I crept back in to the apartment somewhere between two and three a.m. Jasmine was lying in my bed, one hand behind her head, the other beneath the pillow.
I tip toed around the room, taking off my dripping wet dress and heels. I didn’t bother to wash my face. I was too tired.
I slipped in to the bed next to Jasmine, a zombie about to rest in her grave, when Jasmine spoke up.
“You’re back,” she said. Her voice was steady and strong. She hadn’t been sleeping at all.
“Thank you for covering for me,” I said.
“It’s the last time.”
“What? Why?”
“You’ve changed, Bella. I can’t be a part of your lies anymore.”
Lies? What did she know?
“The clothes, the hair, the parties, they aren’t you. They’re Jake. Can’t you see what he’s trying to do? He’s making you into her. His own personal Dana. I can’t stand by and watch that happen to you.”
“What are you going to do about it?” I asked.
She sighed.
“I’m leaving. You know how to reach me when you remember who you are.”
She stood up, walked out of my room, and out of my life.
When the door closed, I knew that she was not coming back.