In the morning, the first thing Gwen did was unplug her phone from the charger on the nightstand by her bed and call Tiffany. It rang twice before she answered, and Gwen could tell just by the tone of her voice that she hadn’t heard the news yet. Gwen wasn’t sure if she was truly thankful or not, since she had never had to deliver bad news before aside from once as a child when she had accidentally killed Gabe’s goldfish by overfeeding it. This wasn’t nearly the same thing, and she didn’t know where she should start.
When Tiffany asked her what was wrong, Gwen burst into tears and blurted it all out. Tiffany gasped but was otherwise silent while she listened to everything, from Ginny’s naked midnight run to the stranger at the library to being the one to find her body by the creek. When she was finally done, Gwen was breathing harshly and trying to calm down while she waited for Tiffany to say anything. The seconds stretched into minutes, and Gwen began to wonder if Tiffany might have fainted.
She listened closely and could just barely make out the quiet, subdued sounds of Tiffany’s breathing. Before she could ask if Tiffany was okay, the dam broke, and the two of them were crying to each other, both a blubbering mess that couldn’t be understood. For a few minutes, they both listened to the sounds of the other crying, and it brought Gwen a strange sense of comfort, knowing that she wasn’t alone in the pain she was feeling. Tiffany had loved Ginny like a sister for years, and would miss her just like Gwen.
Finally, they both calmed down enough to carry on a conversation. “Have the police told you anything yet?”
“No,” Gwen said. “It’s too early to know anything for sure. They’re investigating though. I’ll let you know as soon as they tell us anything. I promise.”
“Thanks,” Tiffany said, sniffling. “I just can’t believe this is happening. I thought everything was gonna be okay. I never thought it would end this way.” She sighed. “Do you have any idea when the funeral is gonna be held?”
“No,” she admitted. “I’m sure planning a funeral is the last thing on their minds right now,” she said, thinking about her poor aunt and uncle. “I’ll text you the details when I find out though. I’m not sure they’ll be up for it right now, plus there’s still an open investigation. I don’t know if they’d even release Ginny’s body to us until they close the case.”
“Well, let me know,” Tiffany said, her voice soft. “I have to go tell my mom the bad news. She loved Ginny, too. Everyone did. I really can’t believe she’s gone. Things will never be the same without her. Take care of yourself, Gwen. If you need anything, give me a call. We have to stick together at a time like this.”
“Okay. Bye, Tiffany.”
“Bye.”
She hung up and put her phone in her pocket. That had gone about as well as she expected it to.