herself to follow. Instead she stared at the ceiling thinking about James and Willa and all that she’d lost that night. She lay there for what felt like hours. She lay there until she heard the sound of the fireworks exploding in the night sky and only then did she force herself to pull her body from the bed. Too humiliated to turn on the lamp, she dressed slowly, finding her clothes as occasional bursts of light illuminated the way. Ironic: everyone else on this boat was celebrating. They knew nothing of Rose’s humiliation or how much she had given up to be on the boat that night. They had all turned a blind eye. While some danced, others drowned
.
Chapter 9
It took all of Lina’s flinty determination to remain focused on painting her fingernails a deep inky blue. Madge was practically dancing around the attic, spouting off ideas to destroy the Gregorys. Lina wasn’t sure what it was about Rose McCaan, but she couldn’t quite trust her. Everyone had an agenda, an angle. So what was Rose’s? She wasn’t friends with Willa. Not the way the rest of them were. Her mother was a Club employee working for the Captain, and her dad was the detective who had let James Gregory walk free. There was no way she would be willing to risk her parents for some girl she barely even knew. There was something she wasn’t telling them. Something she was hiding. Lina was sure of it.
“It’s perfect. We’ll plan something epic, and they’ll lose everything. No more country club, no more inheritance. Nothing.” Madge’s face glowed in the flickering light of the candles. “And after they’ve lost it all, maybe then the truth will come out. Maybe they’ll finally pay.”
“But how …” The words were barely past Rose’s lips before Sloane tactlessly interrupted.
“So … we’re going to steal all their money?”
Lina’s fingers tensed around the bottle of nail polish. Her eyes snapped to Rose, daring her to react.
Just try it
. Lina had put a lot of time and effort into training herself to ignore the things in her life that she couldn’t control, so she didn’t really see much point in this War. After years of doing everything she could to get her parents’ attention (including but not limited to: chopping off all of her ridiculously long black hair and dying it white-blonde, getting tattoos that snaked up and down her arms, and carefully creating a reputation for being a total slut), she had come to terms with their complete ambivalence about their only daughter’s well-being. She learned to forget that she even had parents.
When they’d pulled Willa’s body out of the lake, Lina knew just as well as everyone else on that yacht that James Gregory had killed one of her best friends. What she also knew was that talking to the police would result in her exile from the Club. And the Club was all Lina had. So she ignored that, too. And, of course, her lips were sealed for reasons she’d never be able to admit to herself—let alone anyone else.
She understood why Madge wanted revenge. She wanted to punish the Gregorys just as much. But Lina made it a point never to fight losing battles, and there was no doubt in her mind that they were going to fail miserably. She’d handed Madge her money and she’d be there for her friends. There was no way she was going to bail after what happened to Willa, but that didn’t mean she had to put up with bullshit from this new girl. To make matters worse, Rose clearly didn’t know what to make of Sloane.
When they were ten, Lina was the only girl not invited toCarlisle McCord’s birthday party. Sloane faked a stomachache, and they’d lounged around Sloane’s house slurping homemade chicken noodle soup at Mrs. Liu’s insistence. When Lina’s parents failed to show before winter holiday at Rennert, her boarding school, the headmistress made arrangements for her to board over break—that is, until Sloane drove all the way up to collect her. It was the best Christmas
.
Chapter 9
It took all of Lina’s flinty determination to remain focused on painting her fingernails a deep inky blue. Madge was practically dancing around the attic, spouting off ideas to destroy the Gregorys. Lina wasn’t sure what it was about Rose McCaan, but she couldn’t quite trust her. Everyone had an agenda, an angle. So what was Rose’s? She wasn’t friends with Willa. Not the way the rest of them were. Her mother was a Club employee working for the Captain, and her dad was the detective who had let James Gregory walk free. There was no way she would be willing to risk her parents for some girl she barely even knew. There was something she wasn’t telling them. Something she was hiding. Lina was sure of it.
“It’s perfect. We’ll plan something epic, and they’ll lose everything. No more country club, no more inheritance. Nothing.” Madge’s face glowed in the flickering light of the candles. “And after they’ve lost it all, maybe then the truth will come out. Maybe they’ll finally pay.”
“But how …” The words were barely past Rose’s lips before Sloane tactlessly interrupted.
“So … we’re going to steal all their money?”
Lina’s fingers tensed around the bottle of nail polish. Her eyes snapped to Rose, daring her to react.
Just try it
. Lina had put a lot of time and effort into training herself to ignore the things in her life that she couldn’t control, so she didn’t really see much point in this War. After years of doing everything she could to get her parents’ attention (including but not limited to: chopping off all of her ridiculously long black hair and dying it white-blonde, getting tattoos that snaked up and down her arms, and carefully creating a reputation for being a total slut), she had come to terms with their complete ambivalence about their only daughter’s well-being. She learned to forget that she even had parents.
When they’d pulled Willa’s body out of the lake, Lina knew just as well as everyone else on that yacht that James Gregory had killed one of her best friends. What she also knew was that talking to the police would result in her exile from the Club. And the Club was all Lina had. So she ignored that, too. And, of course, her lips were sealed for reasons she’d never be able to admit to herself—let alone anyone else.
She understood why Madge wanted revenge. She wanted to punish the Gregorys just as much. But Lina made it a point never to fight losing battles, and there was no doubt in her mind that they were going to fail miserably. She’d handed Madge her money and she’d be there for her friends. There was no way she was going to bail after what happened to Willa, but that didn’t mean she had to put up with bullshit from this new girl. To make matters worse, Rose clearly didn’t know what to make of Sloane.
When they were ten, Lina was the only girl not invited toCarlisle McCord’s birthday party. Sloane faked a stomachache, and they’d lounged around Sloane’s house slurping homemade chicken noodle soup at Mrs. Liu’s insistence. When Lina’s parents failed to show before winter holiday at Rennert, her boarding school, the headmistress made arrangements for her to board over break—that is, until Sloane drove all the way up to collect her. It was the best Christmas
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