Page 149 of Ecstasy
That looks like blood.
Just a drop, but what’s worse is the floor is faintly wet, like it was just cleaned or…
I stand to my feet, the room spinning around me. I head to the little pantry, open up the door and grab the white trash can, yanking it out so I can see inside of it better as I flip the lid off.
I heave again, stepping back from the can.
There’re broken bottles inside, and paper towels with more blood. And something else.
There’s something else, almost hidden beneath a bloody paper towel, but not quite.
Not fucking quite.
There’s a fucking needle in this trash can.
I can’t think. I can’t even hear anything but a loud ringing in my ears. I storm down to her room, screaming her name, kicking her door open and flicking on her light.
She fucking wouldn’t.
She wouldn’t.
She would never.
“Zara!”
I yank back her covers but she’s not there.
She’s not fucking here.
I gethome in no time. The sun is an orange blip on the horizon, the air is cool when I hop out of my Jeep and slam the door shut. I barely notice any of it. I unlock the front door of the house, flick on the lights as I slam it closed.
My gaze goes to the stairs. I’m going to drag Eli’s ass out of bed and he’s going to help me look for her. I don’t care that he’s a sick fuck, I don’t care that we aren’t talking anymore. He’s going to fucking help me.
I already called her mother, found her number online, but she didn’t answer. She probably sleeps with her phone on silent like every other dumb fuck on this planet.
I debated calling the police, but I’m not sure that would help yet. Not yet.
I go to storm up the stairs, calling Eli’s name, but then I freeze, something catching my eye down the hall and through the sliding glass doors in the kitchen.
The tiki torches are on, the soft underwater lights making the blue surface dance with the light breeze. And the sun is rising ever-so-slowly. All of that gives me enough light to see by, but I still don’t believe it.
I take a step past the stairs, down the hall.
I feel like I’m walking through concrete. I feel like I’m going to faint. I feel like I won’t make it to the end of the fucking hall.
There’s no way.
Maybe I’m delirious because I didn’t get any sleep. I’m seeing things because I’m so tired and dealing with Mom’s shit and Dad’s bullshit and thinking about Zara and feeling guilty for leaving her.
No, this can’t be what I think it is.
That can’t be her, lying on her back on a beach towel, stripped down to nothing but her underwear, her hands resting on her stomach.
And that can’t be Eli, sitting beside her, his feet in the water as he stares at her.
That can’t fucking be what I’m seeing.
I try to swallow but it’s like my throat is made of sandpaper. My heart is slamming around so hard in my chest, it’s actually aching. This isn’t right.
