Unexpected Rendezvous

Chapter 8

Perrie's POV

At first, I have no idea where I am. I don't remember anything except leaving school this morning with Leigh and Jade. Both of them are staring at me like I just sprouted a second head, which would be unfortunate, since the first one is pounding painfully. 

And then, with a sickening rush, I remember everything. 

"Oh my God." I jump to my feet, my heart in my throat. "What did we...why are we...where are we?" I gaze around wildly until my eyes land on a wall full of fluorescent beer signs. I'm pretty sure I'd remember those if I'd been here before. "What is this place?"

"Sit down before you pass out again. I'll get you some water," Jade says. 

I start to protest that I'm fine, but I'm already swaying with too much residual wooziness to pull it off. I collapse back into the bench behind me as Jade heads towards some kind of counter. A bar, I realise when she lifts one side. We're in a bar. One where Jade is moving around with familiar ease. "Is this Garrett's?" I ask.

Leigh, who's been sitting silently all this time, gives me a small, crooked smile. "Well, your brain's still working. That's good news. Do you remember why you fainted?"

"There was a syringe," I say with a shudder. "I saw it before I could-"

"Here." Jade sits across from me and puts a glass of water between us. "Drink this first. Give yourself a minute."

I do, partly due to a raging thirst, and partly because it's nice, at this particular moment in time, to feel like someone's taking care of me. But there are too many questions crowding my mind to stay quiet for long. And with Jade and Leigh both looking so grave, I have to ask the most important one. "What happened to the person on the floor?" I burst out. 

Jade and Leigh exchange glances. "We don't actually know," Leigh says. Jade picks up my empty glass, grabs two more on a nearby table, and brings them back to the bar. "We didn't get a chance to check. After you passed out, things got complicated. Well, more complicated."

"More complicated?" I echo. "How so?"

Leigh drums her fingers on the table in front of her. "All of a sudden the police showed up with like sirens blaring. Next thing we knew, they were breaking down the door and storming up the stairs and we just, you know." She slides a finger into the neck of her dress and tugs it away. "We figured they had the situation under control, so we...left."

I blink at her. "You left," I repeat.

"Yeah." Leigh licks her lips. She's gone pale, making the light dusting of freckles across her nose and cheeks more pronounced than usual. "Through the back entrance."

I can't help myself; I'm on my feet again, pacing the scarred wooden floor. "You didn't talk to the police first?" I ask. 

"No," Leigh says. 

"Let me get this straight." My voice rises. "So what you're telling me is, the two of you decided to flee a crime scene?"

Leigh just licks her lips again, and I turn towards Jade. She rests her forearms on the counter, looking like a bartender ready to listen to whatever tale of woe I'm about to spin. "How could you possibly think that was a good idea?" I ask accusingly.

Jade's jaw ticks. "Look, it was an intense situation. The police were coming, and we had no idea why. We had to make a fast decision, and those of us who were still conscious made it. Sorry if it's not what you would've done, but we couldn't exactly consult you."

A protest dies on my lips as I meet her intense gaze and realise I'm not being fair to her. Still, I can't stop pacing, stalking an agitated path between Leigh's table and the bar. "Okay, but we should at least tell someone that we saw Nelson go in-"