It Happened Last Year

Chapter 44

My heart races relentlessly in my chest as I pull up to Jana's house, my fingers tapping on the steering wheel and my bottom lip between my grinding teeth. I watch as she flees through the front door and hurries into the car, her tight, black dress catching me off guard. "We aren't actually going to the party," I tell her and pull back onto the road.

"I know, I just want to blend in," she says while pulling her seatbelt on and glancing over at me, "and I see you don't."

"I'm more focused on getting the flash drive. God I hope he hasn't smashed it or thrown it away. Just thinking about it...It makes me all anxious. And the fact that we're going to his party isn't helping either. The last thing I need is flashbacks."

"You'll be fine," she encourages me. "You've healed so much the past few months."

"You think so? Because I told Daniel that I've gotten worse."

Jana abruptly sits up. "Why? Why would you say that? Did something happen? Is this that thing you didn't want to talk about?"

"Yeah. I just—Maybe I regret saying what I did, I don't know. I was all messed up that day an-and...I don't know. I told him I wasn't in the right mindset to be in a relationship. I felt like I was taking him down with me...but none of this matters until I know that Daniel didn't tell Daphne anything."

"He would never do that, Hailey. He's not inhumane."

I keep my eyes on the road, my hands squeezing the wheel. "How did Daphne know then? How? It was only me, Sam, and Daniel."

"And you really trust this Sam kid? More than you trust Daniel?"

I glance to her. "Sam has no reason to tell her."

"Stop trying to convince yourself that Daniel is a bad guy. Let's just get the USB and get out of there, okay? One thing at a time."

His street is cluttered with cars, so we park a block away and walk up to the house. My heart has gone beyond racing at this point, and my body has reached some unknown state of determination. All my mind can focus on is the USB and avoiding Harrison. Two goals.

Jana grabs my hand as we brace for impact, climbing up the porch steps and diving into the crowd. The door is held open by a cinder block and people slip out like a leaking faucet. We are jabbed and prodded by shoulders and elbows as we venture to the stairs. I am reliving my worst memory, only it's Jana ahead of me and not him. The music grows quiet as I take lead and head straight for his bedroom door at the end of the hallway, but Jana quickly grabs me. "What if he's in there? You can't just burst in."

My eyes dart around, losing focus. "Well, now what? You should go check. He won't think much if you were to accidentally open his door when looking for the bathroom."

Jana reluctantly nods. "Okay, just don't move." I watch as she makes her way down the hall. She quickly grabs the handle and abruptly peaks inside. "Jesus," she mutters with a immediate step back. Thinking it's Harrison, I hide around the corner, but instead two young people rush out past her, a guy and a girl.

Her face is red as she runs past me. "I told you we shouldn't have gone in his room!" She yells back at the boy. "Everyone knows it's off limits! He's going to kill you!"

My eyes shoot to Jana as the two disappear down the stairs. She motions for me and we hurry inside, shutting and locking the door behind us. Jana immediately starts rummaging through his bedside table while I stand before his bedroom like it's the edge of a cliff. She holds up a few small, silver packets and cringes. "What a pig—are you okay? You can go in the hall if you want. You don't have to be in here."