Sarah tried to extricate herself from the tangle of humanity, but had limited success; she barely managed to see Kiley disappear toward the stairs. Sarah ran as fast as she ever had to follow her friend, but she couldn’t catch up—she saw Kiley’s back disappear downstairs, toward the front door.

Sarah tried to follow Kiley downstairs, but the crowd was just too thick. By the time she’d fought her way through, Kiley was already starting her car. Sarah shouted for Kiley to wait, but even if her voice hadn’t been lost in the general noise, she doubted Kiley would’ve stopped. She knew how Kiley could be when she was this upset.

Nick arrived behind Sarah, Lindsay close behind him. “Is she OK? Do you want me to go talk to her?” Nick asked.

Sarah sighed heavily. “No, you don’t want to do that. She can be difficult when she gets like this. I’ll go and talk to her. You stay out of it for now.” Sarah got into her car and pulled out after Kiley.

I screwed this one up, Sarah thought. I screwed this one up big.