Stars Of Our Lives

This Week On Buzzfeed Unsolved . . .

Jim spent a solid minute and a half just staring at the clip. Tears in his eyes. Barely even breathing. His hand was trembling when he reached for it, lifting it from my fingertips and holding it flat in his palm.

"I don't . . ." He finally stammered. "I don't understand."

"Is it," I cleared the salt from my throat, "it is possible Anne had bought the same clip? That this one is hers?"

Jim shook his head numbly. "These things - she's had them since she was little. Blinky held onto them while we were in Caledonia, and gave them back to her once we were out. There's no way - but it can't be . . ."

"Where has Claire been?" I asked. "For the lockdown."

"She's been in and out," Jim took a step back, clenching his fist around the clip. "I've been with her that whole time. There's no way . . . there's just no way . . ."

I lowered my eyes to the ground. This seemed like the millionth jigsaw puzzle to be dumped in our lap. But half the pieces were missing, and the ones left, didn't fit.

"Did anyone else see this?" Jim looked at me through tears.

I shook my head.

"Then maybe we should keep it between us."

"It has to mean something," I said. "If Anne was planning on killing herself, why would she take the time to break into Claire's room and steal one of her barrettes? Why jump with it?"

"I'm not saying to ignore it," He turned away from me, leaning on the desk again. "Just . . . give me some time to figure this out before everybody knows. And if Claire saw this, in the state she's in," He shook his head. "Thank you for telling me, Aja."

I nodded.

"But really," He looked up at me. "Are you going to be okay?"

I allowed myself a small smile. Of course that's all Jim would care about. No matter how much turmoil he had on his shoulders, he always put other's pain before his own. That's just who he was. Right down at his core.

"I'll be fine," I said. "You?"

"I should be fine after ten years of therapy," He chuckled, his hand closing around the clip. "But I think I'll make it through tonight."

"Taking it one day at a time," I mused. "My cabinmates used to tell me that too."

He gave me a soft smile, a single nod, then turned to head back to his own cabin. And eventually, I headed back to mine.

Steve was asleep when I got there, but Krel was awake. He was sitting on my bunk with his legs dangling over the side, staring numbly at the ground.

"Hey," I said.

He didn't look up. "Hey."

"You okay?"

"Thinking."

I sat down beside him. "What about?"

"It doesn't make sense," He said. "None of it does. There should have been warnings to spot, that's how it always works with mental disorders."

"Suicide isn't a disorder, Krel."

"You know what I mean," He waved a hand. "People don't just go off the deep end. They don't just break one day. It happens over time."

I exhaled at my lap, watching my fingers intertwine there.

"What?" Krel glanced at me. "Are you okay?"

I shrugged, looking away.

"You can tell me anything, remember?" He said. "Even if it's scary or sad?"