and turns so her knee is resting against my leg.

"I..." I clear my throat, "Guess I'm bad at showing people how I feel. I try to keep my emotions to myself. I don't want anyone to think I'm crazy."

"Why would I think you're crazy?" Her forehead wrinkles.

I let out a soft chuckle, my eyes focused on the floor. The image of my mother with sunken eyes and pasty skin swinging a knife at me flashes through my head. The fake image of my mother. I was hallucinating; the primary symptom of my mother's disorder.

"People think I'm a murderer. Even Brittany. No one believes me."

"I believe you," she says, her eyes filled with sympathy. "I never doubted you."

"Maybe you should," I say, my eyes drawn to her lips.

She raises an eyebrow at me and leans closer.

My heart is pounding so fast, my chest hurts.

Grace cups the side of my neck with her palm, half smiles, "May I?"

I swallow and nod.

Grace's eyes flick from my eyes to my lips, but as she begins to close the space between us her front door swings open.

I scramble backward, the blood rushing to my cheeks.

Grace lets out a strangled sigh. "Hey, Janet," she says, smoothing her hair out.

I'm too embarrassed to make eye contact with Janet.

"Hey." A small voice comes from the kitchen.

Grace shakes her head, the blush fading from her cheeks, "Janet. This is Jordan."

"Sup." The word is muffled by her mouth full of chips.

I wave and force an awkward smile. Janet is punk with shoulder-length blue hair, a lip piercing, and combat boots.

"This is Janet. My roommate." Grace eyes her. "My roommate, who is supposed to be in class right now?"

Janet shrugs. "I ditched. Don't worry, I won't hang around." She throws her jacket on a hook by the door and slinks into her room, closing the door behind her.

Grace leans back into the couch and grabs the remote. "Well," she blows a breath out through her teeth "that was dumb."

I laugh. "The universe doesn't want us to be together."

"Don't say that!" She squeezes my side.

I jump from the ticklish jolt and grab her hands. Maybe the moment can be saved.

As soon as the thought enters my head, an emergency broadcast plays across the screen.

A reporter's voice sounds through the apartment. "This just in. A woman from Black View Hospital has escaped and it looks like she had help. We have Jeff there on the scene."

"Thanks, Michelle." The rest of the words fade out as I watch a clip of the surveillance footage. It's fuzzy but I'd recognize those eyes anywhere. Those buggy, lifeless eyes are peering into the camera.

"Oh god. Fuck," I choke.

"You okay, Jordan?" Grace's voice pulls me back to reality. "What's going on?"

I glance at her worried eyes and back to the TV. I can't look at her as I say, "That's my mom."

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Question of the Chapter: How does everyone feel about Grace and Jordan? 

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