Seeing her all down in the dumps, Kruz flipped on his charm switch, cracking jokes and pulling out all the stops to make her laugh.
Thanks to his relentless efforts, Flora's mood had brightened a lot since she first got into the car.
Connor watched from the sidelines, letting out a silent sigh of relief.
He wasn't much of a talker and certainly not skilled at cheering up women. Right then, he realized having Kruz around was a blessing; at least Kruz had the gift of gab and could bring a smile to Flora's face. When they got back to Shallow Bay, Flora headed straight to her room for a shower.
Afterwards, she casually picked up her phone from the table where it was charging and noticed several missed calls.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtCalls from Kaylee, Cynthia Eilies, Jules, her dad, and her brother...
"Ding ding ding-" Just as Flora was about to call Raul back, her phone rang again. It was Cynthia.
She hit the answer button.
"Flora, finally! I've been trying to reach you," Cynthia's excitement was laced with concern. "Flora, are you alright? We heard about what happened at the lab..." The incident had blown up so much that even the police got involved. It was hard for anyone not to know by now.
Plus, there were tons of nasty comments about Flora online.
"I'm fine." Flora took a sip of milk from the glass on the table.
"We all know what happened to Alexa isn't your fault. Don't let the online trolls get to you," Cynthia advised gently.
She had met Alexa before and knew, much like Libby, she wasn't exactly Miss Congeniality.
Her sudden suicide, though tragic, couldn't be pinned on Flora.
The suicide note she left was a joke! "Don't worry about it." Flora replied coolly, setting her glass down. "Anything else?" Hearing Flora's calm tone, Cynthia was silent for a good three seconds before letting out a soft laugh, "No, that's all. Flora, I know I'm not much help, but if you need anything, just holler. I'm here for you." Flora murmured a response and hung up the phone.
She connected to the inteand opened Twitter.
The moment she got online, a tidal wave of notifications hit her.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmIt took a full two minutes for her phone to settle down.
With an expressionless face, Flora clicked on the trending topics. The number one trend was about a female student from the University of Maple Grove, Alexa, who had died in an accident. #University of Maple Grove Student's Autopsy Reveals Body Covered in Bruises# #University of Maple Grove Student's Suicide or Foul Play# #Alexa's Suicide Note# Flora scrolled down and clicked on the #Alexa's Suicide Note# tag.
An account named 'Mother of University of Maple Grove Student Alexa' had posted a lengthy message.
--Hello everyone, I am Alexa's mother... My daughter was always
obedient and excelled in her studies, ranking in the top ten of her school from a young age and receiving a national scholarship for five years'in college. She even joined the lab every medical student dreams of... My daughter was optimistic and cheerful. Just this morning, she toldshe wanted to eat the pot roast I make for dinner; she would never commit suicide...
She was my pride and joy, and now she's gone, don't know how I can go on living... I've fainted fromcrying several and the doctor says my condition is very dangerous and I need to rest. But I cannot let my daughter die in vain!
As Flora scrolled through the messages, her face remained emotionless Alexa's mother's tearful accusations were aimed directly at the University of Maple Grove and Flora: It was only after 1 read my daughter's suicide note that I realized how much she had been suffering... Dr. Ray from the University of Maple Grove lab had repeatedly harassed her, both physically and mentally... And other people in the lab had been giving her the cold shoulder, excluding her...
X