April checked her phone again. Nothing. Was Vicki really still working at nine p.m. on a Friday night? April couldn’t help but feel like she was being brushed off. Or maybe she was reading too much into Vicki’s terse messages.
“Are you okay?” Lexi asked.
“Yeah,” April said. “I’m waiting for Vicki to call me back, that’s all.”
“Does she know what’s going on?”
“I’m not sure. She’s pretty busy with work.”
Lexi gave April a sympathetic look. “I’m sure she’ll call you back when she has time.”
“Yeah. You’re right.” April yawned and stretched out her arms, then realized this was the first time Lexi had said anything remotely supportive about Vicki. “Does this mean that you don’t disapprove of Vicki anymore?”
“I’ve been holding a grudge against her for too long,” Lexi said. “And I know that you really care about her. If you say she’s changed, I believe you.”
April should have been happy that Lexi had finally come around on Vicki. Instead, April was the one filled with doubts about her.
The rest of the night passed quickly. By the time Lexi left, it was late. All April wanted to do was go to sleep and forget about the events of the day. But now that she was alone in her apartment, her worries bubbled to the surface.
As she got into bed, she took one last look at her phone. Still nothing from Vicki. She opened up the last message she had sent. It was now labeled ‘seen.’ Vicki had seen the message. She just hadn’t bothered responding, despite April telling her it was important.
April placed her phone on the nightstand. Now, when she needed Vicki the most, she was nowhere to be found. Maybe Lexi had been right all along. April had fallen for Vicki’s sweet, empty words.
April never should have trusted her.
Chapter Twenty-One
The weekend passed, and April’s doubts about Vicki only grew. She’d sent Vicki a couple more messages, only to receive vague responses about a ‘work crisis.’ April could have simply sent Vicki a message about the photo, but she was too angry at Vicki for brushing her off.
So April spent most of the weekend with Lexi, trying to keep her mind off everything. Thanks to Lexi, the photo disappeared from social media, along with all the comments. Still, April felt awful about everything.
When she woke up on Monday morning, it was ten a.m. April groaned. She had slept through her alarm. She had never been late for work in her life.
April rolled over to check her phone. Half of her hoped to find that Vicki had finally called her, while the other half was too mad at her to want to speak to her.
But there was nothing from Vicki. Instead, April found dozens of calls and panicked texts from Lexi. She opened up one of the messages.
Where are you? Something is happening at the library. Call me.
April’s stomach sank. She dialed Lexi’s number.
Lexi was frantic when she picked up. “April? Are you okay? Where are you?”
“I’m fine, I just overslept,” April said. “What’s going on with the library?”
“There’s a guy here saying that we need to shut it down. Today.”
April’s blood ran cold. This wasn’t happening. Vicki had promised. She had said they had time.
“I’m trying to get Vicki or someone from Oasis on the phone, but they’re giving me the runaround,” Lexi said. “I don’t know what else to do.”
April pushed her worries about Vicki aside. She had to focus on what was important. She vaulted out of bed and grabbed some clothes. “I’m on my way.”
When April arrived at the library, Lexi was standing out front, arguing animatedly with a man in a suit. He was brandishing a sheet of paper like a shield.
“Look, I’m just the messenger,” he said. “I don’t know anything. You’ll have to speak to whoever’s running the project.”
“I’ve been trying to get someone on the phone for the last twenty minutes!” Lexi said.