Total pages in book: 147
Estimated words: 140742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 704(@200wpm)___ 563(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 704(@200wpm)___ 563(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
“He could just be saying this, since he knows you’ll tell Josslyn,” Mom says.
“Maybe.” Titus shrugs and glances at me. “The point is, Tate asked and I told him last I heard, there was nothing going on between you and Finn. I assume that’s still the case.”
I nod.
Thankfully, the topic of Finn only lasts a few more minutes, and by the time we’re sitting at the table, we’re talking about sports and work. Titus’ words remain at the front of my mind, though. Mallory’s death was barely reported on. They acknowledged it, of course, but they never said she was at Onyx. In the official public story about Onyx, they call the woman Jane Doe. A couple of days later, they quickly reported on Mallory’s “tragic, untimely passing.” I knew it was her parent’s doing. They wouldn’t want their daughter associated with a sex club.
33
JOSSLYN
Blair Lowells. According to the news reports I found, there was no reason for them to think there was foul play involved, and no mention of Finn at all. Everything I found says Blair had been drunk, high, and speeding in her dad's Ferrari. It was a terrible tragedy. A terrible, untimely death, just like Mallory’s. And much like Mallory’s situation, the information about Blair’s death is very limited. That doesn’t mean anything, though.
Tate might be an asshole, but he’s a smart guy. If he really thought Finn had any involvement, he would have outed him. Finn may be a Barlow, but even Barlows can’t kill someone—purposely or not—without consequence. Were they together? Were he, Tate, and Blair in some kind of love triangle? Is that why he sent me those flowers that day? Fuck. I already know this is going to haunt me.
It’s been days, and I’ve still heard nothing from Finn. I tell myself it’s for the best but I can’t deny my disappointment. I guess a part of me thought the other night meant something to him. Maybe I thought I’d be different. My phone buzzes, and I expect it to be Olivia calling to let me know she arrived safely at her parents’ beach house, but it’s a text from Scarlet.
Scarlet: they just changed their venue from onyx to pearl
My stomach churns. I’m supposed to speak to Leo and John to try to get information out of them. I couldn’t start an interrogation right off the bat when I met them, so I told them I was interested in checking out the “pleasure club,” as John called it. That led to a text from him inviting me tonight, but meeting at Pearl complicated things. Then again, Finn hasn’t reached out. He obviously got what he wanted and has no interest in me, so it won’t make a difference if his cousin happens to be there or finds out I was there. Besides, the club in the basement has nothing to do with the nightclub upstairs. I doubt Lucas will have a way of knowing I’m there.
Right now, I need to do this. I need to see the people she was hanging out with. I want to look each one of them in the eyes when I speak her name. I shut my eyes again, trying to conjure memories of that night, but as usual, they stop right at the moment I walked into Onyx. There has to be video footage of the rest of my night. It’s something I thought about a lot, after the initial wave of grief lifted. No one knows what happened that night after I went back inside. I don’t remember any of it, which is disconcerting. I went to the hospital the next day, and thankfully, they confirmed I hadn’t been taken advantage of, but the fact that I had no memory was still unsettling. It was also something only two people knew about.
Me: thanks for letting me know
Scarlet: are you going to go?
Me: yeah
Scarlet: you can’t wait until next weekend? I don’t want you to go alone
Me: I’ll be fine. Thank you!
Scarlet: pls be careful around those people. I’m sure they’re fine, but they’ll sense your innocence and see you as prey
My heart pounds harder.
Me: noted. Thanks
I set my phone down and take a deep breath. I wouldn’t call myself innocent, but I know what she means. In this world, I might as well be a virgin. Leo definitely sees me as prey. Even after we figured out he knew my stepfather, he said he’d love to “teach me a few things” in a private room. He’d stared at me so intensely for so long that I started to fidget in my chair.
I think about Finn and how he looks at me. It’s intense, for sure, but I crave it. I remember the way he looked at me at Lyla’s house and my stupid heart speeds up again. My mom’s words come back to me, and I feel a tiny spark of hope bloom in my chest, but I squash it down quickly. He hasn’t reached out again, which means we’re done. For real, this time.