Page 105 of The Other Side
“What did Claire tell you?” Chance asked, his voice lacking the faux-tired tone he’d sported only a moment prior. “It’s okay.” He motioned to me, indicating Isabelle could speak freely.
“I was the only one who knew she was dating Daniel. She didn’t think her parents would approve, and she was worried if they caught wind of it, they’d pull her out of Montgomery. I guess they were hoping they could use her as some sort of bargaining chip to form an alliance with one of her dad’s business partners, as if she was nothing but a means to an end.” Isabelle twisted one of her braids between her fingers.
“Claire told me you were trying to help her find out what happened to him. After what happened to her…” Isabelle paused to compose herself, her voice growing weak, still grieving the loss of her friend. “I recognized his handwriting. He used to give me notes in Chem to give to her in Math.” She reluctantly handed the envelope to Chance.
“Thank you, Isabelle.” Chance smiled kindly at her. “If this is what I think it is, you have no idea how much this will help.”
The girl paused in the doorway, clearly wanting to ask something else. Chance and I waited patiently to give her the opportunity.
She looked up, meeting Chance’s eyes. “Someone pushed her, didn’t they?”
Chance’s shoulders fell. “I’m not sure,” he replied truthfully.
“But you think it’s possible?” It felt like Isabelle needed some sort of confirmation.
“Yes.” Chance winced.
“And if they did—could it have been because of that?” She nodded at the envelope.
“I don’t know, Isabelle.” Chance’s voice was calming.
She raised her chin in defiance and said plainly, “If you find out who hurt them, make sure they pay for it.”
His eyebrow raised, clearly impressed by her tenacity.
“I will.”
“Did you tell anyone about what you found? Or that you were coming here?” I asked.
Isabelle shook her head. “I knew it was important,” she replied, referring to the drive. “I’m not sure how I’ll get back without getting caught, but I was worried if I gave it to you at school, someone would see me.”
“You did the right thing,” Chance reassured her. “I need you to promise this will stay a secret between the three of us.”
She nodded, sensing the gravity of the situation.
“I’ll walk you back,” I offered. “I can distract the dorm monitor while you slip back in.” It would be far less conspicuous for me to strike up a conversation with whoever was on duty, than it would be for Chance. And if something went wrong, at least it would be a female teacher bringing Isabelle back, not a man.
After grabbing my coat, Isabelle and I made quick work of sneaking her back in. The dorm monitor was dead asleep at her post. I waved goodbye to her and quickly made my way back to the carriage house in the frigid cold, thinking of how sad Isabelle had looked. I knew it wasn’t quite the same, but I had grieved for my lost friendship with Jenny, and even though she was still alive, it had been traumatic nonetheless.
I had a lot of empathy for what Isabelle was going through. Losing Claire was going to affect her for the rest of her life, and if she had been, as we suspected, pushed down the stairs, the circumstances that had led to her death were that much more tragic.
I let out a small yelp when the door to the carriage house swung out before I could grab the handle. Chance was inside, and it appeared as though he’d kept an eye on me while I’d made the quick journey across campus.
“You scared me.” I placed my hand over my heart.
“I’m sorry. I was worried about you.” He grabbed my freezing hand, warming it with his as we ascended the three staircases back to our rooms on the fourth floor. For once, ignoring the ceremony of sneaking around, Chance simply followed me back into my room after he stopped by his, to grab the envelope and his laptop.
“It’sthedrive. I already looked,” he confessed the moment the door closed. “But it’s not the orange one Bryce mentioned. It’s the secret backup he kept.”
“Do you think it will help?” I shrugged out of my coat, hanging it on the rack by the door, and making my way to stoke the fire to warm up more.
“I think it could crack this whole thing wide open.”
