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“Jesus,” I breathed and pressed a hand to my chest, shaking my head past the scare. “Do you have some kind of death wish or something?”
“No,” she answered, sounding confused as if she couldn’t figure out why I would even ask that. Then, she sounded much more upbeat as she countered, “I think I’m going to be more like my sister from here on out. So I have alifewish. I want to finally live free of my own fears and insecurities.”
“Don’t we all,” I grumbled before I glanced around and lifted my hands toward her. “But until then, how about you just stay put. I’ll find the ladder and bring it around to you, okay?”
“Okay.” She bobbed her head readily before adding, “Gosh, that’s so sweet of you. Thanks.”
I wasn’t sure ifsweethad much to do with it. I mostly just didn’t want to have to deal with a stranger plummeting off a roof right in front of me and breaking her damn neck. But I answered, “Yep,” before adding, “I’ll be right back.”
I hurried off, hoping she didn’t die while I was gone. But after doing a complete circle around the entire house—with no ladder in sight—I scratched my head in confusion. She must’ve gotten up there from somewhere inside, probably through the big dormer window out front.
“I’m sorry,” I called up to the roof as soon as I returned to the place I’d last seen her. “I couldn’t find a ladder.”
But when I squinted, I couldn’t see the girl anymore.
Before I could begin to scan the area for her, a voice directly to my right said, “That’s okay. I made it down on my own.”
6
FOSTER
“Holy shit!” I jumped out of my skin, lurching back as the girl from the roof walked toward me through the dark. Clutching my chest, I exhaled heavily and then demanded, “How the hell did you get down?”
“I…” She shook her head. “I don’t actually know.”
“You don’t—?” I stopped myself, needing a moment to digest that. But how could she not know how she’d gotten down? Squinting one eye, I asked, “Are you…okay?”
“You know, I don’t think so,” she admitted as she pressed a hand to her brow. “Something feels off. Like, really, really wrong. I don’t even know how I got up there or what I was doing before that or—or anything.”
Fuck.
“Were you just at the party down the beach?” I asked, shifting worriedly closer. “Do you think someone might’ve slipped something into your drink?”
“I…” After pausing to think her answer through, she started to nod. “You know, I think Iwasat a party,” she answered, her head bobbing growing more convinced by the second. “Yeah, I was definitely at a party. Just a little bit ago. And I drank heaven in a cup.”
That proved it, then. Someone had more than likely fed her some ecstasy. Dammit. The poor girl. “Okay, I’m going to take you to the hospital,” I decided.
She tipped her head curiously. “Why?”
“Uh, because I’m pretty sure you’ve been drugged.”
“Drugged?” After pressing a hand experimentally to her stomach, she shook her head. “But I don’t feel sick.”
“We should go anyway,” I encouraged, reaching for her arm. “Just to be safe.”
Except she shifted away from me. “No. I don’t want to go.” Her voice started to quiver with fear. “I wasn’t drugged. I feel okay.”
“But—”
“I don’t want to go to the hospital!” she cried in agitation, sounding frantic and scared enough to make me lift both of my hands in surrender. “I don’t like hospitals. You’re freaking me out!”
“Okay, okay,” I murmured, making sure to keep my voice soft and calming. “We don’t have to go to the hospital. How about I take you inside and get you some water, though?”
Or hopefully she had family or friends in there who could help her, even though unfortunately her place looked pretty dark.
After a few moments of settling herself down, she finally bobbed her head and answered, “Yeah, alright. Water sounds good. I can handle water.”
“Great,” I said, relieved she was going to be compliant on this issue, at least. “Let’s get you safely inside.” When I held out my hand toward her, she looked at me uneasily, so I dropped my fingers and said, “Just follow me.”
