“And if we’re pointing fingers about partying,” I said, “those accusatory fingers should be pointed a little closer to home,” I mumbled. “Like, right up at the main house.”
The two of them stopped and looked at me. Then Exie said, “You got something you need to tell us?”
I shook my head. I’d said too much, and regret was seeping into my clothes and making me feel uncomfortable. But no one could pry out a secret like Exie could. She put her hand over mine on the counter and looked into my eyes. “Go on, then. You’ll feel better when you’ve unloaded it.”
“We won’t tell,” Starla said. “What’s told in the grotto stays in the grotto.”
I groaned and finished stacking the bottled water. “First of all, I just want to say that I thought cocaine was a myth, like, something that only happened in movies from the eighties.”
“Oh, Jane,” Starla said. “I told you that charter school education wouldn’t prepare you for the real world. Wait… who are we talking about? Not Rosa. Mad Dog? No way. He can’t even finish a glass of wine.”
Exie made an exasperated sound.“Velvet.”
“Yes.” I covered my face. “What am I supposed to do?”
“Is it bad?” Exie asked. “Like, how much are we talking?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I never saw her doing it back home. But Fen warned me that it’s all over the lake, and he said she shouldn’t be hanging out with certain people. Pretty sure she’s with one of them right now.” I gave them a little rundown about Battle of the Bands and some of Velvet’s recent video call activity that made me suspicious.
Exie shook her head. “Mad Dog is going to go ballistic.”
“So mad,” Starla said. “He can’t find out.”
“No, you have to tell him,” Exie said. “What if something happened to her? You’d be responsible.”
Ugh. Too much stress. “Youcannotsay anything. I’m not even supposed to know. Fen is the one who found her doing… the credit card thing on the mirror…?”
“Lines?” Starla said.
I nodded. “What do I do?”
“Proceed carefully,” Starla advised. “We’re not supposed to stick our noses into the Family’s business. Remember Norma’s rules.”
“You think Mad Dog cares about rules when it comes to the safety of his children?” Exie said. “You haven’t been in this household long enough. He’d want to know.”
“What if it was just a one-time party thing?” I asked. “What if she doesn’t do it again?”
Exie mumbled to herself unhappily while the cabin wassilent. Then her eyes narrowed, and she asked, “This Fen boy who helped you with Velvet—that’s where your daddy is right now? Fixing this boy’s car while his brother is out of the country?”
“Oh-ho!” Starla laughed. “When you put it that way, it sounds a little fucked up.”
How did this get turned back around on me? “No—not fucked up. My dad was just helping out. And we aren’t doing anything wrong. I’ve tried to talk to Eddie about all this, but he won’t text me back! He’s lied about a bunch of stuff, which is probably why he won’t text me back. But I know he’s on the island already, unless he’s shipwrecked in some storm and drifting on the back of a slow turtle.”
“What?” Exie frowned at me. “Slow down. You aren’t making sense.”
“Check her nose, Exie,” Starla said, laughing.
“Never mind,” I said. “And Fen and I are just friends! We aren’t doing anything. Okay, we shook hands. There. Are you happy? We shook hands, and we shouted at each other, and it’s been a little emotional. But no one understands what we’ve been through.”
They both stared at me, but I wasn’t going to explain.
“We’re practically brother and sister,” I said, still unable to recall that dumb word. “You know, if Eddie and I ever did get serious, then Fen and I would be…”
“Having the affair of a lifetime?” Exie said.
I held up a finger. “We just talk about music. That’s all.” Frida barked near my feet, as if to confirm my story. “See? She can back me up.”
“That sounded like an accusation to me,” Starla said, laughing.
