The movie grabbed our attention once more, and a split second later, Tristan's hand was back, firmly clasping mine. And this time, he didn't let go.
Nineteen
Astrid
"We all know a tiger doesn't change its stripes," Annalise said from her spot in the front passenger seat. "Once an asshole, always an asshole."
Was she right? Did people never change?
"That's not true," Aria argued. "People can change if they really want to and if they put in the hard work."
"It's extremely rare," my oldest sister said. "I mean, look at Mom and Dad. They just get morethemas they get older, more and more steeped in the way they are. You know?"
She had a point. They were cute and all with each other, renewing their vows recently, but they were both kind of self-absorbed and always had been. And now, it seemed like they were just becoming more so.
"Might I interject?" Annalise's boyfriend Max pulled to a stop at a red light.
"No," Annalise said.
"Yes," Aria and I both said.
He laughed, giving his girlfriend the side eye then focusing in on her. "Well, my darling Lise, if you recall, we've both changed quite a bit recently. So I think people can change."
"Well, my darling Ax, I didn't say they couldn't. I said it wasrare. Extremely rare."
I let out a slow breath. "And even when people do change, how do you know it's real? How do you know it's not just temporary? Or just an act?"
Aria frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, Tristanseemsdifferent now. But how much of that is real and how much is just him being... I don't know, manipulative? Whatever game he's playing, he's been good at it for a long time." I shook my head. "It's all so confusing. Because in person, he's—he's funny and charming. He's good to his brother. He acts like he actually cares about people. But then I saw that picture, and I remembered exactly who he is."
"How recent was it, would you guess?" Aria, sitting next to me, asked.
Reviewing the awful picture of Tristan with his bully friends that had been embedded in my brain for the last several days, I shrugged. "I'm not sure. But it had to be within the last few years."
Aria suddenly gasped, then covered her mouth, averting her gaze.
My stomach dropped. "What?"
She shook her head, her eyes filled with some unknown horror.
"What?" Annalise repeated more urgently from the front seat. "You can't just gasp like that and not tell us."
I watched her take a breath and release it. "I just realized that the annual St. Lucius fundraising gala is coming up and so many alumni go. That's probably where the picture was from."
A cold wave crashed over me. A room full of people who had made my life hell. People who had laughed at me, whispered about me, mocked me. And their fearless leader, Tristan Hawthorne, grinning like he was the king of all Manhattan.
"You could show up and go all Carrie on them," Annalise said.
Aria and Max laughed.
"You know I haven't seen that movie." Horror films weren't exactly my thing. That zombie movie, which hadn't technically been horror, had given me nightmares for days now.
"Well, let's just say she gets her revenge." Annalise turned her body to look at me. "That's for sure."
Revenge. That word again. The word tasted different tonight. Sharper. More... something. Because my body was still reacting to the warmth of his hand, his touch, the way his thumb had brushed over my skin like he actually cared.
Which was something I wouldn't think about. Lots of people had nice hands that were strong and warm and sweet and tender and gentle and gave me chills every time they caressed me.
