I hadn’t said anything about it. I’ve been texting Jess a lot since I saw her on that stretcher at the swimming pool—all day Sunday and off and on all day yesterday. I’ve been going out of my mind. She hasn’t texted me back once. Not a single time. Which is sort of unheard of. It filled me with dread that something was really wrong with her. Carson and I had video chatted last night and he said that he’d gotten ahold of Kelly and she said that Jess was okay and at home now. This just made it seem even weirder that she wasn’t texting me back.
I shrugged and told my mom that I knew Jess wasn’t feeling well but didn’t think she’d have let me go see her anyway, and then Mom acted like that was preposterous. She acted like I wasn’t grounded—like she’d forgotten all about the graduation party incident two weeks ago—and made it seem like the most ridiculous thing in the world that I suggested she wouldn’t have let me go. Then she made it sound like it was the most important thing in the world for me and Carson go cheer Jess up. She said to take our time and just be home before dinner.
Well, let’s just say that you don’t have to tell me twice. I wasn’t about to question this. I grabbed my purse and keys. As I was walking out the door with Carson, I looked up and saw Ashley standing on the top stair, leaning against the wall. Her arms were folded, and she had a look on her face like she’d just sucked on a lemon. A chill shot down my spine, but I forced myself to smile, and then turned on my heel and left with Carson.
When we rolled up in front of Jess’s house, Carson took off his seat belt, then pulled me toward him and started kissing me. He told me how much he missed me. I laughed and told him that I couldn’t believe he just showed up at my front door. He smiled slyly and said, I thought your mom might be a pushover if I brought her flowers.
We got out of the car and rang the doorbell at Jess’s house. It took her a really long time to come to the door, and when she opened it, she didn’t seem to be feeling very well. She looked a little pale, but more than that, she wasn’t smiling or her usual bubbly self. She frowned at us and looked kind of pained, like this was a big nuisance having to open the door. She said hi, and just stood there. I moved in to give her a hug, but she didn’t hug me back, just kept her hand on the doorknob. I told her how happy I was that she was okay, and how when I saw her on that stretcher, I couldn’t stop crying. I explained that I had tried to chase the medics but Kelly had stopped me.
Jess just looked at us. She didn’t say anything, and the longer she stood there silently, the stranger I felt. Finally, I glanced at Carson and then back at Jess and asked her if we could come in. She shrugged and pushed the door all the way open, then turned around and headed into her living room. She curled up on the couch and stared at the television, which was on, but the sound was muted.
I asked if she was okay, and Jess told us that she was fine, just dehydrated. She said they’d kept her in the hospital until they’d given her a ton of fluids. Her mom showed up to get her and was really scared, but she said that her dad had just told her to stop doing drugs like some hippie party girl, and then left on another business trip. I was sitting on the couch next to Jess and when she said this I reached over and grabbed her hand. I told her again how happy I was that she was okay, and that next time we’d remember to make sure everybody drank plenty of water.
Jess sort of scoffed when I said this and pulled her hand away. She punched a button on the remote and the TV flickered off. Then she looked at me and asked if I was crazy. I frowned but didn’t say anything. Jess was acting so weird. She looked at me and then Carson, and