Chapter 50
CHAPTER 50
Fifteen Years Ago
3:29 a.m.
Mia
“What room did you take her in?” Mia asked Grace, who followed her up the grand, curving staircase toward the front of the chalet, and onto the spacious landing.
Minutes ago, after Alex sent her off to find Sarah, Mia had spotted Grace, dancing near the bar, drinking a beer. She’d pulled Grace away from the guys she’d been flirting with, who clearly weren’t interested, obviously, but Grace was too drunk, or na?ve, to notice.
“We need to find Sarah,” Mia had yelled in Grace’s ear as she clamped a hand around Grace’s wrist. “Come on.”
Giggling, Grace said, “I don’t remember … one of these rooms down this hall. I think. ”
“You think?” Mia frowned, pissed that Grace was so drunk.
“I was busy …” Grace giggled again.
Continuing down the hall, Mia gave her a dirty look. “Busy doing … what?”
Whispering, Grace said, “Don’t tell Chris, but … I hooked up with this guy.”
“You what?” Mia side-stepped away from Grace, repulsed by the sour beer on her breath.
“I hooked up with this football player.”
Annoyed by Grace’s smug tone, Mia said, “So you cheated on Chris.”
“Well, technically, yeah, but …”
“Why would you do that?” Mia asked, pleased by the judgment in her tone, knowing it would take Grace down a peg, or two, back where her fat, ugly ass belonged.
“I don’t know … “ Grace said, somewhat contrite. “Maybe I just wanted to do something?—”
“Cruel and heartless?” Mia said, piling on the judgment.
“The guy was huge, okay?”
“And that makes it okay?” Mia asked, keeping her tone critical.
“No, but … Chris is not … huge … “ Grace mumbled. “And he doesn’t always know what he’s doing and?—”
“We need to find Sarah,” Mia interrupted, repulsed by the idea of Grace and Chris making love. “We need to make sure she’s okay because Alex wants to leave.”
“I think we went down this hall,” Grace said, leading the way .
Following Grace, Mia scowled at her friend’s gelatinous ass wobbling.
Sighing, Mia told herself to chill with the anger and judgment toward Grace. The criticism was just a mask for envy, which coursed through her veins like poison and pissed her off. It was stupid to be envious of Grace, but Mia was irritated at the idea of Grace hooking up with a guy other than Chris, who was all she deserved. The thought of Grace with a football player was especially galling. She didn’t want to believe it but Grace was too bubbly, her face flushed and pink. She had that post-orgasmic smile. She looked like she’d had a good time. Another thing that pissed Mia off. Since when did a fat, piggish bitch like Grace deserve good sex?
And yet, if Grace wasn’t fat, if she was tall and slender, like Sarah, Mia would hate her more. So, in the end, having a fat friend was probably better. She certainly didn’t have to worry about Alex wanting to hook up with Grace. He often wondered how Chris could stomach banging a flabby sow.
“This way…” Grace said.
Mia exhaled, annoyed as they headed down yet another long, wide hallway decorated with antiques and expensive art. It still amazed her that people lived like this. That most of her classmates had unlimited wealth and privilege. Not that those snooty, stuck-up bitches deserved all that money and power.
“In here …” Grace said, darting through a half-opened door.
Cautious, Mia stepped inside, looking around, taking in the lush, immaculate surroundings. She couldn’t help thinking what it would be like if this was her bedroom she went home to every day. Admiring the expensive décor and French Provencal furnishings, she imagined herself as an oil and gas heiress, with a father who adored and spoiled her. A father she knew. Not a deadbeat who was basically a sperm donor for as many times as he’d visited Mia.
The last time had been when she was eight or nine. She hardly remembered what he looked like. He’d bought her a stuffed animal, which was dingy and smudged with dirt, but she’d clung to it because it smelled like his pungent aftershave. She’d slept with the threadbare thing, which she named Mr. Toppins, every night until her mother set it on fire, out of spite, and threw it away.
“Oh my God …” Grace whispered.
Looking away from Grace, Mia stared toward the bed, her gaze flitting from the tangled sheets to the smears and splotches of blood to the … bruises.
Confused, her stomach dropping, Mia turned to Grace. “What the fuck happened to Sarah?”