Page 13 of Badd Love
She hesitated, lifted her fist to the door, hesitated again, and then rapped three times.
"READ THE SIGN!" came Lindsey's voice.
"Linz, baby girl, it's Raquel. Let me in, please? I just wanna talk."
"NO!" Lindsey shouted. "GO AWAY!"
"Lindsey, c'mon, honey, it's me. I just want to make sure you're okay."
"I'm not! Go away!"
"Lindsey!"
Silence.
And then a ripped half-sheet of lined notebook paper slid under the door. Written on it in black Sharpie:
I'm alive. I'm not suicidal. I don't want your help. I'll be fine eventually. Go away.
Raquel dug in her purse, found a pen, flipped the paper over, and wrote on it:
Just let us in, Linz. Talk to us. Please.
She slipped it back under the door.
Seconds later, it slipped back to us.
She'd scrawledNOacross Raquel's note in huge, angry block letters.
"Lindsey Snelling, open this damn door!"
"FUCK OFF!" Lindsey screamed. "GO AWAY!"
Hamish squeezed Raquel's hand. "I think maybe she just needs some time and space, my love. She's being pretty fuckin’ transparent about that."
Raquel sighed. "You may be right, Hammy." To Lindsey, then. "Girl, you know I love you, and you know I'm here for you. When you need to talk, you know how to find me."
No answer.
"Just go away, Raquel. You too, Hamish." Her voice was quiet, just on the other side of the door.
Raquel gave another heavy sigh and nodded. "Alright, alright. At least I know you're alive and not gonna do anything stupid."
"It's not like that, Kell," Lindsey murmured. "Promise."
"Linz—"
"Kell, please. Just leave me alone. Anddo notbother Rune with this. You know she'll come back early, and I won't have that. Not on my account.”
"As long as you promise you'll call me if you start feeling—"
"I won't feel that way, but if I do, I'll call you. Promise."
"Fine. Then we're going. But girl, you owe mesomekinda answers, someday."
"Get in line, Kell."
"There's just one thing you should know before we—"
