Page 40 of Mind

“Um hello, BFF here waiting,” I holler out the window of the limo. Kat is sucking face and rubbing her long body all over Carson right in front of her building. He’s no better. His hands are firmly cupping her ass while he kisses the daylights out of her. “Seriously guys! We want to bombard her before class not be late to it!” I screech.

Opening the door to get out, a firm hand locks around my bicep and pulls me back in. “I am happy to retrieve Ms. Bennett on your behalf, ma’am.” Austin says in warning. I scowl, roll my eyes and harrumph loud enough for him to hear it. He smiles and exits the limo and taps on Kat’s shoulder. She pulls away from Carson, her eyes glassy, as if she doesn’t know where she is. “Ms. Callahan requests your presence.” Austin says.

“Hello!” I point out the limo and giggle. Kat has the good grace to look embarrassed.

“Sorry, sorry. I get carried away. That man…mmm,” she licks her lips and waves while Austin gets back into the limo. When Chase isn’t around, he rides in the back with me. They believe it’s safer. I believe it’s suffocating.

I grin at Kat. “Looks like you two are getting along famously!” Kat shrugs and turns her head. That is not a gesture a woman hopelessly in love gives to her best friend. “What’s up?”

Another Kat deflection. I wait with arms crossed and a head tilt. I’ve been working on perfecting her move for a while. It only seems to work on her though. The rest of the girls think it’s hysterical so it works only if my goal is to make them laugh. Kat sighs loudly then leans back in her seat. “I don’t know. Everything’s great, he’s great, the sex is…”

“Great?” I offer.

“No, it’s phenomenal but he hasn’t saidit. You know…” she waves her hand back and forth.

I shake my head not having a clue what she’s talking about.

“Uh, Gigi, it’s like you never pick up on my prompts,” she whines.

“It’s not my fault you suck at charades, now just tell me…in English please. What’s wrong?”

She huffs a breath over her swooping bangs. “He hasn’t said he loves me and I’ve said it to him like…a million times!” her plump lips turn into a pout.

“Oh honey, it’s nothing. Have you asked him about it?”

Her eyes turn really bright. “Yeah, that’s the thing. I have. He says when he’s ready he’ll say it. So, even though it’s been months, he still hasn’t said it. Don’t you think that’s odd?”

I know Kat is the type of woman to overthink and analyze a situation to death. It’s very possible that she’s misconstrued what Carson meant, yet something like this is pretty cut and dry. Either he loves her or he doesn’t. I wonder what’s holding him up.

“Yeah, I’ll agree with you that it’s odd but maybe he’s waiting for some special day or something.” I finish just as we pull up to the building where Bree’s studio is. Maria is standing outside waiting, a coy smirk across her lips when she spies the limo.

Austin gets out of the limo first and ushers Kat out, then hovers over me as we walk into the building. He leads us up the stairs to her third floor location.

“Austin, we’ve got it from here, thanks,” I say and go to open the door.

“Sorry ma’am, you know I have to check the place out. Then I’ll sit in the back and wait for the class to finish. Mr. Davis was very specific with his instructions. Security has been heightened since Ms. Simmons received the last note at the hospital.”

I groan and he looks nonplussed. Maria pulls on the door handle and we hear the“thunk”from the bolt lock. I peer through the frosted glass trying to see something. Once I get close to the glass, I can hear the music. She’s there somewhere. Perhaps she forgot to unlock the door and she went to the bathroom.

Maria bangs on the door and hollers. “Bree, open up!”

While we wait, I turn to Kat and speak low. “It’s really going to be okay. I’m sure there’s a reason for him not saying those three little words. It could be anything. Maybe he’s gun-shy, maybe someone’s cheated on him, maybe he’s never said it before, maybe he doesn’t know what love even is yet?”

“I guess so, it just, it sucks. I feel like I’m the only one fully committed you know?”

“Yeah, I get that. But he wouldn’t still be with you if something wasn’t there, okay?”

Kat nods and looks at Maria whose making a bit of a scene behind us. She bangs on the door again.

“Perra, you better open this door or thehombre grandeis going to do it for us!” she threatens.

Turning toward Maria I fish into my purse and pull out my keys. I hold up the key that has an “Om” symbol written in black sharpie pen on it. “We could just use our key.” I laugh.

“Oh yeah, totally forgot she gave us keys,” she smacks her forehead and I turn around, unlock and open the door.

“Bree, honey where are you.” I call out. The room is darker than it normally is when she’s preparing for a class. Maybe she’s still meditating. She usually does that right before, but the banging on the door should have broken her out of her practice. As I turn the corner into the main room I come to a stop. The lights above the platform are shining down onto a body, prone in and a sea of red. Slowly I take tiny steps closer, “B-bree…” I whisper as gooseflesh rises on my skin. She doesn’t move, in fact she’s perfectly still, lifeless.

I can hear the moment that Maria and Kat enter because their happy chatter slips away as they must be seeing what I’m seeing.

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