Silver Lining

Chapter Three

Alicia and I leave the office by the time it got dark outside. She only looks up from her phone when got in the car. She drives out of the parking lot, smiling. She must be having an interesting conversation with Sav. Amber's Instagram story starts as we move farther away from Capital Plaza. In the story, Amber and Cleo are sitting together on an ocean blue velvet couch. The lighting of the photo makes Cleo look lighter than usual.

The caption is home sweet home and the text message open on Alicia's phone is an adress from Amber. When I roll the window down, the breeze blows through her long medium brown hair and my black curls. So I roll the window back up.

"It's just us now. You can take off the glove." Alicia assures me.

I take off the glove and shove it in my purse. "I just got comfortable wearing it, alright? It's not a big deal."

"If you say so."

She turns on the radio, which plays 'All the Stars'. We both sing along as we make it to the road leading to Beltway. Then, Alicia makes a right turn off the bridge we reach. She eventually drives to the parking lot of an apartment complex.

She parks in front of the first building, and pulls the ignition. Her phone chimes again. Another message from Amber appears.

The apartment is in the first building on the second floor. Apartment 201.

We get out of the car and walk to the apartment. After ascending the stairs, I knock on the door of apartment 201. The door opens eight away, revealing Cleo with a glass of red wine in her hand.

"Oh my God! You're here! Welcome to our new home!" She exclaims, beaming.

She steps to the side to let us come in. The living room resembles the one from Amber's story on Instagram. The ocean blue couch, the round black coffee table and white walls. Amber approaches us from the kitchen, with her arms outstretched. Alicia and I hug her tightly.

"It's great that you're here. I just made chicken parmesan." Amber says, pointing behind her.

When she lets go of us and goes back into the kitchen, we sit on the couch. Maybe a glass of wine will help me get my mind off of the tattoo. Since I'm here around my best friends, I'm sure that no one will put any ink on my penny brown skin while I'm sleeping. An oven timer goes off in the kitchen, urging Amber to open the door.

"The food is ready! We'll bring it out in a minute. I just need to talk to Cleo for a minute. "

Cleo looks up from her phone and shoves it in her back jean pocket. She takes white plates out of a cabinet while Amber is taking the chicken parmesan out of the oven. I don't hear them say anything. What kind of conversation could they be having if they arent talking?

"What are they talking about?" Alicia inquires.

I narrow my eyes. "I don't know."

Cleo grabs two glasses from another cabinet and a bottle of wine off the island. She fills them halfway with red wine before coming out here and handing us the glasses. I take the glasses off her hands and return to the couch. Alicia grabs the other glass of wine. I take a sip from my own, sighing loudly. This is some good wine.

"Did you hear from Owen yet?" Alicia whispers.

I lick my lips. "He hasn't called me in four days. What's happening between you and Sav?"

She giggles and takes a long sip of her wine. "We have some kind of connection. He's so funny and understanding."

"Didn't he kiss a statue?"

"Lucas dared him to do it. He's the one who brought a statue to the party."

Nope. Lucas hadn't brought anything to Orion's house when he arrived with Sav. He barely talked to Justine anyway, so why would he bring a statue of her there? Alicia's connection with Sav must be strong if she's willing to believe that. But she won't believe me if I tell her he couldn't have been telling the truth.

Cleo comes out of the kitchen and hands us two plates of chicken parmesan. She rushes down the hall when her phone rings. My phone rings, but I stay on the couch. Orion's name and a dark photo of an owl appear on the screen. Once I accept the call, someone screams and slams doors in the background. I hold the phone away from my ear and turn down the volume down halfway.

"Hey. I'm sorry for not answering you earlier. I was busy." She explains.

I take a bite of my pasta. "That's fine."

"Sav really hit it off with Justine. They talked for most of the night and went upstairs to fool around. I don't know where the statue of her came from."

I scoot to the side of the couch. Maybe Orion can find other things left behind in there too. The screaming and slamming in the background finally stops. Amber and Alicia aren't paying attention. Thank God. A photo of the statue shows up in my inbox on Instagram. The sun is shining in through the window, and the bed is stripped of the sheets. Orion doesn't even know if Justine is coming back yet.

"Do you remember Lucas bringing anything to your house?" I whisper.

She clears her throat. "No. Other than his silver backpack, he came empty handed. Why?"

"Someone said he left something behind in Justine's room."

"If you're talking about the statue, that doesn't add up. Lucas wouldn't do something that weird. I've got to go. Bye."

She ends the call. When I turn around, Alicia is blankly staring at me. I knew Sav was lying about the statue! It's not possible to carry a statue into a house without anyone noticing. I stare back at her silently. I've kept my voice low enough. She couldn't have heard that conversation.

"I know you're curious about the statue, but no one knows why Lucas made it, or where Justine is. Let's just drop it until she comes back, alright?" She yells, rolling her eyes.

I take another sip of my wine. This wine must be mixed with something stronger, because Alicia said that without even moving her lips. I hadn't expected her to be so upset with me for digging deeper into the situation. Regardless of how upset she is, Justine is our friend and we should care about what happens to her. I glance over at the kitchen, where Amber is still standing at the sink. Like she hadn't heard anything.

I sigh heavily. "Someone's got an attitude. Lucas didn't bring the statue. What do you say to that?"

"I'd say that you wouldn't want to stick your nose where it doesn't belong." she snaps.

"What the fuck do you mean? Sav lied to you!"

"I mean, Justine left. Lucas brought the statue to the party before it started. You can stop playing detective."

She picks up her plate and stomps to the kitchen. Then, she comes out holding a round and clear container with her pasta in it and snatches her phone off the coffee table. Amber and I flinch when she slams the door behind her. Amber comes out of the kitchen and sits next to me on the couch. Alicia can find out the truth on her own. If I shouldn't know about what happened with Sav and Justine, neither should she. Orion would have noticed someone putting a statue in her house.

Amber crosses her legs. "We can wait two days for the situation to take its course. Cleo and I can drive you home."

When I scroll through my Instagram feed, the photos from the party on Sav's account are gone. I guess he found out about my suspicions of him. At least I have a ride home. Amber leans over, peeking at the three photos of Alicia kissing Sav on the cheek. All of them have the same caption.

I love how he's there for me, even when certain people make up bullshit about him.

Of course, she believes Sav and not me. It's almost like she cares more about her flirtationship than the truth. How nice for her to drink Sav's special kool-aid. I devour my pasta and finish the rest of my wine. Amber wraps her arm around my shoulder and Cleo takes both glasses off the coffee table. Looks like I won't be able to get my mind off last night any time soon.