The Dolls(74)

“Earth to Eveny,” Max says. I realize I was so lost in thought that I’d spaced out for a moment.

“Sorry. What were you saying?”

“Just asking if you had a date to the Mardi Gras Ball,” he says.

I shake my head. “No. Do you?” I’m hoping he won’t ask me to go as friends, because I’m holding out hope that something will change with Caleb.

So I’m relieved when he says in a stage whisper, “I’m thinking of asking Rob Baker,” he says. When I look at him blankly, he adds, “He’s in my Spanish class. I’m, like, ninety percent sure he’s been flirting with me lately.”

“Do you like him?” I ask.

“I guess. He’s a nice guy. And he’d be fun to pass the time with until Justin Cooper stops pretending to be straight.”

I gape at him. “Wait, what? Justin who’s dating Chloe?”

He leans in conspiratorially. “I don’t know what’s up with him. He and I were flirting like crazy for a year. He finally told me he was going to officially come out to his parents over the summer. Next thing I know, he’s dating Chloe St. Pierre.”

“No way,” I whisper. I’m absolutely positive Chloe has no idea about Justin’s sexual orientation. “What do you think happened?” I ask carefully.

“Maybe his parents weren’t cool with it, and he felt like he had to pretend to be straight? Whatever it was, though, he’s not worth it. If he can’t be true to who he is, I don’t need that.” I see sadness in his eyes behind the forced nonchalance.

“Maybe there’s an explanation,” I begin, but when Max gives me a questioning look, I realize I can’t explain further.

“What, that he’d rather be popular than be with me?” Max asks bitterly.

Drew interrupts us then to ask how we want to split the bill. As Max and I dig in our wallets for cash, Max leans over and says, “Don’t say anything, okay? Liv’s the only one who knows what happened. I figure that whatever’s going on with Justin is his business.”

I agree to keep Max’s story to myself, but I know it’s on me to fix this—not just for Max and Justin, but for Chloe too. As the four of us walk out together, I think how lucky Liv and Drew are to have a chance at a relationship. Whatever’s between them is real. Max deserves that too.


Drew and Liv hug awkwardly in the parking lot, then Drew gestures toward his pickup. “You ready?” he asks me.

I nod and say good-bye to Liv and Max before following after him.

“That was fun,” I say once I’m strapped in and we’re pulling out of the parking lot.

“Liv’s a great girl. And Max is kind of growing on me.”

“Growing on you?”

“I always thought he was sort of eccentric, with his Buddy Holly glasses and all those vests he likes to wear. But he’s okay.” He pauses. “You know, now that you have friends like that, I don’t know why you’d want to keep hanging out with the Dolls.”

I glance at him but don’t say anything. Defending Peregrine and Chloe to him is getting old. I get that he’s probably still hurting over losing Glory, and blaming the Dolls for making her life complicated is an easy thing to do. But the more I find out about this town, the more I realize that there are no clear-cut lines between right and wrong, good and bad.

“So, anything new with your band?” I ask, changing the subject. “Liv says you have a producer interested.”

“Yeah, he wants us to come to New Orleans and meet with him, maybe play him a few of our originals.”

“For real?” I grin at him. “Drew, that’s a huge deal! Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I’m just trying not to get ahead of myself,” he replies, but he looks excited. “Besides, I have to tie up a few loose ends here before I even think about getting out of this town.”

We’ve just turned on to Cemetery Road when the truck pulls sharply to the right, sending us skidding off the shoulder into a muddy embankment. I cry out and reach for the door to steady myself as Drew struggles to regain control.

“What the hell was that?” I demand once we’re back on the street. His face is pale, and his knuckles are white on the wheel.

“I have no idea,” he says unsteadily. “Something’s wrong with the steering.”

The words are barely out of his mouth when the truck jerks to the right again, but this time Drew loses the fight with the steering wheel, and the truck goes spinning wildly toward the cemetery. I scream and do my best to brace myself between the dashboard and the door. Drew tries desperately to overcorrect, but we’re only spinning faster.