Jane went back to the art colony feeling better about the whole thing. Yes, she and Daria were going to have to have a serious talk, but Jane felt that it would actually be productive. She even found that, yeah, she wouldn't even mind if Daria continued to date Tom. They would just have to figure out how the two girls could have time to themselves without him. Work things out better than they had when Jane was dating him.
Maybe I'll actually be able to stand being around him after a while, Jane thought as she got back to her cabin. She opened the door to see Jet sitting on the bean bag in the middle of the room, paging through a coffee table book of sculpture. The older girl looked up as the door opened.
"Hey," she greeted. She gave Jane an odd look. "You seem happy."
"Do I?" Jane asked, blinking. She considered for a moment then smiled. "Yeah, I guess I am."
"Cool." Jet turned her attention back to her book. Jane started up the stairs to her loft.
"I'll be upstairs sketching," she told Jet. "Gonna be listening to music."
"Gotcha," Jet answered, not looking up.
Jane rolled her eyes. I am going to be so glad be get away from this goddamn place.
She spent most of the day lost in her art and her music. She put on her headphones and let her pencil go wherever it wanted on the paper. She produced three different drawings over the next few hours, and much to her surprise, they didn't suck. They were still the unusual abstracts that were her hallmark style, but unlike everything she had been creating over the summer, these were much more vibrant and colorful. Less harsh angles and more smooth flowing curves. She also used more pastel shades rather than harsh bold colors.
Overall, the pieces gave the impression of peace and serenity and Jane was pleased with them. She looked up and blinked. The sun was setting outside the small window in the wall that let sunlight into the loft. She had sketched most of the afternoon away.
Her stomach growled, surprising her again. She looked at her watch. If she hurried, she could grab some food from the cafeteria before it closed for the night. She put her sketchbook and walkman aside and made her way downstairs.
As soon as she hit the ground floor the phone rang. Jane sighed and looked around. None of her housemates were in sight. She went over to the phone and picked it up.
"Yo?"
"Jane? Is that you?" came the voice of Helen Morgendorffer. Her voice was high and tight.
"Mrs. Morgendorffer?" Jane asked. This was weird. "Yeah, it's me."
"Oh, thank God," Helen's voice flooded with relief. "I would have called earlier but it took forever to find your number up there and there's been so many things to take care of and..."
She's babbling, Jane realized. This was concerning. Helen almost never babbled. The words were coming out in a flood and behind it was a tone of desperation and panic. Like she was trying to avoid saying something by saying anything.
"Mrs. Morgendorffer?" she interrupted. "What's going on? Not that I mind hearing from you, but this is kinda unexpected."
She heard Helen took a deep breath, then spoke again, using the tone that Jane thought of as Helen trying to be "motherly."
"Jane, sweetie," she began.
"Sweetie?" The nickname caused Jane's eyebrows to raise. What the hell is going on?
"There... there was an accident," Helen continued. "Trent is in the hospital."
"WHAT?!" Jane yelled, her heart immediately pounding in her chest. "Is he okay?! What happened?!"
Helen took another deep breath. "There was a pileup on the interstate. A tractor trailer had a tire blow out. Now, the truck didn't hit the van! But it caused a massive chain reaction. I'm not entirely sure what happened, but the van apparently swerved to avoid one car, but another one slammed into them from the side. It rolled across a lane of traffic and landed in the median. It was... it was banged up pretty badly."
"What happened to my brother?!" Jane demanded, missing Helen's hesitation.
"Right, right," Helen audibly swallowed then started speaking again. "Trent and his band mates got banged up pretty badly. Apparently that van only has two seats and no seat belts! Why on EARTH wasn't there the most basic of safety features! What was he THINKING DRIVING FIVE HOURS ON THE INTERSTATE WITHOUT GOD DAMN SEAT BELTS?! OF ALL THE IRRESPONSI-"
Jane heard someone yelling in the background of the call, but couldn't make out who it was. After a few seconds, Helen's voice returned.
