Chapter 33

“Connie? Alex?” A voice called out in the distance. We shot each other a quick glance before turning to lock eyes with Orla, who stood just a few meters away, illuminated by the moonlight at the end of the alley. “Are you down here?”

“Yeah,” Connie choked out, plastering on a thin smile. I sat up a little straighter, trying as subtly as I could manage to smoothen my hair. “Hey, Orla.”

“Molly saw you heading outside a few minutes ago, I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” She took a few steps toward us, her heels clanking together.

“We came out for a smoke,” Connie answered, before shooting me a glance. “But honestly, Alex isn’t feeling too good.”

“Oh, shit.” She looked down at me, her lips pursed. “You do look really pale. Did you get sick?”

“No,” I managed to squeak, not quite trusting myself to form a full sentence. Beside me, Connie huffed.

“Not yet. But we were thinking about heading home early.”

Orla nodded. “That’s alright! Do you want us to come?”