42
Jessica
Crystal tightened the black straps of my dress and smacked my back. “You’re good to go,” she said, and I turned around, lifting my shoulders. They stayed in place.
“Thanks,” I said, and she winked.
“You look great.”
“You, too,” I said, and she ruffled the poofs of silver on her sleeves. Her dress was super short, unlike the average prom dress, and her stilettoes added five inches to her petite height. She loved it.
“If only I could wear this every day,” she said, sitting in front of her vanity mirror. She pulled out eye shadow and applied it to one eyelid. Her dark eyes sparkled when she met my gaze in the reflection. “You know that car wreck you asked me about? That one where the young couple died?”
My heart stopped, and I sat on her bed, unable to stand. “Yeah—”
“I asked my mom about it,” she said, finishing her other eye. “It was really weird.”
I held my breath. My parents. “What was weird about it?”
“For one thing, their car was filled with all of their possessions, but they hadn’t put their house on the market,” she said. “My mom wanted the police to look more into it, but they figured the couple was moving.” Her eyes flickered as she slicked mascara on. “Seemed really sporadic if you ask me.”
She spun around and tied a ribbon around her wrist. “I mean, what kind of couple flees with a newborn without reason?” Her face flushed behind her heavy blush. “I think something happened.”
My tongue was heavy. I couldn’t say anything. They knew about the Dark. I was positive they had fled from it, but I didn’t know why. It didn’t make sense.
“Why’d you have me look into it anyway?” she asked. “Did you know them?”
“No,” I lied. “My dad came across it at work.”
Her brow rose, but she turned back to her mirror. She twisted her lip ring out and replaced it with a glittery one. “What does your dad do anyway?”
“I don’t know,” I lied again. He managed a small farming equipment company. He had no reason to find the article, except me, and I didn’t want her to know that. “I just thought it looked weird, too.”
“See?” Her eyes widened. “I want to know what happened,” she said, standing up and adjusting her dress. It crinkled. “The article didn’t even say what happened to their daughter.”
I was adopted. “She was probably given to family members,” I said.
“Probably.”
“Crystal.” Her bedroom door opened, and a woman with short dark hair walked in. She was Crystal’s mirror image. “Your friends are here.”
“Thanks, Lola,” she said, and her mother left, not even bothering to say hi.
I hadn’t even known she was home.
“Don’t take it personally,” Crystal said, grabbing her clutch off her table. “She barely talks to me, let alone my friends.”
“Where’s your dad?” I asked, and she shrugged.
“Who knows?”
I bit my lip, and we didn’t talk about it again. Instead, she rushed out of her bedroom, and I collected my stuff, following quickly behind. When we hit the front door, Crystal burst out and shouted, “About time.”
Robb and Zac stood outside, and I couldn’t deny how well they’d cleaned up. Robb was in black, and Zac wore a white suit, bringing out the blackness of his hair and eyes. His hair was spiked up, the ends twirling in a hundred different directions, and his shoulders were broadened beneath his suit jacket. They looked good.
“Where have you guys been?” Crystal asked, and Robb groaned.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “We got caught in traffic. Everyone has their parents’ cars tonight.”
They continued to bicker as my heels clicked against the concrete. I walked over to them, and suddenly Zac’s hand was around my waist. He spun me around, and my vision settled on him when I stopped. My dress twisted. How had he gotten so close without me noticing?
He grinned. “You look great.”
I stepped back but found myself giggling. The attention felt nice. “Thanks,” I said. “You, too, Zac.”
His dark brow rose, and he smirked. “You remembered my name?”
“I met you yesterday,” I said. “It’s kind of hard to forget.”
He leaned in. “It’s impossible to forget you.”
I averted my eyes to hide my blush. Was he serious? Somehow, he didn’t even sound cheesy.
“You two ready to go?” Robb asked, suddenly standing next to us, and I nodded.
Robb and Zac rushed to the car, hitting one another, and Crystal grabbed my arm as we followed them to Robb’s Suburban. “Was Zac just flirting with you?”
“I—I think so.”
Crystal bounced. “Good for you, Jess,” she said, flickering her glittery eyes over me. “But I have to warn you. Linda is a little—oh, how should I say this—feisty.”
“Feisty?”
“She’s really protective of those two,” she said, rolling her eyes. “More so toward Robb than Zac, but she doesn’t like other girls around them.”
When Zac opened the car door to the backseat, I saw her. Linda’s golden hair glowed beneath the interior lights, and her diamond earrings sparkled. Her green eyes, like her jewelry, sparkled, too.
“You must be Jess,” she said as she eyed me, and I stared at her dress.
It was crimson red and clung to her body like she was preparing for a model shoot. It was slick, long, and gorgeous.
I averted my gaze and swallowed my nerves. Why did Robb’s friends have to be so intimidating? They weren’t like the kids at Hayworth High; they were different. “Nice to meet you, Linda,” I said as I got in to sit in the middle seat.
She shifted away and stared out the window even though we weren’t moving. Crystal sat next to me, and Zac leaned over her. “Be nice, Linda,” he said. “Jess is my dancing partner.”
Linda’s neck turned, slowly and methodically. Her thin eyebrows rose, and she smiled, tight-lipped. “Oh, really?” She was looking right at me, and heat sizzled over my skin.
“We are going to dance,” I managed, and Zac chuckled, shutting the car door before he crawled into the passenger seat. No one spoke, but Crystal pinched my leg.
I jumped, looking at her, and she widened her eyes at me. Her message was loud and clear: don’t mess with Linda.
I smiled at my best friend before focusing on the windshield. At least I’d be able to see where we were going.
“Is everyone buckled up?” Robb asked, and we nodded before he backed out of the driveway. The night wasn’t looking as magnificent as I wanted it to be.
Minutes Before Sunset Page 51
