How was I going to get there?
Well. I could ask Jude for a ride.
Of course, I didn't think that would make Jason particularly happy. And it wasn't smart to get Jude anymore involved in this mess than he already was. Still. We had to stop Lilith.
I signed onto AOL instant messenger. With my luck, Jude wouldn’t even be online. It was a Friday night, and he probably had something exciting to do, like a party or something. If he wasn't, it was a sign, I told myself. I'd just wait for Hallam to come home. Or for Jason and Lilith. I'd get Jason alone and tell him what I'd figured out. He'd believe me. He'd have to. Wouldn't he?
But Jude was online.
He messaged me immediately. "u didnt come to school today. u okay?"
"Fine," I typed. "Can you come pick me up?"
He could. He would. As I signed off, I mused over his AOL handle. It was weird, because I couldn't figure out why he'd picked it. It wasn't his name, like mine was. Of course, Jude was a much more common name than Azazel. Maybe he wanted something more original. Still. His handle wasn't that original. It reminded me of something. I couldn't remember what, but I knew I'd heard it somewhere. Like a last name or something?
Where had I heard the name Aird?
* * *
"You're kidding," Jude gasped. "She said somebody needed to show him and then it was quiet?"
"Yeah," I said. "And Jason has the nerve to be jealous of me and act like it's my fault."
Jude was pulling into the driveway of the restaurant where Lilith and Jason worked. He shook his head as if he couldn't believe it. "So the two of you had another fight then?"
"I guess so."
"Girl, is it just me, or are the two of you arguing a lot lately?"
"It's Lilith!" I said. "She's ruining everything. I just want to get rid of her."
"So that's why we're going to Jason's work? So you can confront him about Lilith?"
I couldn't explain to Jude why exactly I was going, so I guessed his interpretation worked as well as any other. "Yeah."
Jude parked the car in the parking lot and turned it off.
"Thanks for driving me," I said. "I know I must not seem like the safest person to be around lately."
Jude shrugged. "I got your back, Azazel. Really. Whatever you need to do."
I was glad he hadn't asked any questions about Mr. Sutherland. It made everything much easier. Jude was a good friend. I didn't care what anyone thought. I was glad to have him. And there was nothing going on with him beyond that.
"So," said Jude. "You want me to wait in the car?"
I nodded. That would be easier. I need to talk to Jason privately. Jude might get in the way.
"Okay," said Jude.
"Thanks," I said. I put my hand on the door handle.
"Azazel?" said Jude.
I stopped and looked at him. "Yeah?"
"If you ever feel like . . ."
"What?" I said.
"It's not important."
Trailing off drove me crazy. "Tell me," I said.
"It's just that if you feel like you have to stay with Jason because he's all you've got, I want you to know that's not true."
"Jude—"
"I know you think you love him. Maybe you do. But just because you love someone doesn’t mean that you two are good for each other, you know? Anyway, I just want you to know that if you ever need anything, you have me, okay?"
I just smiled. "Thanks Jude. That means a lot. It does. But nobody else really gets Jason and me. What we have goes beyond being good or bad for each other." We're each other's oxygen. But I didn't say that out loud.
I went up to the restaurant. The door was locked, because they were closing, so I went around back to the kitchen entrance. A few guys were outside, dumping large garbage bags into the dumpster behind the restaurant. I recognized them because I knew they worked with Jason, but I couldn't remember their names.
"Hi," I said. "I'm looking for Jason."
"Oh, right," said one of the guys. "You're his girlfriend, right?"
"Right," I said.
"Well, he already left," said the other guy.
"He did?" I said.
I'd missed him? I wondered what he'd think when he got home, and I wasn't there.
"Yeah," said the first guy. "He went to a party out on Cortez."
"Right. At Rachel Kline's house," said the other guy.
A party? Jason had gone to a party? After everything that had happened, he'd just ditched me to go off and drink?
"Really?" I said.
"He's been hanging out pretty close with that redhead chick," said one of the guys. "I'm pretty sure going to the party was her idea."