Burn Before Reading(34)

And then Kristin knocked on my door, and I realized I'd never have been able to stand out anyway. She wore a bright blue sleeveless dress, her bronzed shoulders and legs strong and lengthy. Dad looked half-stunned himself when he opened the door. I'd explained to him earlier a friend was picking me up for a sleepover, but now he wasn't going to buy that - not with Kristin all dressed up. I should've thought of that.

"Hey, Kristin," I smiled nervously at her, then tried to look confident for Dad. "Okay, well. I'll be home before noon tomorrow. I'll give you a call if it's later than that."

Dad moved his eyes from me to Kristin, confused.

"There's leftovers in the fridge for lunch," I reminded him. "And you can have the last waffle in the freezer, if you want. I won't be here for breakfast."

Dad averted his eyes from Kristin's brilliant smile and looked at me. "You don't seriously expect me to believe you're going to a sleepover?"

My stomach sank. "Dad, I -"

"She's not," Kristin agreed. "It's a party, Mr. Cruz. But it's a lot smaller than you think, and it's all people I know. I'll look after her, I promise."

Dad looked between us again, then put a hand on my shoulder. Something about his gaze was soft, tired.

"You don't have to lie to me, Bee. I know it's been...tough for you. You've earned a party. Just be safe, alright? Don’t drive anywhere, don’t drink anything anyone gives you. Call me when you're coming home."

My heart swelled, and I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him.

"Thanks, Dad! I promise I'll call."

Kristin and I walked off, and I was so giddy I almost missed her getting into her car - a shiny Prius with that new-car smell. I jumped in the passenger seat, and Kristin amped up the volume on her electronic music and pulled away from the curb.

"Your Dad's pretty cool, huh?" She shouted.

"He really is, sometimes."

"My Dad hates everything I do," She continued. "You're super lucky."

I watched our duplex disappear into the night. If only she knew how sick Dad really was.

"Yeah. I am."

I was super lucky he was still around. I was super lucky I got into Lakecrest at all. But if my luck ran out, if Dad’s pills reacted with his brain chemistry wrong, if his own mind’s illness convinced him life wasn’t worth living anymore -

I dreaded the dark future that sprawled out in my head, so I focused on the music instead. It was happy, upbeat. Kristin smelled even more like vanilla perfume. I didn't put anything except deodorant on. Crap - did I smell bad? I tried to sniff my armpits, but Kristin jammed on her brakes and I nearly smashed my nose into my elbow.

"You idiot!" She shouted at a car running a red light. She inched out into the intersection, huffing. "Some people are so stupid!" She looked at me and smiled. "Not you, though. I bet you drive like a grandma."

"What gave you that impression - was it the jeans? The glasses?"

"The hairdo," Kristin laughed and turned down the music. "Girls with sensible ponytails don't drive like maniacs."

"There's a little saying I'd like to introduce you to called 'don't judge a book by its cover'. I happen to drive like Vin Diesel. On cocaine."

She laughed. "Sure."

We were quiet until she got on the highway.

"So. Mr. Blackthorn managed to rope you in too, huh?" Kristin asked.

"Yeah, I guess."

"He tried to get me to spy on the boys, like, a year ago, but it never worked. Fitz knew what I was up to right away, and Burn never said a single word to me."

"And Wolf?"

She buzzed her lips. "It wasn't gonna happen. Not after what happened with Mark."

Curiosity gnawed at me. "Do you know about what happened between them?"

"Mark and Wolf? Oh, I mean, everybody knows, Bee. Or, at least everybody thinks they know."

I was quiet, waiting for her to spill, but she glanced at me and sighed.

"Look, it doesn't feel right to tell you. I might not like the Blackthorn boys, but I don't want to drag them through the mud, either. We all stopped talking about it a long time ago, and I feel like that's where it should stay. In the past."

"Fine," I put my hands up. "I get it. I'll just have to pry it from some extremely drunk senior at the party."

"And here I thought you were just a quiet geek!" Kristin slapped the steering wheel. "You're so tenacious."

"When I have to be," I winked.

"Oh yeah? What's Mr. Blackthorn dangling in front of you? It can't be a college recommendation like it is for me – you’re two years too early for that."

"My scholarship," I said. "I want to keep it, so -"

"Aha, I getcha." She nodded. In a few minutes, we were parking in a fancy suburb, and she and I got out. She pointed to a massive McMansion in the distance, then fist-bumped me. "Let's go get what we want."

We walked down the sidewalk, the muffled music growing louder, other dark shapes sauntering towards the lit-up house. Kristin laced her arm in mine.

"Fitz gets super drunk," She said. "He stays downstairs and parties it up. Burn doesn't drink, but he always heads to the yard, somewhere quiet and with the least amount of people. And Wolf -" She made a face. "It's hard to describe what he does. I know he likes high places in the house. Balconies. Rooms."