Page 73 of Your Echo
20No Answers || Amber Run
STÉPHANIE
“Tell me what it says again,”Jacinthe demands.
I roll onto my stomach on my bed. I’ve been on the phone with Jacinthe for the past hour, going over everything that’s happened with Ace.
“Like I told you, there are a lot of typos, but from what I can make out it says: ‘I didn’t know it was you. I swear I didn’t know it was you. I’m sorry.’He sent that at a quarter past eleven last night.”
I stare down at Ace’s text message. I’ve been reading it over and over again all morning, and it still doesn’t make any sense. None of this does. After he bailed on me when I told him about my mom, I called him a few times and sent some messages, but he never responded to anything. Then I woke up to this cryptic apology. I don’t even know what he’s apologizing for.
“He was obviously drunk,” Jacinthe surmises.
“Obviously.”
At least that much is clear.
“Jazzy, I’m worried,” I admit. “I sent him a reply asking what the hell he was talking about, but there’s been nothing from him since. The Sherbrooke Station concert is today. He should be awake. He should be checking his phone.”
“Just because he should be doesn’t mean he is.Le caveprobably went on a bender last night.”
“Butwhy?” I almost wail. “This isn’t like him. Not these past few months...”
“Stéph.” Her voice softens. She almost sounds hesitant. “Youhaveonly known him a few months. You said yourself that at the beginning, you thought he was faking all the meditation stuff just to get in your pants. Have you considered thatmaybethis is who he really—”
“This is not who he is,” I snap. I instantly regret it. “Look, Jazzy, I see where you’re coming from, and I get it, but I know him. Iknowhim. If he got drunk last night, it’s because he was hurting. Something must have hurt him really bad, and for some reason I feel like it was me.
She scoffs. “Stéphanie,ma belle, that iscomplètement fou. You did nothing wrong.”
“If you say so...”
“I say so,” she says firmly. “I have a meeting with my agent to go to now, but I’ll be checking my phone all day, okay? If you need to talk again, just text me, and I’ll give you a call as soon as I can.”
“Okay. Thank you.” I let out a sigh. “Thank you for listening.”
“Anytime.Bisous!”
She makes a kissing noise into the phone and I do the same thing.
“Bisous!”
When I hang up, I see that I have three missed calls and a few texts from an unfamiliar number. I open up the conversation and my heart starts to pound.
Hey, Stéphanie. This is Matt, Ace’s friend. I just tried to call you but your number was busy. Give me a shout if you can.
Me again. Your line is still busy. I don’t want to worry you, but I have some news for you to hear.
I’ll try you again later. If you can, call me back when you get this.
I click on the number and press ‘Call.’ The bottom of my stomach has disappeared. The phone rings twice before he picks up. I don’t even give him time to answer.
“Hello? Matt? Matt,qu’est-ce qui se passe? What happened?”
“Is this Stéphanie?”
“Yes, yes.” My voice is so high-pitched I don’t recognize it. “What happened? Is he okay?”
“He’s okay.” Matt sounds tense. He’s breathing hard into the receiver, and I can hear his footsteps hitting the floor. “I mean, he’s okay now. Hewillbe okay. I’m at the hospital.”
