Page 4 of The Sound Of Forever

An unwelcome image flashes through my mind as I picture the bruise bracelet she’ll have come tomorrow, but I hold back my rage when Buttercup rips her arm away.

“What the hell, Jade? What’s going on?” she asks with a rage of her own.

“We have to go,” Lily…Jade says, grabbing Buttercup again. “Now!” She takes off in a run, dragging Buttercup behind her, and it’s enough to make me see red.

“Stop!” I yell at the same time Tate does, before we both run after them.

I slow to let him catch up, grabbing his arm when he reaches my side. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me this was a drug deal?” I grate, gritting my teeth.

And why the hell didn’t I figure that out sooner?

Chapter One

Willow - Present Day

Myeyesglazeoveras everyone around me speaks at once. If I could shut off my hearing I would. Although, their chatter will forever be better than the silence.

Surprisingly, Pippa’s the first to notice I’ve zoned out. She squeezes my shoulder and whispers “sorry” in my ear before yelling at everyone to shut up.

Of course, it doesn’t work.

Mom starts speaking again as soon as everyone else goes quiet, her arms folded over her chest. “I can’t believe you’d do that without telling anyone where you were going,” she scolds.Again. “Do you even understand what you put us through? We almost lost you once before, Willow. That was enough for a lifetime.”

Okay, now I feel a little bad, but I didn’t think I’d be up there that long. And Idefinitelydidn’t think I’d end up back in the hospital.

When Alex told me he could help me figure out what happened, I almost laughed in his face, assuming it was another ploy to get me to say yes to a date. But then I remembered he’d alluded to knowing more information before, and the curiosity almost got me.

If Jesse hadn’t come into my life, I probably would have said yes. I would have taken the easy road and listened to what Alex had to say. Hung on his every word.Trusted him.

Instead, I decided it was timeIfigured out the truth. On my own. And I knew the best place to start. I just didn’t know I’d roll my ankle and get stuck there.

“Willow’s been through a lot, Mom. How about we give her the night to rest. The nurses will look after her. She’s tired, hurt and… Let’s just give her some space.”

Broken. She was going to say broken. And she’d be right.

My heart broke on that mountain. And right now, I’m using all my strength to bury that feeling deep within me. Because it freaking hurts. I’d gladly take a million rolled ankles or walk a mile on broken glass if I could take this pain away.

Jesse was there. Jesse was somehow involved in Jade’s death. Jesse lied.

And God, that kills me.

All that time he knew what had happened to me, and he never said a word.

Even when I asked.

“Pippa’s right. I think it’s time youallleft,” I say as Mom argues. “I need to be alone.”And I need a chance to process all of my thoughts.

I watch as my family all walk away, one by one, honoring my request, but as my Mom reaches the door, she looks back at me with a frown set in her features, shaking her head in disappointment.

I know that if I ever have kids, I’ll probably look back on this moment and regret it—that I told my mom to leave. But for now, I can’t handle her being here. Yes, I know she’s just worried about me, but she has an awful way of showing it.

When I’m finally alone, it’s not as satisfying as I would have hoped. In fact, being alone with my thoughts is probably not my smartest idea. I reach for my phone to distract myself, just as movement near the door catches my eye, but when I look up, no one’s there.God, I’m even imagining things now.

Taking a deep breath, I contemplate who to contact when Sara sneaks back into the room, saving me from myself. “You didn’t mean me, right?” she says with a hopeful grin, making me smile.

“Why were you creeping around near the door?” I laugh to myself. “I originally meanteveryone, but I’m glad you’re back. I’m just about done with thinking.”Turns out, thinking makes it worse.

“I wasn’t… Doesn’t matter.” She pulls up a seat next to my hospital bed and frowns. “Want to talk about it?”