Masquerade (22 page)

“That’s my girl,” Sam
murmured, his voice sounded strained. “That’s it,
breathe.”

My throat and lungs
burned, and I coughed some more. Sam hunched over me, rubbing my
back and whispering words of encouragement. I collapsed back onto
the deck, exhausted. I heard someone screaming and noticed a
commotion just off to my side. Then Sam was shoved aside, and a
dripping wet Kimber shoved her face close to mine.

“
Oh my God, Heven! Are you
okay? I was so worried!” Her hands pushed at my wet hair, and she
checked me over for injury. “Should I call 9-1-1? I am so sorry! I
don’t know what I was thinking!”

“
I’m okay,” I whispered,
grabbing at her flailing hands.

She collapsed on top of
me, the strands of her hair felt like icicles against my already
frozen skin. I wanted to push her away, but I couldn’t seem to find
the strength. But then Sam was lifting her away and crouching over
me.

“
Hey, beautiful.” He tried
to smile but it didn’t reach his eyes. “What happened?” he asked,
trailing a finger down my cheek. His skin was blissfully warm, and
I turned my face toward his hand. He splayed his palm out, cupping
my face and looked at me expectantly.

I tried to explain, but my teeth were
chattering together.

“
She can’t
swim.” Kimber wailed from behind him.

“
So you brought her out to
the end of a dock?” Sam asked, standing to face her.

She had the grace to
look
embarrassed. “I’m sorry, Heven, I
just wasn’t thinking
.
I just wanted to…I don’t know, I wasn’t thinking, I’m so
sorry!”

Sam made a rude
noise and turned his back on her. I had managed
to sit up but was still shaking from the cold. He pulled off his
sweatshirt and yanked it down over my head. Delicious heat
surrounded me. “Relax, honey. Just breathe and try and get warm.”
He sank down onto the deck and wrapped his arms around me, pulling
me into his lap. My shivers eased immediately; his warmth was
exactly what I needed. I noticed that there was a crowd gathered
around where the dock met the yard, but I didn’t care. I closed my
eyes and leaned into Sam’s chest.

I heard footsteps pounding
across the deck, and I opened my eyes to see Cole running towards
us. “I was up in the house
–
what happened?” He gaped at Kimber standing there
all wet and in her bra.

“
I just wanted to have a
little girl time; I just thought we could talk,” Kimber cried,
throwing herself into Cole’s arms.

“
Why are you guys so wet?”
he asked, shifting Kimber into one arm so he could bend and pick up
her shirt. “And why are you half naked?”

“
I f-f-fell in,” I
stammered and Kimber began to cry.

“
Geez, Heven.” Cole
sighed.

“
Are you feeling okay? Can
you walk?” Sam asked me.

“
I think so,” I said,
trying to climb out of his lap. He tightened his grip.

“
We should go,” Sam said,
talking more to my friends than to me. Instead of allowing me to
stand, he stood up, taking me with him, holding me against his
chest.

“
I can walk,” I told him,
half-heartedly.

“
I know,” he said simply
and began walking toward the house.

“
Wait!” Kimber exclaimed,
running after us. “Let’s go change into some dry
clothes.”

I stared at Kimber, trying to decide
if I should be mad or not.

“
It’s the least I can do,”
she begged, wiping at the tears on her cheeks. “I feel
awful.”

I kind of thought
she
should
feel
awful. But still. She was my best friend, and it was her birthday.
Even after she said those things to me I still didn’t believe that
she wanted me to drown. So I nodded, and we made our way to the
back door of the house.

I looked like a drowned
rat
. My clothes were rumpled and soaked,
my hair was plastered to my head, and my skin was an unnaturally
pale shade. And to top it all off, I felt odd. Something wasn’t
right…but I couldn’t figure out what it was. I figured that it was
because I just almost drowned and tried to push the feeling
away
.

While Kimber pawed through her
extensive closet, I shut myself in the bathroom and made use of the
hair dryer. My perfectly tasseled waves were gone, and I wasn’t
even going to bother to get them back. I wished I could pull the
blond mass up on my head and call it a night, but I couldn’t. I
dried it until it was only slightly damp and brushed it out,
knowing that it would have to do. I used Kimber’s face wash without
asking, needing to get the lake water off me and not caring if she
minded. When I was done I stepped out of the bathroom. Kimber was
standing at the foot of her bed fully changed into dry clothes. Her
hair was brushed out and pulled up high, like I wished to style
mine.

“
I got you some dry
clothes.” She motioned to a pile on the bed. “Just leave your
outfit here. I’ll wash it for you.”

“
That’s not necessary.” I
walked to the bed and looked down at a pair of black yoga pants, a
white tee and a pink GAP hoodie.

“
I thought the pants would
fit you better. I know my jeans are too big.”

I nodded and began
changing. When I pulled off Sam’s sweatshirt and looked down I
realized that something was missing. Something important. My
bracelet was gone. What if it fell off in the lake? What if
it
was gone forever? I should have known
better than to wear it tonight with the clasp so
undependable.
This
is why I was feeling so off.
This
is what was wrong. I wouldn’t
feel right again until that bracelet was back where it
belonged.

“
Heven,”
Kimber began, drawing my attention away.
She looked more sober now than she had all night.

“
What were you thinking?” I
cut her off, angry. “You scared me on purpose.”

“
No! I wouldn’t do that. I
never meant for you to get hurt.”

“
Well, I did.” I snatched
up the sweatshirt and shook it, hoping the bracelet was lost
inside. It wasn’t. I grabbed my wet clothes and went around the
bed.

“
Please,” Kimber said
softly, grabbing my arm. I turned back. “I had way too much to
drink. I don’t know what came over me. I didn’t mean any of that
stuff I said out there. You’re my best friend. I’m
sorry.”

