Lies You Never Told Me(47)

“It’s great.” His voice is brisk and delighted—professional and detached. So much so that I start to wonder if I look as good as I think I do. Is he just humoring me? Humoring Oksana? I don’t want to look “great.” I want to look beautiful.

“We’ll do a white petticoat,” says Oksana. “And I’ve got a beaded net that’ll look good against her hair.”

He nods thoughtfully. “It’s quite striking. Good job, Oksana.”

Oksana makes an affirmative little grunt in the back of her throat. “Okay, Juliet, step down. I’ll take it in tonight.”

I hop off the block. The skirt skims the floor, covering my toes. I feel like bolting into the changing room so I can hide my face. But before I can, Aiden steps close.

“It’s perfect.” His voice is still brisk, but it’s softer, gentler. No one eavesdropping would think anything of it, but I feel the caress in the words.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

I wish more than anything that we were alone. So that he could turn me around and look at the costume from every angle. So I could run my fingers through his hair. But we can’t even risk standing next to each other too long. I step away and into the changing room. By the time I come back out, he’s gone.

And weirdly, Kendall and Brynn are sitting side by side.

The sight of them together hits me hard. It doesn’t make any sense—it’s like seeing a cat riding on a dog. They lean toward each other, Kendall speaking quick and low, Brynn’s eyes wide, and for a moment I’m sure that they’re talking about me.

“Hey,” I say, flopping down next to them. Kendall gives me a disdainful sneer, but Brynn turns toward me.

“Well, that was freaky,” she says.

I cock my head. “What was?”

“Uh, Mr. Perv charging into a room of naked girls?” She curls her lip with distaste.

“No one was naked,” I say.

“Yeah, well, he didn’t know that.” She scowls. “Okay, I didn’t want to tell you this because I didn’t want to freak you out, but Kendall . . . saw something.”

My throat gets tight. I sneak a look at Kendall. That day in Cannon Beach. Did she see more than I thought she did? Did she see me with Aiden?

Kendall purses her lips prissily. I can tell she’s thrilled to have information someone wants.

“Like, okay, the other day at rehearsal I lost my phone. What else is new, right?” She glances from me to Brynn, hoping for a laugh, and then gives up. “Anyway, I came back into the theater to look for it and I found one on the edge of the stage. So I just grabbed it without thinking. But when I looked at the screen I realized it wasn’t mine.”

I give her a look like, so what?

“Well . . .” Kendall glances at Brynn. “There were, like, dozens of pictures of you on it.”

I blink. “What?”

“Pictures. Of you. During rehearsal.” She takes in a breath, savoring this final bit of intel. “And then Mr. Hunter came in and saw me with it and got this funny look on his face, like, really embarrassed. And he kind of laughed and said, ‘Oh good, you found it.’ Then he took it from me.”

There’s silence for a long moment. I stare at her, wondering if that’s really and truly all she knows . . . or if she’s hanging on to something she might have seen in Cannon Beach. I glance over at Brynn.

“Is that it?” I ask.

She raises an eyebrow. “Don’t you think it’s kind of sketchy?”

I shrug. “So he wants to take pictures of the production.”

“Yeah, but, there weren’t pictures of anyone else,” Kendall says.

I roll my eyes. “Yeah, but I’m kind of the lead. Doesn’t it make sense for him to have a bunch of pics of me?”

“Oh, come on,” Brynn bursts out. “You don’t think it’s weird? He’s, like, obsessed with you or something.”

I’ve finally had enough. “You just don’t like him because he didn’t give you Juliet. Get over it, Brynn.”

The words whip out of my mouth before I have a chance to think about them. Brynn freezes in her place. She looks like I’ve slapped her.

Kendall clears her throat. “Gosh, guys, I didn’t mean to start any drama.”

Neither one of us answers. We stare each other down. Once upon a time I would have apologized—I would have hurried to smooth things over. But I’m tired of Brynn throwing shade at me and then pretending I’m being too sensitive.

I’m tired of making things easier for everyone else.

It seems like forever before she grabs her purse and stalks out of the green room, letting the door slam behind her.





TWENTY-FIVE


    Gabe




Let’s talk. Now.

I stand in Sasha’s driveway, staring up at the house. It’s almost one A.M., and the windows are dark, the neighborhood silent except for the distant sound of a barking dog. I stare down at my phone, waiting for a reply. Somehow, I know she’s up.

The mini-camera is in my pocket. It’s maybe five ounces, but it feels like it weighs five hundred pounds.

I find her window, with its sheer white curtains. Just as I thought, her light is on. I stand for a moment, my eyes narrowed. Then I pick up a handful of the smooth white pebbles that fill the garden. One by one, I hurl them at the glass.