Clique Bait - Ann Valett Page 0,60

a number of similar photos in the same area on the wall, all with Maddy in the same tight cobalt dress.

“When were these taken?” I asked, crouching so I could examine them better.

“Oh, I think that was at Zach’s birthday last year. See the cake in the background? It had a male stripper come out of it. Desmond took all those photos.”

Just the topic I wanted to broach. “Is Desmond, um, around again?”

“Yeah, he was pissed he missed the party,” she said, rolling her eyes. “He might be out tonight, though. He works at a lot of clubs.”

“Oh, okay,” I said as nonchalantly as possible. That would be extremely valuable. Then I tried to steady my voice to avert suspicion as I spoke my next words. “Is that Monica Pennington?”

Maddy looked to where I was pointing.

“Yeah, that’s her.” She shot me a half smile, not quite meeting my eyes. “Tragic, wasn’t it?”

Twenty

Mon,

You used to tell me Maddy Danton was nice. Friendly. Inviting. I knew it was all a part of their game, but I tried to believe you. Now I see it. You and she have more in common than meets the eye. Playing with Lola’s bad side. Playing with her boyfriend.

I know it’s been a while since we last saw each other, but you’re still my best friend. I never judged you for sleeping with him, or when you told me it was intentional. You said a lot more than you wanted to that night. How you wanted to make Lola jealous, to maybe even control her. I figured it was drunken rambling.

Every day I wonder, maybe if I’d taken that seriously, it wouldn’t be like this now.

Love, Chloe

WITH OUR OUTFITS perfected and our pregame leaving us lightly tipsy, Maddy and I piled into one of her dad’s private cars.

“I’m so excited for our night out,” she gushed. “It’s going to be so much better without the others and their drama, especially after the fight, and everything with Zach. I’m so glad Will met you, Chloe.”

That was strange. I’d never heard Maddy make any indications she didn’t like being on Level One.

“What about Sophie and Lola?”

“Oh, they’re bitches,” she said. Though her tone was joking, her smile faltered a little. I raised a brow, surprised that all it had taken was one drink for her to admit this.

“Why do you hang out with them, then?” I asked.

“I don’t mean it like that,” she said. “I really like them. Everyone does. They’re my best friends, we’ve been through everything together. They’re funny and exciting and I love them . . . but I know they have stuff on me. I think sometimes they’re scared. They need dirt on people as some kind of insurance they won’t slip up, even me . . . I don’t know. It can be pressure sometimes, that’s all.”

“Do you think they have dirt on me?” I asked, projecting innocence into my voice. I hadn’t expected Maddy’s honest answer, but I felt like the more naive I seemed, the more she’d show sympathy.

“I think you’re in the probationary period for now. Things between you and Will are still new, so you’re not settled in yet.” She began examining her lips in her phone’s front camera.

“Should I be worried?” I asked with a lighthearted laugh, as if I was sure she was just being paranoid.

Maddy laughed with me, and I sensed it was mostly out of fear of being laughed at. “Definitely worried. Hope you don’t have any skeletons in that pretty closet of yours, Chloe.”

Let’s just hope I can bring you all down before I have to worry about that.

The club we were going to was one of Maddy’s favorites, which she’d been talking up ever since I’d agreed to go out with her. I humored her with feigned enthusiasm.

Club Aura screamed expensive clothing and cash-filled purses. The ornate building was illuminated with colored lights, and from the large line of people outside dressed in designer brands, I could tell it was popular.

“I have an arrangement with the owners,” Maddy explained as she sauntered up to the VIP line. “Another perk of having a pop star daddy.”

The bouncer raised an eyebrow toward Maddy, who slipped her ID into his hands without a word. In that moment, I was sure that I was about to be arrested. Thinking about it now, there was no way I could pass for twenty-one.

But once he was satisfied with Maddy’s, he only took a mere glimpse at mine, his eyes darting