Chapter 67
Maeve
Thursday
Maeve Khoury stares at her bedroom ceiling, willing herself to get up, to take a shower.
To change out of the tracksuit bottoms and T-shirt she’s been wearing day and night.
A shower might be too much; maybe she could just wash her face and brush her teeth.
But despite her mother’s pleas and her own best efforts, she can’t make herself move.
It’s Thursday morning, and Maeve hasn’t left her house in three days, not since the diary video on Monday.
She’s barely left her room. But she knows exactly what’s going on in the world, through the window of her phone.
She knows it was Nika who shared the diary video, and she knows people have completely forgotten about Nika seeing Ariana’s boyfriend, which was presumably what Nika intended.
Word is going around that Greta tried to hurt Nika.
It’s only a rumor, and Nika is keeping quiet.
Probably because she knows she’ll be in trouble for the AWGoss Snapchat account otherwise.
Online harassment is against the law in Ireland; they’ve been told that in CSPE class at school.
She turns on her side, curls her knees to her chest, throws her phone down toward the end of the bed and sighs.
From downstairs comes the click of the front door, then Greta’s voice.
She sounds stressed. Guilt and worry curl through Maeve.
Celeste’s message about Greta has led to people pulling out of hockey camp, apparently, and Maeve isn’t sure what to think of any of it. Surely Greta didn’t do it? She’s not shy about confrontation or speaking up when something isn’t right. But would she hurt someone? She couldn’t have.
Then again, if it’s a coincidence, it’s a fairly massive one: Maeve googling what happens if you put nuts in someone’s lunch and then someone puts nuts in Nika’s lunch?
Greta was alone in Maeve’s room on Tuesday when she asked Maeve to get her naltrexone, and the laptop was open.
She could have seen it…and she wouldn’t have known that Maeve didn’t really mean it.
Or maybe she did know and that’s why she did it.
To follow through where Maeve wouldn’t. And Greta knows Nika would have an epi pen on her, and maybe there’s one in the first-aid box too.
Greta would have been on hand to make sure it was nothing more than a scare.
Maeve waits for some kind of response to kick in. Shouldn’t she feel glad that her aunt tried to avenge her? Some kind of satisfaction? But all she feels is scared.