My brain was still fuzzy. I wanted to tell her she could put Marshall and Gravois in front of a firing squad, but somehow that didn't seem like the right thing to say.
"Where's Upton?" I asked.
"Sorry. I don't know," the officer replied.
"We'll take care of her," Noelle said. She moved as if to touch my back, but then thought better of it and placed her hand on the back of my chair instead. "She'll be fine."
The officer left and for a long moment there was no sound inside the kitchen aside from that of my own chewing.
"Upton's probably still downtown," Noelle said. "I'm sure he'll be back soon."
"So someone really was trying to kill you all this time," Kiran said finally. She tucked the skirt of her slim red gown beneath her as she lowered herself onto a chair in one elegant motion.
"Yep," I said.
"Reed, I'm so sorry we didn't believe you," Noelle said.
"Whatever," I replied. "Is there any more cheese?"
Dash rushed to get me some.
"Thanks," I said, shoving an entire slice into my mouth.
I could feel them all looking at one another with concern, eyeing me warily.
"Do you think she has post-traumatic stress disorder or something?" Kiran asked.
"You guys, I'm fine. I'm just starving. And I really want to take
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a bath and then slather myself in aloe," I said. "And then I want to sleep. For about two days."
"I think we can make that happen," Sawyer said.
"Dash, getyour car," Noelle demanded, standing up with her hand on my back. "Let's get Reed home."
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ADORABLE
I never saw the inside of the hospital. Mr. Lange hired a private nurse named Caroline and flew her in from the States. A big, comfy-looking woman, she was already at the house when we got back from the Ryans'. She got me cleaned up, aloed, and into bed in record time. Then she put in the call to my parents and handed me the phone so that we could all weep in relief together and make plans to see each other the second I was healthy enough to make the trip back to the States. All night long Caroline took my vitals and made me sip water here and there before I drifted back to sleep. She also had this carrot-scented balm that she applied to my entire body every hour on the hour. It felt amazing and it was actually healing my sunburn. I was still red, but it didn't hurt as much and it looked a lot less awful. Which was nice, since people kept dropping by to visit and I didn't like the idea of everyone seeing me looking like that horrifying dead girl from The Ring.
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Caroline was also big on sleep. No one could stay for more than a few minutes, which was nice, because I definitely needed my z's. I was in such a deep sleep when Upton arrived the afternoon after Mrs. Ryan's arrest, I didn't even hear him come in, didn't know he was there, until Caroline woke me up trying to get rid of him. When I peeled my tired eyes open, she had one sturdy hand on his chest and was shoving him backward toward the door of my room.
"It's okay," I
said, pushing myself up on my pillows. "Please. Let him in."
Caroline looked at me and tsked under her breath. "Mr. Lange said to give you whatever you wanted . . . but I'm coming back in fifteen minutes." She looked at Upton in a scolding way and lifted one chubby finger. "She needs her rest."
"Of course," Upton replied.
He had a glass vase full of lilies, which he placed on the table at my bedside. Then he took a step back as if afraid to get too close, shoving his hands into the back pockets of his jeans. He had shaved since I'd seen him last, but he still looked tired. Almost as tired as I felt.
"Are you sure this is all right?" he asked, his brow knitting.