9781250209153

Irene’s expression darkens. Her chest rises and falls beneath the water. I
force myself to keep my eyes above her neckline.
“The first time we hooked up was the same night she took that video,”
Irene says.
“You’re shitting me.”
“I’m not.”
“So you knew she was filming you?”
“I was too drunk to care.” She pauses. “I drank a lot back then.”
“And now you don’t.” It’s not a question. I’d inferred as much after
watching her sip water all night.
She turns away and glances up at the dark skylight. “Did you and Tally
sleep together?”
The question knocks the breath out of me. For a long beat, I can’t
answer. “Now who thinks they’re entitled to personal history?”
Irene doesn’t laugh. Her eyes burn into mine. “Did you?”
I look away from her. “Yes.”
We’re silent. The Jacuzzi bubbles simmer and pop.
“Did you and Charlotte sleep together?”
Irene brushes a finger against her chin. “Only when we were drunk.”
“And she has the nerve to pull that shit on you tonight?”
Irene is quiet. Then she says: “Charlotte hates me because I loved her.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Says the girl who can’t figure out whether she wants to bone or murder
her ex-girlfriend.”
I fall silent.
“Charlotte is the reason I have this scar.” She touches her eyebrow,
smoothing it over like one day she can make it full again. Even in the dim
light of the hot tub, I can see the break in her skin.
“We went to this Candlehawk party last year,” she continues. “It was the
craziest shit I’ve ever seen. Pills everywhere you looked, girls feeling each
other up while people watched, some guy sobbing in the corner because he
was so tweaked out. All I wanted was to go home and be together, just the
two of us, but Charlotte caught a glimpse of Prescott from across the room,
and that was the end of it.”