Bad Girls

Alone

“Very good, Joelle. You’re a smart girl.”

“Cut the crap, you sick bastard.” I exclaimed. “Just tell me, Lewis. Is it her body?”

“I can see you won’t let the subject change.”

“Is it her fucking body, Lewis?” I screamed down the phone.

“Yes, Joelle. It’s Ryan’s body.”

I slammed the phone down and slid to the ground.

“Well?” Emma-Lynn asked, quietly, her arm around Dylan.

“It’s her. It’s Ryan.”

Dylan broke down.

I’ve never seen Dylan show any emotion until Emma-Lynn and I certainly never saw her show any sign of sadness. She sobbed into her knees. Her sobs were so heart wrenching that I felt my own stomach tearing into pieces.

Dylan fell into Emma-Lynn’s arms and cried into her shoulder. Emma-Lynn’s own eyes filled with tears as she held Dylan close.

My mind was blank. I refused to believe it. I was just a teenager who’d been sent to boot camp for misbehaving at school. I wasn’t ready to deal with being a fugitive. I was definitely not ready for being friends with a murderer, nor was I ready for my friend to just die at age seventeen.

Suddenly, a thought struck me. How did she die? A seventeen year old doesn’t just drop dead for no reason. As I thought this, my stomach lurched. This was bizarre. This was horrific.

“I need to make a phone call.” Dylan mumbled, slowly calming down her sobs, though tears still poured down her cheeks.

“Dylan, you need some time to calm down first.” Emma-Lynn said gently.

“No.” Dylan said, firmly, shaking Emma-Lynn’s arms off of her and standing up. She walked over to the phone and punched in a number aggressively. Emma-Lynn and I shared uneasy glances as we looked up at Dylan, a determined look in her tear-filled eyes.

“Zayn? It’s Dylan.” She said and we heard a male voice saying something on the other end. “Yeah, I know it’s been years. It’s important, okay? You son of a bitch, just listen for once.”

I chewed on my lip, wondering desperately who she was talking to.

“Ryan’s dead.” Dylan’s voice broke and more tears spilled from her eyes. Emma-Lynn was sobbing quietly now too.

“Does it sound like I’m fucking joking?” Dylan screamed into the phone and broke down into sobs again. “I know you are, I know.” To my surprise, I heard the male voice on the other end crying too. “I’m sorry too, Zayn. But now is a little too late to be sorry.” She paused. “Maybe. I’ll think about it. I love you too.”

She wiped her tears quietly as she hung up. I stared at her. She stared back.

“Who was that?” I asked, quietly.

“Zayn is my brother.” She replied, unflinchingly. Emma-Lynn lifted her head from her knees and looked up at Dylan. We both stared at her.

“You have a brother?” Emma-Lynn asked.

Dylan nodded, sliding back onto the floor next to Emma-Lynn. “He’s three years older than me. We haven’t spoken for almost five years now, ever since I was sent to Parker’s. He always loved Ryan, though.” Dylan met my eyes and I wished I could tell her how sorry I was in just a look, but it was too much. Dylan turned towards Emma-Lynn.

“Don’t ever leave me. I can’t bear to lose you too.”

Emma-Lynn pulled Dylan close and kissed her forehead. “I’m never going to leave.”