I laughed a humorless
laugh. “You think saying sorry is going to wipe away everything you
just said and did?” I glanced down at the floor, hoping to catch
sight of my bracelet. It wasn’t there and it made me even madder.
“You might have been drunk when you said those things, but you know
what? Alcohol doesn’t lie, if anything it loosens your tongue. You
might not have wanted to say those things to me but on some level
you meant them.”

“
No – I –” Kimber began,
but I sliced my hand through the air and cut her off.

“
Just save it, okay? I
almost drowned, and I’m too tired to hear your excuses.” I tossed
the pink hoodie aside, choosing to put Sam’s sweatshirt back on. It
smelled like him, and suddenly I wanted to see his face.

“
I didn’t mean for you to
fall in. I guess I just got scared that you were becoming popular
again, and I would be back in your shadow.”

I actually appreciated her
honest answer. “You’ll never be in my shadow, Kimber. I am sorry
that you ever felt that way. You should have said something
before.”

“
You forgive
me?”

I sighed
heavily
.
“Of
course I do.” Even though I was still mad, I decided to let it
go
.
Kimber was
too good of a friend to let a drunken tirade ruin our
friendship.

She sprang forward and hugged me.
“Thank you! I love you.”

“
Love you too.” I
grinned.

“
Let’s go shopping next
weekend for prom. I’ll help you find a totally hot dress.” That was
Kimber’s way of making things up to me.

“
Deal,” I agreed. But all I
really wanted was my bracelet
back. I
decided not to tell Kimber just then that my bracelet was gone.
What was the point? I already made her feel guilty enough, why make
it worse?

“
Good. Now let’s get some
cake!” Kimber swung open the bedroom door and made a sound of
surprise. I peeked around her and saw Sam sitting in the hall with
his back against the wall. When he saw me he stood and took a step
forward.

“
You’ve been waiting out
here the entire time?” Kimber asked.

“
I just wanted to make sure
she was okay.” Sam said, not taking his eyes off me when he
spoke.

Kimber looked between the two of us
and then took off downstairs calling, “I’m cutting the
cake!”

“
We better go,” I told
him. “If I don’t see her cut the cake, she’ll be pissed.” I said
the words lightly, but deep down it bothered me because, now, I
knew that it was true.

“
Hey?” He grabbed my hand,
lacing our fingers and pulling me around to face him. “What’s
wrong?”

Without warning my eyes
filled with tears. Sam let out a low curse and pulled me against
his chest. “It’s okay,” he murmured.

“
No, it isn’t.” I
sniffled. “I’m a horrible person.” I wiped my face against his
shirt.

“
Why would you be a
horrible person?” I could hear the laughter in his voice, and I
pulled back. His smile died on his lips.

“
Hey,” he whispered. “Tell
me.” He caught a stray tear with his thumb and brought it to his
lips. I watched fascinated. “Heven?” he prompted after a few silent
moments.

I took a deep breath. “I
lost my bracelet. I think it fell off in the lake.” I looked at the
floor not wanting to see the disappointment in his face when I said
the words. I was afraid that he would think that
I was careless with it, or that it didn’t mean
anything to me.

“
Damn clasp,” he murmured
then tilted my chin up so he could look into my eyes. The gold was
a little deeper tonight, and it reminded me of the burnished gold
color of the fall leaves that made Maine so famous. “Don’t worry
about it. I’ll find it.”

I shook my head. “It’s
probably at the bottom of the lake.”

“
Maybe not. Maybe it fell
off before that.” He took my hand and began leading me away, toward
the party.

“
I feel kind of empty
without it.” I whispered.

He squeezed my hand as we
walked out onto the deck where a huge cake burning with candles
sat, and everyone gathered around while Kimber blew them out. I
made sure that she could see me before she started cutting the cake
and handing out large slices.

After almost drowning,
losing my bracelet and hearing the awful things Kimber said to me,
I was ready to go home. Instead I was sitting here pushing cake
around on my plate.

“
Are you okay, Hev?” Cole
leaned over to ask me.

“
I’m fine.” I said,
pushing the uneaten cake away. “I lost my bracelet.”

“
Oh, no!”
Kimber gasped. “I know how much it means to you. I am
so
sorry.”

“
It’s okay.” Underneath
the table Sam squeezed my fingers.

“
I’ll go ask the DJ if
anyone turned it in to him.” Kimber said, jumping up.

“
You don’t have to do
that,” I said.

“
It’s the least I can do.”
She argued. I didn’t say anything else because she was
right.

Before she walked away, a
guy in our class came up to the table. “Hey, guys. Have any of you
seen Andi around?”

“
Sorry, Sean, I haven’t.”
I said. Everyone else shook their heads.

His shoulders sagged, “I can’t find
her and she isn’t answering any of my calls or texts.”

“
When’s the last time you
saw her?” Sam asked.

“
Right before the
blackout. We were dancing, the lights went out and when they came
back on she was gone.”

“
I was just on my way to
the DJ booth. Come with me, and we will have the DJ page her. Maybe
she went off with friends and lost track of time.” Kimber told
him.

He nodded, but his eyes
were worried. I watched them disappear into the crowd and an uneasy
feeling came over me.

Sam stood up from the table. “I’m
going to go look for your bracelet.”

“
I’ll come with
you.”

“
No. Stay here. I’ll be
right back.”

“
I want to
help.”

“
Please,” he sounded
weary. “Just stay up here.”

“
You act like I need to be
watched or something. This is my best friend’s house. I have been
here a thousand times. I know the place better than you
do.”

“
I don’t think you need to
be watched, Heven.” He said patiently. “But you almost drowned,
it’s chilly, and now there’s a girl missing.”