Chapter 24
TWENTY-FOUR
JESSICA
It’s late evening. Chris and his friends have headed to Dark Lanes, which means I’m out from under his thumb for a couple of hours.
Rain shows up shortly after I’ve finished showering after my run. As I open the door to her incessant knocking, dressed in a towel, I’m met with a sparkly glint in her eye and a bottle of vodka she no doubt stole from some random gas station.
“Ready to get into trouble?” she asks, looking drop-dead gorgeous in a short, tight red dress made of shiny fabric. I gawk at the spaghetti straps and ruched sides, with drawstrings that let you tighten or loosen it.
“I know,” she says. “I look fabulous.” Then she saunters past, like a cat model in high heels, to put on some dance music.
“Rain?” I ask, shutting the door as Summer joins us in one of Chris’s oversized hoodies and joggers.
“Hmm?” The girl finds a song she likes and begins to sway her hips to the slow beat, bottle in hand.
“Who are you dressed up for?”
She stops dancing and looks down at herself. “Can a girl not wear a pretty dress?”
Summer and I exchange a knowing glance. We’ve been friends with Rain since we were little. While she always looks good, she’s dressed to kill tonight, and I wonder which poor guy has gotten on her wrong side. Whoever they are, they’ll be on their knees by the end of the evening.
Rain drinks straight from the bottle, then holds it out for me. I accept, sniffing the alcohol first and making a face.
“I can’t drink this neat.”
“Of course you can. You’re from the Falls. We’re not prissy like those Heights bitches.”
My brows jump, and I glance up to see her rooting through her purse for a pocket mirror. Something is up with her tonight.
As she checks her makeup, I take a quick swig and choke on the bitter alcohol, then hand the bottle to Summer, who holds it but doesn’t drink.
Rain puts the mirror back in her purse and looks at us. “What are you waiting for? We’re heading out.”
“Where?” I ask at the same time Summer says, “What about Mom? I was gonna head over. Spend the night.”
Rain crosses to us and fixes Summer’s curls framing her face. “I say this as your friend and life mentor, my young Skywalker.”
I scoff. “Star Wars? Really? Who knew random hookups in Boone’s bedroom would be so educational.”
Rain ignores me, intent on her latest protege. “You can’t stop living, babe. Your mom doesn’t want that. Besides, I need my wingwoman.”
“Your wingwoman?” Summer sounds uncertain as she glances at me.
Rain breezes past us on a mission to pick a different song. “Someone has to step up and take on the role now that Jessica is preoccupied with Ravencourt’s enormous dick.”
My mouth drops open. “Hey! That’s not true.”
Rain stops in her tracks and stares at me. They both do. And then the room explodes with laughter.
“She’s funny, your sister,” Rain says to Summer, who snickers into her oversized sleeve, while our crazy friend pokes her tongue in her cheek, pretending to give a blowjob.
I cross my arms and lift a brow, waiting her out, trying my hardest not to crack a smile.
“Where are we going?” I ask when she’s finally done making fun of me.
“Isn’t it obvious?” With a glint of mischief, she takes the vodka from Summer and tips it back. The clear liquid sloshes inside the bottle, and she drinks it down, staining the rim with her blood-red lipstick. Then she hands it to me. “We’re going to Dark Lanes.”
Rain sings along at the top of her lungs to Liquid by Ashnikko, the countless fake-gold bracelets clinking on her wrists. She probably shouldn’t drive in her state, but that’s never stopped her before.
“Here, you need some of this,” she says to us. She smacks the dashboard open and roots through it while watching the road.
Finding what she’s looking for, she holds the small pouch out, pinched between two fingers. “I scored it from Dex.”
I take the pouch and study the small pills inside. “He’s back out of jail and dealing again? Didn’t he get seven years or something?”
“Guess he knew the right people.” She looks at me, at the pouch in my hand. “You don’t have to worry. It’s good stuff.”
I put it back on the dashboard, and Rain gives me a surprised look.
It doesn’t feel right to show up at Dark Lanes with drugs in my system.
Kane will probably be there with his friends.
I don’t know why I suddenly care so much when I never used to, but I’m already self-conscious about my background and financial situation.
I don’t want them thinking I’m a gold digger, and I don’t want to play into the Falls stereotype either, which, if I’m being honest, is a toxic way to think.
I shouldn’t be ashamed of where I’m from.
I glance at Rain, who is dancing behind the wheel, hands raised in the air.
Or who I’m friends with. I should be proud of where I’m from. After all, it shaped me into who I am.
