I came back to school the following week still in shock. I felt numb. Stupid. Furious at myself. After disappearing for over seventy-two hours, Zac suddenly started texting and calling me like a madman. I blocked his number. Amari and Nat were very concerned when they saw me. I hadn't slept for days. My cheeks were gaunt, and I had dark circles under my eyes.

Nat asked me what was wrong.

Half-heartedly, I congratulated her, "Looks like you'll be valedictorian at graduation. It's game over for me."

Her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "What are you talking about, bish? You've been number one since middle school!"

"I failed the AP History project."

Amari gasped, "No! You're lying. Was it because of Zac?"

"He didn't fucking show up on presentation day."

Nat looked outraged. "And Tilton's gonna penalize you for another student's absence?"

I shrugged despondently. "I tried to argue with him about it, but, apparently, the man's syllabus is his Bible now. I can either accept it like a chump or petition for a grade change through Principal Farnsworth."

Amari's brow creased deeply. "What are you gonna do, Cate?"

"I'm gonna petition for a grade change, of course. If that doesn't work, then I'll ask Tilton for some sort of independent study or extra credit assignment to boost my scores."

"That sounds like a total nightmare! Have you forgotten that midterms are right around the corner? And aren't you flying down to Virginia for Model UN? How are you gonna get everything done?"

I felt like breaking down. "Stop... sleeping?"

Nat frowned at me. "Don't kill yourself over school! It's not worth it. You're gonna get into Stanford either way."

I snapped at Nat, "That's easy for you to say! You're gonna be the fucking valedictorian now."

"Whoa, Cate, that was unnecessary," Amari admonished gently, "Nat was just looking out for you."

"And you," I turned to Amari, "you're only in the top twenty because your parents donated that shiny new gym to the school during freshman year! You are aware of that, right?"

Nat started crying.

Amari shot me the dirtiest look and put her arm around Nat. "Fuck you, Cate! I know you feel like shit right now, but that doesn't give you any excuse to take it out on us. We're leaving!"

As I watched Amari and Nat turn away from me and storm off, I fought the urge to cry. I knew I had fucked up with my friends. The person I really should've been ripping apart was Zac, but he wasn't here right now.

I shuffled towards fifth period feeling like a complete asshole. From my peripheral vision, though, a flash of red and blonde hair walked by me.

The fuck?

My head whipped around.

Why were Lily and Bea walking and talking together down the hallway like the best of friends?

They rounded the corner in a burst of giggles and disappeared from my sight. My mind didn't really have the bandwidth to process the repercussions of those two joining forces, but, most likely, it wouldn't end well for me.

Fifth period blended into sixth, I attended a two-hour Model United Nations meeting, and, by the end of it all, I felt like a walking zombie. On the way to the parking lot, my face nearly ran into a hard, solid chest.

"Damn it, Cate1 Why haven't you responded? I've been trying to reach you all day!"

It was the Antichrist.

I glared at Zac coldly. "I'm going home."

"No, we need to talk," he tried to grab my hand, but I smacked him away.

"No, we fucking don't."

"I'm really sorry about Thursday!"

I cocked my head skeptically. "Are you, though?"

"Can you just listen to me for a minute?"

I tried to move around Zac, but he blocked me. I stared up at him with pure animosity burning in my eyes. "I swear to God, Mazur, I'll go straight to the front office right now and tell our new principal what you did on Sassy if you don't let me pass."

He stepped out of my way but not before muttering in my ear, "I know you're mad as hell, and you have every right to be, but at least give me a chance to explain. Please?"

In response, I kneed the fucker in the balls and shoved him out of my way.

Reeling in pain, Zac grunted and groaned weakly, "Motherfucker! I guess that's a 'no.'"

***

Later that evening, I had just started eating dinner by myself when Bea traipsed into the kitchen. I purposely didn't make eye contact and kept eating, hoping my sister would buzz off if I ignored her long enough.

Bea didn't get the memo. She slithered over. "What happened to you after the party last Saturday?"

"Why do you care?" I mumbled through a mouth full of buttery shellfish.

"Did you come home at all on Saturday? Or you were out all night? Trick told me that you didn't come back until Sunday morning."

"Again, I ask, why do you fucking care?"

"Your behavior is a reflection on us. My mom's gonna be in town for Thanksgiving, and I don't think you should be drinking and whoring around while she's here. It'll make us all look bad."

What was it with everyone's moms suddenly showing up in Wellesley?

