“You know where this is going…I lost them in the lake. Joseph Miller was fucking around, dunking me and stuff—”
“Trying to get your top to fall off,” Aubrey mutters. “Been there.”
“Right?” Elana says. “Well, I hoped that my mom just wouldn’t notice—it’s not like she doesn’t have enough to wear. But nope, her eagle-eyes caught it immediately.” Her amused expression shifts, with jaw lifting and her arms crossing over her chest. “I thought for sure I was busted, which meant my trip to Costa Rica would totally be canceled, but I overheard my mother accusing our housekeeper of stealing the earrings. Marisol denied it, of course, and my mother had zero evidence, but it didn’t matter. She fired her and I never said a thing.”
Note to self, I think, as I reassess the girl with her dark hair and darker eyes. She’s small—tiny, really—but holy shit, she’s cut-throat. I’m not tangling with her.
There’s an awkward silence while we wait for the next victim, and I hope it’s Vandy, because one thing is becoming clear: The more awful bullshit that comes after yours, the better.
I’m about to open my mouth when Sebastian shifts in his seat, leaning forward. “So, I have this temper,” he starts.
Ben scoffs. “That’s not a secret.”
Sebastian’s dark eyes rise to his, tightening. “How about you shut the fuck up and not interrupt me.”
Ben glowers back. “How about you make—”
Sebastian is already out of his seat, and I feel myself coil, back straightening at the wild look in his eyes. I’d know that shit anywhere. I saw it in my cellmate in juvie, in dozens of guys at Mountain Point, in the worn faces of my community service buddies.
“Hey,” Emory steps in, probably sensing the same thing I am, which is that this Sebastian guy doesn’t just have a temper. This dude is a rag soaked in gasoline. All he needs is a spark.
But just like that, it’s gone. Sebastian quirks a knife-edged smile at Ben before falling back into his chair. After a moment of charged silence, he continues, “My family went upstate for the summer, to the Briar Cliffs.” Everyone nods. The Briar Cliffs are a popular summering hole among the Preston elite. He sniffs, flinging his hair from his eyes. “I was out slumming it one night with one of my boys, and we got into some shit with a few townies. We took it out back, as you do.” He says this like it makes him some kind of upstanding gentleman. “Had a few blows. Caught him in the jaw once, really good. Probably knocked out some teeth. But then…”
He reaches up to scratch at his jaw, an oddly shy gesture as he diverts his gaze to the floor. “This girl tries to get between us, break us up, right? She can’t be more than like a hundred pounds, sopping wet. She came at me from the side, and I didn’t realize—” His gaze jumps around the room. “I thought it was one of his boys jumping in, because they’re all standing around, watching their buddy get creamed. I didn’t even hesitate, I just.” He buries his fist into a palm and doesn’t need to elaborate.
He does, anyway. “I decked the shit out of her. She fell to the ground like a sack of meat, and for a second, we all just stood there, looking at her.” He barks a dark laugh. “I thought she was fucking dead, to be honest.”
“Was she okay?” Afton instantly pales at having interrupted him. “Sorry.”
Sebastian watches her, maybe sees the fear in her eyes, and narrows his own. “Look, what happened to her was an accident. I don’t hit girls. I fight people who can take me. I fight fair. I’m not like—” Whatever he’s about to say is abruptly bitten off. “She was bleeding, but she was breathing. You could tell I rattled her lights, because her eyes kept rolling around, but then she started screaming.” His throat bobs with a loud swallow, something dark passing over his face. “Like, I’m talking some serious blood-curdling shit. It was like she was possessed or something.” He shakes his head. “I couldn’t stick around. With all that noise, someone was bound to call the police. So, we all just…left.”
I hear Vandy’s sharp inhale, but am powerless to stop her screech. “You left her there?!”
I step in front of her about half a second before Emory does, but that just seems to piss Sebastian off more.