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| What Gabby Overheard |
While Ian remains at the hospital with Emily, Gabrielle and Lee are still at the school dance. But an overheard conversation in the girls' restroom reveals the cruel truth about Jordan—and confirms that Emily wasn't imagining any of it.
Episode 14 | What Gabby Overheard
Fiona paced the hospital waiting area with her phone in her hand.
Every few seconds, she looked toward the double doors Ian and Riley had disappeared through.
Nothing.
She glanced at the time on her phone.
By now, everyone at the dance had to be wondering where they were.
Fiona stopped pacing.
“Gabrielle.”
She tapped her name and waited.
The call connected almost immediately.
“Fiona! Where are you?”
Music and voices filled the background.
Fiona moved the phone away from her ear.
“Can you go somewhere quieter?”
“What?”
“Somewhere quieter!”
“Hold on.”
The music faded as Gabrielle moved away from the crowd.
“Okay. What's going on? Lee and I have been looking everywhere for you guys.”
“We never made it.”
“What do you mean you never made it?”
Fiona looked toward the double doors again.
“We're at the hospital.”
There was a pause.
“The hospital?”
“Do you want us to come there?”
“No. Stay at the dance. There's nothing you can do here right now. I just didn't want you guys wondering where we were.”
“It's Emily.”
“Emily Chester?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
Fiona hesitated.
“I don't know everything yet. Ian's with her.”
“With Emily?”
“She asked for him.”
Gabrielle was quiet.
“Fiona...is she okay?”
“She's okay. That's really all I know right now.”
The silence on the other end told Fiona that Gabrielle understood there was more to it.
“Listen,” Fiona said. “Don't say anything to everybody yet. I don't know what Emily wants people to know.”
“Okay.”
“Just tell Lee something came up and we're not going to make it.”
“I will.”
Fiona lowered her voice.
“And Gabrielle?”
“Yeah?”
“Tell him Ian didn't ditch us for something stupid.”
Gabrielle laughed softly.
“I think the Napoleon costume already covered the stupid part. Okay. But if you need us, call me. We'll come.”
Despite herself, Fiona smiled.
“Goodbye, Gabrielle.”
“Call me when you know something.”
“I will.”
Fiona ended the call.
Her smile disappeared as she looked toward the double doors again.
Still no Ian.
___
Gabrielle slipped her phone into her purse and made her way back into the gym.
The music seemed louder than before. Students crowded the dance floor, laughing and taking pictures in costumes from every century imaginable.
Lee spotted her coming.
“Well?”
Gabrielle shook her head. “They’re not coming.”
“What happened?”
“They’re at the hospital.”
Lee’s smile disappeared. “The hospital?”
A couple of the others turned toward her.
“It’s Emily Chester,” Gabrielle said. “That’s all Fiona told me. Ian’s with her.”
“Is she okay?” Lee asked.
“Fiona said she is now.”
Lee stared at her.
“Yeah,” Gabrielle said quietly. “That's how she said it.”
For a moment, no one spoke.
Lee glanced toward the dance floor and Natalie.
“We should go.”
Gabrielle looked at him. “Fiona told us to stay here.”
“I know.” Lee reached for his jacket. “But we're not staying here dancing while they're sitting at the hospital.”
Gabrielle nodded. “I was thinking the same thing.”
“I'll tell the others.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Natalie said.
Lee looked at her. “Natalie, my friends are at the hospital.”
“And Fiona just told Gabrielle they don't need us there.” Natalie smoothed the front of her dress. “I spent all afternoon getting ready for tonight, Lee. I'm not leaving to sit in an emergency room when nobody even asked us to come.”
“I'm going.”
Natalie stared at him. “So you're just going to leave me here?”
Lee hesitated. “I don't want to leave you here. But I can't stay here and dance knowing something happened to Emily and they're all at the hospital.”
Natalie folded her arms. “You already spend enough time with Ian.”
Lee frowned. “This isn't about Ian.”
“It always ends up being about Ian.”
“Not tonight. Something happened to Emily.”
Natalie shook her head. “And what exactly are you going to do about it?”
Lee didn't have an answer for that.
“I don't know,” he finally said. “But I'm going.”
“Okay,” Gabby cut in. “I need to go to the bathroom. Then I'm going to the hospital. You two work it out.”
Gabrielle headed across the gym and into the hallway.
The girls’ restroom was quieter, though the music still thumped faintly through the walls. She stepped into a stall and closed the door behind her.
A few seconds later, the restroom door opened.
Two girls entered, laughing.
“I still can't believe she fell for it.”
Gabrielle barely paid attention.
“She didn't just fall for it. She was practically in love with him.”
More laughter.
“Jordan could've told her he lived on Mars and she would've believed him.”
Gabrielle frowned.
Jordan?
“I almost felt bad when she started telling him all that personal stuff.”
“Please. You were the one who said we should post the messages.”
“Because they were hilarious.”
Gabrielle stopped moving.
The girls laughed again.
“She should've seen her face when she found the page.”
“I did. She looked like she was about to cry.”
“Emily always looks like she's about to cry.”
Gabrielle froze.
Emily.
One of the girls laughed.
“Seriously, though. How stupid do you have to be to tell some boy you've never even met all your business?”
“He wasn't a boy.”
“I know that.”
They both laughed again.
Gabrielle slowly lowered the latch she had been about to lift.
She stayed where she was.
“Jordan wasn't even real,” one of the girls said. “That's what makes it so funny.”
Gabrielle's stomach tightened.
Emily was in the hospital.
And these girls were standing outside the stall laughing about what they had done to her.
“Come on,” one of them said. “I want to get back before this song is over.”
The restroom door opened.
Then closed.
Gabrielle didn't move.
She waited several seconds before stepping out of the stall.
The restroom was empty.
She walked to the sink and stared at herself in the mirror.
A few minutes ago, all she knew was that Emily Chester was in the hospital and had asked for Ian.
Now she knew something else.
And she had a feeling Ian needed to hear it.
Gabrielle grabbed her purse and hurried out of the restroom.
Lee was waiting near the gym doors. There was no sign of Natalie.
“Where's Natalie?”
“She stayed. She's getting a ride home with one of her friends.” He picked up his jacket. “Ready to go?”
“More than ready.”
Lee noticed her face. “What's wrong?”
Gabrielle kept walking.
“I'll tell you on the way.”
Lee followed her. “Tell me what?”
Gabrielle pushed open the doors.
“We need to get to the hospital.”
TO BE CONTINUED…
🔄 Previous Episode 13: The Boy Who Wasn't Real
🔙 Next Episode 15: Don't Tell Ian
Gabrielle arrives at the hospital with information that matches everything Emily told Ian. As the friends realize just how serious the girls' actions may have been, Ian warns them that revenge isn't the answer—but not everyone agrees.
Note: The story above is a work of fiction created for inspirational purposes. Any resemblance to actual individuals or events is purely coincidental.
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