"I'm sorry about that, Jane," she said. Another deep breath. "Trent is in the hospital, like I said, but the doctors say he should be okay. He has a concussion and a broken arm. A few scratches on his face and arms, but nothing serious. The rest of the band is about the same. Bruises, a couple of broken bones, but they should all be able to go home in a few days."
Jane collapsed onto the floor, relief flooding through her. Trent was alive, he was going to be okay. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. Her brother was alive and he was safe.
And then she realized what Helen hadn't said.
"M-Mrs. Morgendorffer," she began slowly, the feeling of dread returning to her stomach. "Is... is Daria okay?"
Silence. Long interminable silence. Silence that seemed to fill the entire universe, drowning out all other sound. Finally broken by the hitching voice of Helen Morgendorffer.
"Jane, I – I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. She... she's..."
Jane leaned forward, her eyes wide and frightened. "What's wrong with Daria?"
"I'm sorry," Helen repeated. Her voice was strained, and oddly fluid, the words escaping in a series of choking sounds. "I'm... Daria's dead, Jane. She's dead. My baby girl is dead. Oh God..."
Helen's voice collapsed into sobs and wails of grief. Jane sat in stunned silence, her heart shrinking into a hard knot in her chest. She looked at the phone in her hand, then brought it back to her ear.
"Dead?" she asked, her voice small. "She can't be dead."
She only heard more sobs. After a moment, Jake Morgendorffer's voice came through to her.
"Jane?"
"I'm here." It didn't feel real. She felt like she was dreaming. Like nothing made sense and was hazy and unreal.
"It's Jake," Jake unnecessarily identified himself. "I... I know you probably don't want to think about this, but we can't find your parents."
"Dad's in Budapest, Mom's in Dea – the desert in California," Jane answered.
"Right," Jake said. "Listen, we're probably going to hold the... the thing... for Daria in a few days. Do you have a way to get back to Lawndale?"
"No," Jane said, her voice flat. "Trent drove me up at the beginning of the summer."
"Do you have the address? I can be there tomorrow afternoon to bring you back. So you can see Trent and be here for the... thing."
Jane nodded, then realized Jake couldn't hear that. "That would be fine, Mr. Morgendorffer."
She gave him the address. Through the haze and unreality, a thought occurred. "Has anyone told Tom yet?"
"Tom?" Jake asked. "Oh crap, Tom! No, I don't think so." There was another moment of silence, and Jake came back."No, no one has yet."
"I'll do it," Jane said, surprising herself. "They go up to see his relatives at the Cove in August and I don't know if he gave Daria the number or not. You might not be able to find it."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah," Jane said mechanically. "Yeah, I can handle it."
"Okay. Listen, Jane, I have to go, but are you going to be okay tonight?"
"I have housemates. I'll be fine. I'll see you tomorrow."
"All right. Good night, Jane."
Jane hung up without saying goodbye. She stared at the phone, feeling numb.
I should call Tom. I said I'd call Tom. He needs to know.
She didn't reach for the phone. She got to her feet and walked out of the cabin. She walked through the grounds, ignoring everything. A few people called out to her but she didn't respond. She didn't care if they thought she was rude. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered.
"She loves you and she wants nothing more than for you to be happy. Even if that happiness means she can't be part of your life anymore."
Her fists clenched and her pace increased. She made her way across the compound to the private cabins on the other side. She walked up the path to one of the cabins and pounded on the front door. After a moment, the door opened, revealing a tall, dark haired woman with impressive arm tattoos.
"Jane?" asked Alison, confused. "What's wrong?"
Jane looked at her, and Alison's eyes widened at the pain and anger warring on the younger girl's face. Jane's blue eyes were filled with tears that she was clearly trying to keep from falling.
"I wasn't planning on talking to you again," Jane said, her voice tense. "But... you're the closest thing I have to a friend here."
Alison frowned in concern. She gently placed her hand on Jane's shoulder. "Did something happen?"
Her eyes widened when Jane threw her arms around her and started wailing in pain and grief. It went on for most of the night.