Bane (Sinners of Saint #4)(95)
I realized that I wasn’t old Jesse just then. I was an even newer version, a stronger version, a version that was not to be messed with. She would make everyone pay. Everyone.
After visiting Mrs. B, the last thing I did while in El Dorado was knock on Wren’s door. Her parents lived in a James Bond-esque compound on a hilltop. I knocked on her door and sported my best innocent smile. She answered, immediately scrunching her nose up in distaste when I came into view. She was wearing a sports bra and yoga pants. A Cardi B song was blasting from the home entertainment system behind her.
“What do you want?” She put her hands on her hips, looking down.
Last time I’d seen Wren, Bane had nearly killed her friends. The less than enthusiastic greeting wasn’t surprising.
“To apologize,” I said and batted my eyelashes, laying it on thicker than her makeup. “About the night at the track. I guess you’ve heard about my dad…” I referred to Darren as my dad, even though the only title he had truly earned in his life was that of a cunning rapist. But I had a plan.
Wren’s eyes skimmed the length of me, her eyebrows finally relaxing, a look of sympathy washing over her expression.
“Yeah. I heard. Sorry.” Her shoulders slacked.
“It’s okay. It’s been pretty crazy lately. I guess what I wanted to say was that I’m sorry about what happened with you, Henry, and Nolan. I overreacted.” Each word was like a knife in my mouth.
Wren flipped her long, blonde ponytail and rolled her eyes. “It happens.”
“And I also wanted to give you this. I know that it’s your twentieth birthday in a second.” I handed her a wrapped gift. It was nothing special. The same strong, flowery, nauseating perfume I remembered she liked from when we used to go to school together. The next part was tricky, but I knew I could pull it off.
“Aw, thank you.” She took the gift, but still didn’t invite me in. “Yeah, I mean, it’s kind of a big deal.”
“Think about it. You’re entering your twenties. That’s huge.” I leaned my hip against her doorframe, engaging her in an easy chitchat. We used to do this a lot, Wren and I, back when I’d dated Emery. I’d never really felt the connection with her, but I’d tried hard for my boyfriend. Emery only ever hung out with the popular kids, and Wren had been the perfect queen bee everyone loved to secretly hate.
“Oh. I should do something, shouldn’t I?”
I widened my eyes. “You mean, you don’t even have a party planned? Wren, it’s the middle of the summer! Everyone is on a break. You have to do something.”
She munched on her lip. “I’m going to a community college in San Diego. Everyone there is meh. All our friends are in real colleges.”
Your friends, not mine.
“Invite them over, then.” I did a half-shrug. My heart beat so fast, I was afraid it’d crack. I wanted to lure them back into town, but knew that they weren’t stupid. What they were was smug, and I was counting on them seeing me as helpless and vulnerable. Being newly orphaned worked in my favor.
Wren tapped her chin, her acrylic, candy-apple red fingernails sparkling under the sun. “They said they were going to hang out in New York this summer.”
“Aw, New York.” I rolled my eyes, acting like them. Like her. “Home is the best place to be during summer vacation. Especially when it includes Tobago Beach and your family and friends.”
“You mean, you won’t mind if they come to town?” Wren shot me another suspicious look. My guess was Nolan, Henry, and Emery didn’t want to rock the boat the minute they realized Bane was in the picture. Even in high school, we’d all known who he was, and nobody was stupid enough to mess with him.
“Dude, ohmigosh.” I used her favorite phrase, reining in my gag reflex. “Everyone just needs to let go of this whole thing. I mean, it happened years ago, right? No need to dwell on it.”
I wondered if Wren was toying with the idea of actually inviting me. I hoped, for her sake, that she wasn’t, because that would put her in the category of dumb as a rock. But by the smile spreading across her face, I knew that she’d totally bought every single lie I’d fed her and was coming back for seconds. I felt deceitful—lying isn’t only about the people you lie to, it’s mostly about your own integrity—but I could no longer stomach the idea that the boys could be planning another “orgy” with someone else. Plus, that plastic bag of evidence burned a hole in my duffel bag.
It couldn’t stay unused.
“Ohmigosh, Jesse, you’re right! I’m going to call them right after my private Zumba class. Hey, you should totally come.”
I pretended to punch her shoulder. “Eeep! You’re the sweetest, but I really need to get things prepared for the funeral and everything. Thanks, though.”
Even though Wren had the intelligence of expired mayo, Emery and Nolan were pretty bright. I didn’t want any of them to suspect I was pulling any tricks by declaring I’d be there. Wren pouted like an adorable puppy, her version of condolences.
“Prayers to you and your mom, Jesse.” She rubbed my arm. We shared an awkward half-hug.
“Thanks.”
Driving back to Gail’s, I knew a few things:
Wren was going to throw a party.
She’d invited me, because she was an idiot.