Page 183 of Burn Bright
“Audrey wanted me to. I’m here for her.”
Jesus. I rub hard at my temple. “You’re spying on me for my little sister?”
“She just wanted to know if you had a ‘tragic demeanor’ or whatever. If you still seem happy in New York. I’m supposed to relay that back to her.”
“Yeah, and what will you be relaying?”
“That you’re more pissed off I’m here.”
“Perfect.” I run my fingers through my hair again. “Maybe she won’t get any ideas.”
Vada chokes out a laugh. “This washeridea. She has the wildest plans.” She smiles afterward. The tiny gap between her two front teeth caused a lot of teasing when she was younger. Winona used to get in fights with guys over it. To which I would bail her out of and do my best not to throw a punch at those pricks.
It hits me, though, that the first smile I’ve seen from Vada is for her best friend.
She peeks back at the doorway. “Xander’s bodyguard saw me, and I’m positive your snitchy security team will be ratting me out to my parents any minute. I’ll be grounded for eternity, so this party is now my funeral. Here lies Vada Abbey, girl who died trying to check on Ben Cobalt.”
“For Audrey Cobalt,” I add.
“Of course for Audrey. She’s one of my best friends.” She drags her gaze to the fireplace where a strand of purple and orange lights blink. Her face is baking. “But I probably messed everything up with Easton.”
I frown. “How?”
She presses her fingers to her mouth, unsure if she wants to tell me.
“Do I want to know?”
“I’ve been hooking up with him—when he was a senior at Dalton.”
I stare hard at her. “Yeah, I didn’t want to know that. Thanks, Vada.”
“Well, the benefits part of our friendship has been over for a while.That asshole won’t do anything with me while he’s in college and I’m still in high school.” That actually makes melike Easton a fraction more. “Now everything is too complicated with him. Made more complicated after tonight.” She winces. “I constantly choose my friends over what’s in my best interest. So yay me.”
It’s not computing. “What made it more complicated?”
“He knows that I used his invite for the purpose of findingyou.”
Oh this is now making too much sense. Easton has been like a Brillo pad rubbing against my face because he thinks I have a “thing” with Vada. “I will be telling him I’m not into you as soon as I see him. You should do the same.”
Her face is bright red, but she nods repeatedly, then we go toward the exit together. At the doorway, she says, “I know I’ve texted you an embarrassing number of times, but you really should talk to Winona. She hasn’t been the same without you in her life. You’re the OG sunshine boy, and she’s needed your light more than ever. Without you, it’s just darker.”
I always thought Eliot was the one who leaves an unbearable shadow in his wake.
I’m now more afraid that it’s actually been me.
42
BEN COBALT
I’ve been spiraling after I split from Vada. Mentallyreeling.
I can’t stick around.I can’t.Winona will eventually be okay. The absence of me isn’t as harmful as the existence. That’s what I’ve come to know.
What happens when I leave Harriet? She has my brothers. She has my family. She won’t be cast into a cold, shadowy darkness. Right? Does she need me? Why do I feel like I need her?
No, I’ve known I need her. Like right now, the urge to be with her is a sledgehammer, and I’m speeding through this massive house trying to find the cutest scowl, the most beautiful brain—so when I do find her, I exhale.She’s here.
I slow into a music room. Walls soundproofed with padding. Guitars, violins, brass instruments—they all rest in racks near stereo equipment. She’s seated on a stool in front of a drum kit, sticks in hand, and my frown takes hold of me.
