Page 107 of Tis the Season to be Bullied

“What? Oh, no.” Vicky waves away the question and laughs. “But it’s regulation that you should wear safety vests if you’re going out there. This part of Silverash isn’t exactly for hiking.”

Tell me about it.

“Yeah, actually, about that?—”

“Nim, sorry, sweetie,” Vicky interrupts. “Hold that thought for one second.” She beams at me and holds out a hand.

I look at it, look at my parents. I’m getting really weird vibes here, and their expectant faces aren’t helping. “What’s going on?”

“We wanted to know,” Vicky asks, “if you’d like to meet the Harts tomorrow.”

I frown. “Hart...as in Cinderhart?”

Vicky nods, her lips squirming like she’s holding back a grin.

“Uh...I guess. I didn’t exactly make plans already.”

They laugh like I made some big joke. Vicky grabs my dad’s arm and says, “She sounds just like my daughters. It’s uncanny.” When she looks at me again, I wonder how much she’s had to drink, because she just seems inexplicably happy. I guess she’s been looking forward to reconnecting with my parents as much as they have. “I wish they were here to meet you, but all my kids are away for the weekend.”

“Your husband too, thank God for that,” Mom mutters into her margarita glass.

“Yes, well, he hadbetterthings to do,” Vicky says, rolling her eyes. “And thankGodfor that.”

“Will he back tomorrow?” Dad asks, a small frown between his brows.

Vicky shrugs, a cool indifference in her eyes. “Who knows? He answers to no man.”

Dad lets out a grunt, and Mom’s mouth goes into a line. Whoa, no love lost for Vicky’s husband. She turns to me, holdingup her glass and turning in her seat to face me. “Ruthie tells me you’re looking at colleges?”

Mom clears her throat at that, and when Vicky glances over her shoulder and says, “What?” my mom glares at her.

“Is something going on?” I ask, the busybody in me suddenly on high alert. And I’m also perfectly fine stalling my news until I find out what these three have been discussing behind my back.

“Oh no, honey,” Mom says, and then takes a big sip of her drink as Dad chimes in with, “I didn’t know it was a state secret you’ve applied to universities?”

“Cinderhart Academy is one of the best in the country,” Vicky enthuses. “Your parents told you they went there, right?”

“They couldn’tstoptalking about it,” I say ruefully.

Vicky laughs. “Only good things, I hope.” She looks at my parents in turn. “Speaking of, we’d better get ready. If we don’t leave in the next half hour, all the good parking will be taken.”

It’s now or never. If I don’t tell them right now, I’m going to lose my nerve. But as soon as I open my mouth, Mom turns to my dad and whispers, “I still can’t believe this is happening.”

I don’t think I was supposed to hear. Hell, I don’t thinkVickywas supposed to hear. Because when I glance at her under my lashes, Mrs. Pellegrino’s chin starts trembling. “Well, it’s happening,” she says, her chin lifting. “And if you ask me, this should have happened years ago.”

“The...reunion?” I ask.

The three of them look at me like they’d forgotten I was in the room. “No,” Vicky says. She lays a hand on my shoulder as she slips off her stool and comes to stand beside me. “The Winters should have come back to Cinderhart years ago.”

“To visit,” Mom says hurriedly.

Vicky blinks, smiles. “Yes, of course.” Her hand slides off my shoulder, and she goes around the island to collect my mother. “I’ve missed you all so dearly,” she says. When hereyes lock onto mine, her smile fades again, turning nostalgic. “Tonight we’re catching up twenty years’ worth of parties. Then, tomorrow, once we’re less hungover, we’ll take Nim on a tour of Cinderhart.”

Mom and Vicky head for the stairs, and Dad follows them a second later. But he pauses, turning to me with a beer in his hand. “Was there was something you wanted to say?” he says, frowning. “I think Vicky interrupted you.” One side of his mouth lifts in a rueful smile. “She does that sometimes.”

I open my mouth, and then close it again.

I know I should say something...but what will the killers do if they find out? While we’re in Cinderhart, while we’re staying in Vicky’s mansion...they know where we are. There aren’t any bars on the windows here. They could easily force their way in. Tomorrow I’ll tell them I’m not feeling well, that I want to go back home. And as soon as we’re back in the city, then I’ll tell them everything.

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