Dead Silence

His lips pressed together, not an unpleasant gesture. “Yep. Sometimes things are just that simple.”

“Let’s hope you get more than just a feeling about a music box,” Violet said.

Even though school had just let out, by the time they got back to campus, the lot was practically deserted. That was the thing about the last bell of the school day, it was like signaling the start of some sort of race, and the students couldn’t clear out fast enough. Rafe had to go back to pick up Gemma, and Violet needed to get her car before heading back home to power through more of the journals, searching for clues as to how Dr. Lee, her grandmother, and Rafe’s mother all fit together.

But when they got there, Jay’s shiny black Acura was parked beside Violet’s car, and Gemma was perched against it, her arms folded and her lips pursed in a sulk. But even without Gemma’s pout, the fact that Jay was actually letting her lean against his car indicated something was wrong, since he generally parked his car in the back forty so no one could even breathe on it.

Violet glanced his way and realized that his expression didn’t match Gemma’s at all. He didn’t look annoyed the way she did . . . he looked pissed.

Her stomach plummeted, dropping all the way to her toes, as Rafe pulled his motorcycle to a stop in front of them. Jay shoved away from the bumper of Violet’s car, where he’d been waiting for her.

Rafe didn’t help matters though. From behind her, Violet heard him chuckle. “This looks like a personal issue,” he said. And then he called to Gemma. “You ready?”

Coward, she thought spitefully, although she was partly grateful he and Gemma were leaving. And when she finally heard the drone of his motorcycle behind her, growing farther and farther away, she let out the breath she’d been holding.

“So not only did you skip school to hang out with . . . him,” Jay ground out, his eyes scouring her face as he glared down at her, searching for something . . . bits of truth he thought she was hiding from him. “But you didn’t bother to tell me where you were going or what you were doing? Isn’t it bad enough you lie to your friends? I mean, I get that; I know you have to. But now you’re lying to me too?” She tried to reach out to him, but he jerked away from her touch as if it repulsed him. As if she repulsed him, and Violet withered inside, her knees suddenly unsteady beneath her as she struggled to remain upright.

“Jay . . .” she said. “It’s not like that.”

“Right.” He squared his chin, his words cutting through her like icy blades. “I guess I just don’t know what to believe anymore, Vi. I guess I don’t know how many more secrets I can handle.”

Violet recoiled, his meaning finding its mark. It was the one thing she’d always worried about, that the secrets would get the best of her. Bury her.

He was right, it was bad enough that she lied to everyone else . . . that she’d spent an entire lifetime lying. She shouldn’t be lying to him too.

She opened her mouth to tell him as much, but he was already walking away from her.

“Jay, wait!” she called after him, her voice sounding far too quiet coming from her mouth.

She heard the slam of his car door as he shut her out, right before he peeled out of the parking lot, and she knew . . .

He was tired of waiting for her to figure things out.

Violet replayed that moment over and over and over again. She and Jay had argued before. Heck, they’d even fought once in the third grade, throwing unsophisticated punches and pulling each other’s hair. Their parents had grounded both of them for a week after Violet had given him a black eye, all because he’d said that Justin Timberlake lip-synched all of his songs. He’d never dared to say it again.

But this was so much different from some stupid childhood spat. This was serious and real, and Violet worried that, because Jay was right this time, because she’d lied one too many times, it might be irreparable as well.

She’d tried calling him again and again, but he was ignoring her calls and sending them straight to voice mail. If he’d been working, it would have been easy for her to force him to at least hear her out; he’d have been a captive audience at the auto parts store. But it was his day off.

She went to all their usual places: Java Hut, the park where they used to hang out, the library (even though they hadn’t been there in ages), the lake, Wally’s, and even to the school to see if he’d gone back there. But he was nowhere, making it even clearer to Violet that he had no intention of being found. At least not by her.

Making it clear to Violet that she’d made an utter and complete mess of things.

When she’d finally given up and gone home, she was in no mood for chitchat about her day, so she’d stalked up to her room and slammed her door. When her mom had asked if she wanted dinner, she insisted she wasn’t hungry—which was another lie, but one she was prepared to live with if it meant not having to explain why she didn’t want to talk, or why her eyes were uncharacteristically red and puffy.

Instead, she burrowed into her bed, and into her grandmother’s journals, searching for information.

CHAPTER 10

VIOLET HAD HOPED TO TALK TO JAY AT SCHOOL the next day, and she would have even if it meant stalking him and forcing him to face her . . . except Jay didn’t show up at school. She’d waited all day, thinking at first he was just late. And then later, when he still wasn’t there, that he must’ve had a doctor or dentist appointment he hadn’t had the chance to tell her about . . . you know, since he wasn’t talking to her and all. But by lunchtime Violet was convinced he was skipping school in order to avoid her.