First, it was Zac's mom. Now, my dad's evil ex decided to make an appearance. Trick and Bea's mother, Madeline Danvers, née Hayes, had grown up in the storied, old money enclaves of Houston, Texas. Like many of the other wealthy families in Houston, her family's fortune had spurted from the ground up in gallons and gallons of black gold.

Madeline was very set in her ways, very conservative, and very concerned about maintaining appearances. To her, upholding tradition and good family values were paramount, and my siblings were deathly afraid of disappointing her. The only reason Bea hadn't leaked the clause—you know, the one about my dad essentially disowning me once I came of age—in our parents' divorce settlement was because it would make her mother look cruel. Vindictive. The spitting image of Cinderella's wicked stepmother.

There was nothing I enjoyed more than watching Bea and Trick struggle to adjust their crooked halos and retract their devil tails in front of Madeline whenever she decided to pay them a visit.

Leaning back in my chair, I smirked at my sister. "I don't think you understand, Bea, I simply can't stop myself from drinking or whoring around. I may have a serious problem."

Bea glared at me and retorted in bitchy tones, "The first step to recovery is accepting that you have a problem."

I made an expression as though a lightbulb just clicked on. "That's true. I have so much room for improvement. Maybe I should ask your mom about how to deal with these issues? She's such a kind and giving soul. I'm sure Madeline would be happy to offer some advice. While I'm at it, should I ask her about what to do with Trick? I noticed he brought home a girl on Saturday. I know abstinence until marriage is supposed to be your guys' thing, but teenage pregnancies happen all the time. I hope he's using protection."

My sister's face puckered in distress. "Don't tell my mom about Evonne. Please."

I studied her for a moment. Bea never begged me for anything. "Why are you so worried? It's not like you're the one who slept with her."

Bea's cheeks paled noticeably. "I know we've never been on the best of terms, but can you just act like my sister for once and keep your mouth shut?"

"How about 'no?'"

"How about this? If you do this one thing for me, I'll owe you a favor after my mom goes back to Texas. Anything you want."

Anything I wanted, huh?

The image of her walking down the hallway with Lily flickered across my mind.

"Fine," I agreed, "I won't say anything to anyone about Evonne, but you better be ready to pay up whenever I say so."

Relief flooded her face. "Thank you, Cate. You have no idea how much this means to me."

After this matter was settled between us, Bea and I went our separate ways in the big echoing house that we shared. A thought crept into my mind. I had always believed my sister to be nothing but a viper who took pleasure in my pain. However, maybe there was more to Bea than I thought. Whatever her reasoning was for hiding Evonne's presence in our home from her mother, I decided to respect her privacy. I supposed even vipers had people they cared about and circumstances that weighed them down.

Once I was alone in my bedroom, I locked the door and walked over to my twin-sized bed. After fishing out a small silver key hidden between my mattress and box spring, I used it to unlock the bottom drawer of a metal filing cabinet beside my desk. A bright pink vibrator greeted me. I set it aside on the floor. I had purchased the toy with the intention of using it as a deterrant, purposely placing it at very visible spot in my drawer to discourage others, like Bea or Mrs. Watson or Trick, from rummaging through my shit. I was banking on the likelihood that they'd probably get grossed out by the vibe and feel too embrassed to keep digging in my drawer.

I slid my finger beneath a tiny gap along the bottom edge of the drawer and popped out a squarish piece of sheet metal. Years ago, I had it custom-made and spray painted to match the insides of my cabinet at a local home improvement store. At the bottom of the drawer, a pile of cash, neatly stacked in twenty, fifty, and hundred dollar bills, awaited me.

Unlike Trick and Bea, I wasn't allowed to have a credit card. Madeline had insisted on it, and, as usual, my dad gave into her demands because he didn't care enough to argue with her on my behalf. My dad usually handed me a wad of cash at the beginning of the month, and I had been siphoning off parts of my allowance into this little nest egg since I was thirteen, the year I first learned about what would happen to me once I turned eighteen. To date, I'd saved up almost $15,000.

I counted out three hundred dollars and quickly put everything else back in order. Vibe and all. Locked the drawer. I wanted to do something nice for Amari and Nat to make up for the word vomit I spewed at them earlier that day.

Maybe a girls' night out at a nice restaurant?

No, I was too busy to go out.

A set of earrings from Tiffany's then?

Nah, jewelry seemed redundant since Amari just got a Tiffany's bracelet from Archie.

As I continued brainstorming different ideas that might help to appease my friends' anger, the notification bell on my phone dinged. I reached over to check my phone.

It was a text from a hidden number.

please come outside, cate.