Chapter 33
“Esteemed upperclassmen of Silver Shores High,” yelled a shirtless Mason from on top of a plastic table that looked ready to collapse. His hair was ruffled, his cheeks ruddy. A half-crumpled beer can was clutched at his side. “Your attention, please.”
A round of shushes swept the crowd, along with a few calls of “Boooo” and “What’s your mom’s number?
” and “Take your pants off,” the latter of which Charlie was fairly certain came from Lou.
It was hard to tell, as Charlie was standing in a small circle of people up by the tree line and couldn’t actually see where Lou was.
She assumed it was somewhere near the beer pong table.
Charlie was buzzed. Not drunk, just pleasantly loose.
The Gut sparkled around her, moonlight dancing across the smooth surface of the bay.
The sand was cool on her feet. The blue of the mermaids and the purple of the ?lvor were somehow both sharper and blurrier at once.
The voices of the people around her—Abigail, in particular, who had been steering the conversation in their little circle for most of the last half hour—were like tinkling songs.
She wasn’t sure if the beer in her hand was her second or third since the one she’d accepted from Elias.
“The pants will come off later,” Mason called with a wink. “For now, it is my honor to share that I have been chosen to bestow upon you all that most sacred of traditions”—he paused for dramatic effect—“the senior toast.”
Cheers and whistles rose. Down by her bare feet, Charlie felt the telltale patter of little hands. Henry, who had previously been rolling around in the wet sand, was scaling her body for a better look at Mason.
“You’re not missing much,” she whispered. “I’m sure this is going to be ridiculous.”
Henry sent an image of himself standing on Mason’s shoulder, waving his little arms at the crowd.
“No one would even see you, silly.”
RUDE
She bit back a laugh.
“We’ve had a tumultuous autumn,” Mason was saying from up on the rickety table. “Not to put a damper on the evening, but it would be callous not to acknowledge those who should be here tonight but aren’t.”
The crowd’s rowdy atmosphere flattened out as Mason’s words settled. He didn’t need to say who he was talking about; they were all picturing the same people: the four who disappeared that past September, and the six lost in the last week.
“In their honor, I’d like to make two toasts tonight.” Mason raised the crumpled can in his hand. “The first: to their memory. Silver Shores is a small town. A family. We miss those members of the family dearly. Even the ones we didn’t actually know. So, tonight, we drink to them.”
Hushed agreement rose from the crowd as a sea of aluminum and red plastic waved in the air. Even the ?lvor seemed to pause their buzzing chatter.
Fear tried to gnaw at the back of her mind.
She knew she should be more worried. Worried about Rattatosk, about her friends and brother.
Worried that there would be more hushed words and drinks raised after tonight.
But when she glanced over at Elias, who was lingering beside the dock with his senior friends, and found that he was already looking at her, ready with a wink and a half smile, she found it hard to feel too worried.
But maybe that was the alcohol.
She rolled her eyes at Elias and looked up at Mason, who had moved on in his toast.
“—would want us to enjoy ourselves tonight,” he was saying. “Especially the Peterson boys. No one could hit a keg stand quite like Oscar.”
Scattered laughter.
“And so, for my second and final toast, I ask that we drink to us. To the brave men and women of Silver Shores High.” Mason raised his can again, eliciting whoops and whistles from the crowd.
“None of you know how dangerous it is to live where we do. Getting out of bed every morning is a feat of great courage, and I commend you all for doing so.”
And that was when Charlie realized just how drunk Mason must be.
As her peers exchanged confused glances, she looked over at Elias with wide, panicky eyes.
He returned the expression. When Mason opened his mouth to continue his speech, Elias bounded the three steps it took to cross the sand and yanked Mason off the table.
Mason stumbled when his feet hit the sand.
He likely would have face-planted if it weren’t for the preternatural strength with which Elias caught and steadied him.
Charlie was grateful that most of the party was too drunk to notice.
“A truly epic senior toast from Mason Hudson!” yelled Elias, throwing an arm over Mason’s shoulder. “Let’s give it up.”
Tentatively, the audience started to clap.
“And now,” Elias went on, “Mason would like to inform everyone that he buried three extra handles of tequila over by the driftwood log. A special treat for all!”
