The Lies They Tell(22)
Quinn and Hadley said nothing as she sat on the deck beside them, her stomach knotted, already regretting this. Approaching two girls bonded in their hatred for you was like sticking your head into a wolverine den and hoping for the best. They were painting their toenails ruby red, trading off the brush. None of them spoke for so long that Pearl almost stood and left, though the shame of retreat made her hold out for an extra minute. Quinn said, “Bridges won’t like you being over here with us.”
“It’s not his call.” She shrugged at their long looks. “We’re friends.”
Quinn’s mouth quirked. “How original.”
“It doesn’t have to be original. It’s true.” Quinn gave her a moment’s appraisal before facing back to the ocean. Silence settled in again.
“So . . .” Quinn leaned back, crossing her long legs at the ankle. “Does anybody else find it weird that we’re basically sitting on a floating mausoleum right now?” Hadley shushed her, glancing back to see if Tristan had heard. “Seriously. He hasn’t gotten rid of anything. I saw some of Cassidy’s hair elastics and lip gloss down there. That’s like one step away from saving fingernail clippings.”
“It’s only been six months.” Hadley spoke in a hush. “He’s probably not ready yet. I mean . . . can you imagine? The last time you see your parents alive, you get into a fight over something stupid?” She shook her head. “How do you get over that?”
“He could hire somebody to put their stuff in storage. He’d never even have to look at it. My mom did that when my aunt died. I mean, you have to deal with these things.” Quinn adjusted her sunglasses. From this angle, it was obvious that she was no more a natural blonde than Pearl, but her highlights were exquisite, ranging from honey to platinum. “Do you think their house is like that? Everybody’s stuff still lying out, like, creepy as hell?”
Hadley coated her pinkie nail. “I heard the fire was really bad. There probably isn’t much left.”
“He should bulldoze it.” Hadley burst into exasperated laughter. “What? Look, I’m not being a bitch here, I’m serious. It cannot be healthy to live across town from a monument to your murdered fam while you try to work through your PTSD issues. He never should’ve spent the winter here.” Quinn glanced back at Tristan. “He doesn’t look good.”
“He’s beautiful.” Hadley’s voice was faint.
“Well, yeah. But he doesn’t look good.” She gave a barely detectable nod in Pearl’s direction. “Too bad you weren’t around the last couple summers. Tristan, in his prime? Basically ruled the whole Tenney’s Harbor party scene. Some craaazy shit went down.”
Pearl raised her brows. “Wow. He seems like such an introvert.”
Hadley looked thoughtful, finishing her wine and refilling her glass. “He’s changed a lot. After everything being in the news and the reporters . . . I guess he just wants to be left alone. But when his family first summered here? Oh my God.”
“What happened?” Pearl watched them exchange a look, familiar helpless frustration rising at their telepathy, the higher plane of girl friendship that she had never reached herself. “What?”
Quinn settled back, smugness playing across her lips. “Debauchery. That’s all I’m saying.”
Hadley giggled. “You oughta know.”
“Shut up. I’ve heard things, I didn’t say I was a joiner. Becoming a YouTube porn star doesn’t exactly make my bucket list. Besides”—she let the pause drag out, resting her head back against the chair—“it’s mostly townies who get into that stuff. Give them, like, one wine cooler, and they’ll do anything the guys want.”
Pearl turned to the water, measuring her breathing, waiting for the red to fade from her vision. Looking embarrassed, Hadley bit her lip, finally saying, “For real, Quinn? I mean . . . the guys really made a video . . . ?”
“I’m not saying who did what. You must know. You were with Bridges last summer.”
“He’d never do something like that.”
“Look, all I know is some freaky Skinemax action got posted for a week or two before somebody took it down. Maybe it wasn’t Bridges or Tristan who made it, but it happened at one of their parties. It got like a zillion shares.”
“Who was the girl?” Pearl said.
“As if I watched it. I already said, some random townie.” Quinn glanced up as a second bottle lowered down between them, Akil holding it by the neck. “And now the Wine Fairy’s here.”
“Drink up. This is the good stuff. Ol’ Dave left the place loaded.” He took Hadley’s glass and topped it off, clinking it with his own. “May all our ups and downs be between the sheets.”
Hadley laughed, coloring slightly, while Quinn looked coolly back. When he’d gone, she said, “He’s trying to get you drunk.”
“It’s working.”
“Do you think he’s cute?”
“Yeah. I mean—yeah.” Hadley flicked distractedly at her hair.
“But he’s not Bridges.” Quinn shook her head. “Remember what today’s about. Proving you don’t need him to have a good time.”
When Pearl glanced back, Akil was conferring with Tristan, who made some small comment without taking his eyes off the Whale’s Tooth buoy in the distance.