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“She told me,” Becca declares, still staring at Jordan in wonder.
“I’m sorry,” Rosie whispers, and from her shoulder movements, I can tell she’s twiddling her fingers together nervously. I know because I’ve been doing it a lot since I arrived.
“It’s okay. We can get a coffee anytime when you’re up to it,” Jordan offers gently, and Rosie’s cheeks blush further, making me inwardly smile.
I just hope we can get Rosie’s strength up enough for her to reach out and go out on a date with her, because even though the two look like total opposites, I can’t imagine the two not fitting together.
“Okay.” Rosie nods and glances to Becca. A look passes between them, sort of like Rosie is seeking approval or permission.
When Jordan takes a seat next to CJ, he grins. “You got any nude girl pictures on your phone of ex-girlfriends?” he blurts out, and Jordan turns to him and rolls her eyes.
“Jackass,” she mumbles before pulling a folder out of her bag. “Are you Cole?” she asks, actually addressing Cole.
“Yeah,” he rumbles, eyeing her up for measure, and not sexually either, but like he can’t seem to figure her out.
“Can you give this to your uncle? It’s everything I have, and it’s a little too detailed. People sent more than I cared to know about,” she discloses sadly, a shadow passing over her features.
He nods and takes the folder. I know once we leave here, I’m going to beg him to take it straight to his uncle. There is no way we can have that lying around. I don’t think I can stomach knowing what’s inside it either.
“Okay. Did you find out when the next party will be?” Cole asks, and the tension builds around the table, everyone’s bodies locked up tight as they wait for her to answer.
“Yeah. Halloween is the next party, which isn’t that far away. You have two weeks.” She grimaces. “A friend of mine said it isn’t just in his flat; it’s in a few other rooms on their floor too. There are four apartments involved altogether. Two are facing off from each other and the other two are further down the hall, also facing each other. It’s going to be huge since the local uni bar got shut down over the weekend.”
“Crap! Too many people there will make it harder for us,” Cole complains, running his hands through his hair.
“Not really,” CJ interrupts, leaning forward, elbows resting on the table. “Better coverage for us if you think about it. The more people there, the better we can hide.”
“It also means more people are likely to see you,” Allie comments, sighing.
Rosie and Becca look defeated already. I have to do something soon before they lose faith in us doing this. They’ve risked so much already.
“We’ll go in costume,” I blurt out, and everyone stops, turning towards me. I flush. “What? It will be Halloween. Everyone dresses up.”
“You’re not going anywhere near that party,” Cole growls.
“Like hell. I am going,” I bite out.
Jordan interrupts him before he can argue. He gives me a look that tells me we’ll be talking about this later.
Yeesh, he’s bossy.
“That’s great. Perfect. Just make sure your masks cover your faces and don’t let on to anyone that you’re going. If he knows you’re close with Willow and Allie, then they’ll know you’ll be up to something,” Jordan states, and glances to each of us, waiting for someone to argue.
“So, like, what’s the plan?” Jane asks, and not for the first time, I realise her name really doesn’t suit her. She looks more like a Candy or a Gretchen.
“We need you to drug two people. We’ll send you pictures of them to your mobile,” CJ remarks, like he’s stating some history fact. I already know why the pictures weren’t brought along to our meeting. We didn’t want Rosie, Becca, or myself, for the matter, to get a flashback of what happened.
Rosie is suffering the most since she remembers every detail of what Jamie did to her. As sick as it might sound, Becca and I are lucky that we don’t remember. Rosie is walking around with a constant haunted look in her eyes. It’s clear she remembers every violent thing that happened to her.
“I got that part, but where do I get the drugs? I know who they are too. My friend who finished here last year warned me to stay away from them. Now I know why,” she explains, narrowing her gaze. “I can’t wait to put them in their place.”
“We don’t need to be there, do we?” Rosie asks quietly, her fearful gaze glancing around the table. She’s ready to bolt. I can hear her leg shaking.
“No,” I promise.
She breathes a sigh of relief, just as movement in the corner of my eye grabs my attention. I glance over to Jordan, noticing her body is tense and her expression worried as she eyes the delicate girl sitting one seat away from me.
“I’m looking into the whole drug thing. Since neither Cole or I have done drugs before, we’ve been finding it hard to get a hold of what we need,” CJ grunts.