This announcement brought genuine cheers of excitement, along with a rush toward the driftwood. Charlie took off down the sand toward Mason and Elias. Henry squawked, sending Charlie colors of panic as he grabbed hold of her neck to keep from falling off.
“What the hell was that?” Abigail hissed, reaching the boys right as Charlie did. “Are you trying to get tossed into a psych ward?”
“Hey, hey.” Elias held up a hand. “Go easy on the man. He was just speaking his truth.”
“Exaaaa-ctly,” Mason slurred, pointing at Elias. “This guy gets it.” He paused, blinking at Elias’s face several times. “Wait. I’m not supposed to like you.”
“You sound like your sister.” Elias adjusted his grip on Mason’s torso, then started to drag him across the beach, toward the oversize cooler at the edge of the water. “Now, let’s get you some H2O before you yack.”
“H2O,” Mason repeated as he stumbled beside Elias. “Yuck. I hate chemistry.”
Abigail watched them go, a bewildered expression on her face. “What’s with Elias’s nice-guy act tonight?”
Charlie bit her lower lip. “I’m not sure it’s an act.”
Whipping her head around, Abigail narrowed her eyes at Charlie. “Nuh-uh. Do not tell me you’re falling for his bullshit again.”
“I’m not falling for anything,” Charlie said defensively. “I’m just saying, I think he genuinely wants to help us. Only because his boss told him to, but still.”
“Charlie.” Abigail gave her friend the kind of withering stare that would have made a lesser woman crumble.
“Come on. You’re smarter than that. Elias works for no one but himself.
Not even Loki. If murdering everyone at this party served whatever twisted purpose he’s working toward, he would do it.
In a heartbeat. And he wouldn’t feel any remorse. ”
“You have no idea what purpose he’s working toward,” Charlie snapped. “Did you ever stop to consider that? To consider that maybe he’s trying to do something good?”
Abigail blinked once, before shaking her head sadly. “My gods. He’s completely brainwashed you.”
Shame and fury washed over Charlie, a confusing blend that left her uncertain whether she wanted to apologize to Abigail or yell at her. She opted for neither, choosing instead to storm away.
After that, the party flew.
Charlie was played beer pong with a girl from her Spanish class.
Then, she held Lou’s legs as her friend did a keg stand, Henry bouncing up and down on the sand below and sending colors of encouragement.
Shortly thereafter, she lost track of the v?tte, but she didn’t worry about it.
If Henry was in danger, she would sense it—and vice versa.
She didn’t think about Rattatosk. All she thought about was the breeze rolling in from the bay, the laughter rattling her chest.
And then there was the music.
Whoever was manning the aux was doing a fantastic job.
They played just the right mix of pop and oldies, EDM and disco, Nicki Minaj and ABBA.
Throughout the night, as Charlie bounced from person to person, activity to activity, she also bounced on the balls of her feet, feeling the music slowly creep under her skin.
She tried to keep it in check, but all it took was one tug from Lou and Abigail.
Suddenly, they were up with the seniors on the dock, which was steadily transforming into the least-safety-code-approved nightclub of all time.
Even in a state of slightly lowered inhibitions, Charlie felt a little self-conscious dancing.
Lou clearly had no such qualms, throwing herself right into the middle of the dock to flail about and grabbing hold of reluctant bystanders to make them join.
Even Abigail was letting loose; Charlie spotted her over by Bex, laughing as they danced side by side.
There was nothing romantic in the way they were moving together, but Charlie was happy to see that they’d made up.
For the first few songs, Charlie just swayed about, bobbing her head and waving her beer can above her head. But by the end of the third song, she felt that familiar prickle on the back of her neck.
Elias stood in the sand around a table with Mason’s friends, who had started a game of flip cup. Everyone was locked into the game, competitive and overly invested in the way that only boys can be about a sport involving drinking beer and flipping a cup over.
Everyone but Elias.
His eyes were shamelessly on Charlie. Watching the sway of her hips, the little slice of skin exposed just below her naval.
Before, she had felt his gaze as a warm, comforting presence.
Now, it was something else entirely. Now, it was a lion captivated by its prey.
A beast who couldn’t decide whether he wanted to eat the thing before him or protect it at all costs. And Charlie loved every second of it.