So what if we’re poor? So what if we’re not heiresses? So what if we’ve never attended a debutante ball, like Kane.
So fucking what?
My handbag rests on my lap. I open it and glance inside, and when I see the dagger, my heart kicks harder. For obvious reasons, I don’t want Kane discovering it in my possession. I wrapped it in a kitchen towel before we left the house.
If everything goes to plan tonight, I’ll convince him to take me back to his place. Once he falls asleep, I’ll sneak out and return it to his father’s office. No one ever has to know it was missing, and I can finally stop feeling guilty.
The first time Kane sought me out and cornered me in the bathroom, I blurted that I’d pay him.
It was the first thing that came to mind and I didn’t even think as the words left my lips.
At the time, he had no solid proof it was actually me, at least not from the surveillance footage. I’d worn a mask to hide my identity.
Luckily, he didn’t catch the slip. I doubt he knows.
Now I just want to be rid of it so I don’t have to carry this guilt anymore. It’s too late to hand it back outright. What would I even say? Sorry I stole it from you? Yeah, right.
“We’re here,” Rain says, tearing me from my thoughts. In the back seat, Summer leans forward through the gap, her eyes wide as she takes in the busy scene.
Cars are everywhere. Some are parked hazardously along both sides of the road, hoods up, engines running. Others, like us, glide through the throngs of people heading toward the races.
“I’m already horny,” Rain says as the modified car in front revs its engine, rap music blasting from the open windows.
“My brother will lock Summer and me up forever if he sees us.”
“Malice will lock me up, too.” Her slow grin is mischievous and contagious. “So let’s not get caught.”
Seriously by Trebill blasts through the speakers of a nearby sports car, where a group of guys inspect what’s under the hood. It must be impressive, given how wide everyone grins, except for the blonde guy in the middle, who reaches in with a frown while the others keep talking.
The place looks different now than it did when I was here with Kane. Headlights cut through the dark, flashing as drivers test their brakes. Neon underglow reflects off the asphalt. Heat rolls off the cars, making the air feel heavy.
A guy’s arm brushes mine as he squeezes past. I step closer to Rain. She cranes her neck, trying to see the cars doing doughnuts, but I’m not wearing stilettos, so I don’t have a chance of seeing anything. The same goes for Summer, who looks mildly terrified.
“Come on.” Rain links her fingers through mine and weaves through the crowd to find a spot with a better view.
The air smells of gas and the bite of burned rubber. Smoke pours from the drifters, swallowing the street. I’d lie if I said it doesn’t excite me. All the noise. The smells. The streaks of pink and green in the smoky air as expensive cars roll past, their neon lights spilling across the blacktop.
An orange Chevrolet Camaro drives past, the passenger window sliding down to reveal a guy with a mop of dark hair.
“Uff, mamacita!” he says to Rain with the kind of playful, charming grin that makes it impossible not to smile back.
The car speeds off, and Rain leans in to say something, but then her eyes widen, and she grabs mine and Summer’s hands. “We gotta go.”
We hurry to a cluster of parked cars, where she makes us crouch behind a black Ford Ranger.
“What the hell?” I whisper-hiss.
She peers around the corner. “Overprotective brothers incoming.”
Summer and I trade a glance. My sister starts to rise, but Rain, like a ninja, pulls her back down. “Stay low.”
“They should have driven past by now,” I say.
“They’re on foot.” She crawls forward again, careful not to dirty her knees. “They’ve stopped. Why have they stopped?” she whines.
Ignoring her frustrated huff, I unzip my purse to check my phone for any new messages from Kane.
There’s nothing. My heart sinks, and I toss my phone back into the bag. Not this again. The back-and-forth with him. Why does he do this? Go silent on me for days?
“Shit! They’re heading in this direction.”
Rain shuffles back, wiggling her ass and forcing me to retreat into Summer, who scuffles along with us.
We press our backs to the door, still crouching, and I lock eyes with a brunette by the car opposite ours.
She’s part of a group of women, all dressed in leather jackets and short skirts, staring at us like we’ve completely lost it.
“Overprotective brothers,” Rain explains to them with a lighthearted scoff, waving it off. I squeeze my eyes shut in embarrassment.
Just then, Jackson’s laughter drifts over the thumping bass. Rain shoos me along with a laugh, urging me to hurry.
“I hate you,” I grumble.
“You love me.”
“Can you two stop bickering?” Summer hisses over her shoulder.
“She started it,” Rain says.
“Whatever, oh wise Obi-Wan Kenobi.”
“Very funny.”
We shuffle along the side of the car like crabs, just managing to round the corner as the boys come into view.