CHAPTER 8

Pieces of the Puzzle

In the middle of one night, Carrie was shaken awake by Zigzag. "Bear? Bear, wake up!"

Carrie groaned. "What time is it?" she asked.

"I don't know. But I need to talk to you. Get up." He pushed her off of her cot.

Carrie fell to the floor with a loud crash. She stumbled outside of the tent, her thin blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She sat on the log outside of D-tent next to Zigzag, and waited for him to talk.

"I haven't been completely honest with you. I need to tell you something."

Carrie took in a sharp breath. Was Zigzag about to tell her that he had written the note?

"It's kind of hard to say, Bear. But it's about that night at the party." He explained, toeing the ground.

So it wasn't about the note. 'But what is he talking about?' Carrie wondered.

"I know the whole story of that night."

Carrie stared at him, stunned. "How do you know that?" She asked.

"Remember that guy you were making out with?" Zigzag grinned sheepishly. "That was me."

"You're kidding." Carrie was taken completely off guard.

"No. Do you want to know what happened?" He asked.

"Yes. Tell me everything."

"OK." Zigzag began to explain the story, and Carrie began to remember. __________________________________________________________________

Carrie stumble out onto the balcony, leaning over the edge. "It's so pretty," She slurred to the boy next to her. Zigzag.

"It is." He glanced at her. "Are you OK?" he asked, genuinely concerned.

Carrie looked him up and down. "I'm fine. And so are you."

Zigzag winced. Drunken people used the worst pickup lines. "Thanks."

Carrie looked up at him, and kissed him on the mouth. Before either of them knew it, they were on the couch being screamed at by Carrie's boyfriend.

_________________________________________________________________

"I was that stupid?" Carrie exclaimed. "I'm so sorry.

"It's fine. There's nothing you can do about it now." Zigzag sighed. "Then the fight started. Some guy came at you with a baseball bat and knocked you out. I would have gotten you out of there, but I wasn't really supposed to be there in the first place." He hesitated.

"Why?"

"Well, I was under house arrest until my trial for shoplifting, which was the next day. I snuck out to go to the party and when the police were coming, I had to get out of there. I was sent to Camp Green Lake two days later." Zigzag explained.

Carrie sighed. "Did I do drugs?" she asked.

"No. I know you didn't." Zigzag reassured her.

"Do you know why I can't remember anything?" She asked.

"Probably because of the hit on your head, combined with the alcohol." He guessed.

They sat in silence for a few minutes. "I'm going back to bed." Carrie stood up. Then, she leaned down and gave Zigzag a hug. "Thank you for telling me."

"You're welcome," he replied, hugging her back.

Carrie started to walk away, then spun around, remembering something. "Do you know who wrote me that note?"

Zigzag laughed and Carrie knew that he knew which note she was talking about. "Yea. That was Zero"

Carrie was stunned for the second time that night. She spun around, walked back to the tent and laid back down on the cot.

"Zero? I never saw that one coming," Was he last thought before she drifted back to sleep.