Silver Lining

Chapter Two

Alicia and I sit in the breakroom with Sav at the table against the wall. He shows us photos of him and the rest of us drinking at Orion's party. The last photo he shows us is of a blonde woman in a bright pink cocktail dress. She is petite and has short blonde hair, just like Justine. Except Justine never wore short dresses in front of us before.

Alicia chuckles. "What happened to her?"

"She snuck out of the house through the bedroom window. Had another party to go to." He claims, giving us a charming smile.

That couldn't have been possible. Orion lives in a townhouse and the bedrooms are all upstairs. There's nothing outside that bedroom for Justine to climb down. Orion just moved into the place a couple months ago, so she doesn't know her neighbors like that.

I look through Selena's photos. Four of them are of Amber and I dancing with her and the other four are of us standing at the top of the stairs. I can't find any photos of us after we got the tattoos. This doesnt seem right.

"Onyx, did you have fun with your new friend?" Sav inquires.

I glance up at him. "I don't remember meeting her. Or anything after I went upstairs with Amber."

"Huh. That's just odd. It sounds like you blacked out."

"But I didn't drink that much last night."

"Well, maybe you were drugged. Did your drinks taste salty last night?"

"No."

Alicia and him share a glance before turning back to me. My hard sodas didn't taste salty at all, and I hadn't felt dizzy. When Alicia's phone rings, she holds up one finger and walks out of the room. Sav flips his phone over and leaned towards me.

"If you see something weird, you can tell me."

I giggle. "I'll let you know when I find something."

He leans back, staring at the door behind me. I can't tell him about the tattoo until I figure out what happened after I got it. That's still a nice offer. For a moment, he stares at my glove and reaches out to touch it. He pulls his hand back when Alicia returns, biting her burgandy lip. He winks at her. I must have missed something. Where did this flirting come from?

Alicia phone chimes, and she smiles shyly enough that blush might appear on her brown skin. Sav put his phone on his lap. I start eating my chicken rice and start looking through Justine's photos. All five of the photos she posted from the party had Sav or Orion in them. In three of them, she was dancing on Sav and in the other two, she was hugging Orion. Maybe Orion knows where she went. I send her a message.

Do you know what happened after Justine hooked up with Sav?

Orion sends a reply. Honestly, it surprises me.

I don't know! She never specified where she was going, she just left. Why do you care?

This doesn't sound right. Justine woudn't leave without telling people where she's going. I find it hard to believe that she would just jump out a window and leave her home behind. I stare at Sav, who is texting and smirking deviously at his phone. Since they're not paying attention, I can ask Orion what happened before Justine left. I send out my response, hoping she doesn't go off on me.

What happened between Sav and Justine before she left? Were there any other parties in the neighborhood?

After returning to Selena's account, I tap on the photo of her standing at the top of the stairs next to me and Amber. Amber and Selena are the only ones who posted comments.

the_amber_roberts: What did you do while we were in Orion's bedroom?

selenamiri: I put my new pen to use. Hope you had a nice nap.

the_amber_roberts: Did you drive us home? I don't remember how we got there.

selenamiri: Yes. Cleo tagged along.

The other photos don't have comments under them. So, I return to my feed, where photos of a castle balcony and the hilltop behind it. Below them, photos of Amber's tattoo fully exposed. She's surprisingly happy about tattoo she was given without her consent. She even spoke calmly to Selena about last night. I lift up my head, only to be met with stoic expressions.

"I know you might be worried about about you know what, so I think we should find a way to get our minds off of it. Why don't we hang out tomorrow night?" Alicia suggests.

"Sounds fun. Don't you think, Nyx?" Sav asks, flashing an enthusiastic smile.

I purse my lips. "Of course. We can go to the carnival."

"Deal. Sav and I can meet you in front of the funnel cake stand."

Sav goes back to looking at his phone, but Alicia leans back in her seat and stares wide eyed into space. She snaps out of it a minute after blinking and gasping. But she starts eating her chicken wrap like nothing happened. I check my phone again for response from Orion. Nothing comes up. Guess I'll have to talk to her tomorrow. I'm crossing my fingers that she doesn't react defensively. That's the last thing I need. While scrolling through more photos, I devour my chicken rice. A photo of a light green, round door catches my eye. The photo has been taken under the name 'lunephotography', just like the photo of the castle balcony and the hilltop. Those photos look familiar to me and I don't know why. I wish I could take a photo in a place with that beautiful scenery.

Alicia sends the photo she took of Sav and ten laugh emojis. He sends back three surprise emojis and a message.

Lucas dared me to do it. He brought the thing in after she left.

Just when I think she forgot about it somehow. She's just willing to look past that. But I'll let that slide until I have proof that Sav is lying through his teeth. I turn away from her, scrolling through my feed until a message shows up in my inbox.