Page 32 of No Place Left to Hide

Felix’s eyes narrow, and I can almost see him running the subtext through his mind, but he nods. The crowd parts to let him through to the front door, and Dylan is right on his heels. Jena looks after them and back at me like she’s not sure what to help with, Felix or the disaster in my den. I wave my hand toward the door. She should focus on cleaning up her own mess, not mine. She barely hesitates before she runs out.

I turn back to the party. “Sorry about the hiccup, everyone! They’ll work it out. They always do. Anyone up for some dancing?”

Claire lets out another obnoxiously happy laugh and pushes herself off the couch. “What do you mean? We’re in the middle of a game.”

“I think that game ended with the fistfight, don’t you?”

She walks over and places both hands on my shoulders. It takes every muscle in my body not to flinch away. “Oh, sweetie, no. We’re only getting started.”

Claire turns toward the onlookers and throws her hands in the air. “Who’s next?”

There are way more cheers and hollers than I would have expected. I shake my head. After all these years, they still haven’t learned that nobody wins with Claire.

Felix and Jena weren’t warning enough, apparently.

The game resumes and goes round after round, steadily getting worse. Claire finds her way back to the truth-telling seat more often than the game should allow, delivering barbs of embarrassment like she’s knocking down targets at the county fair. One after another, my Waldorf classmates go down in waves of flushed faces and hushed laughter.

I do my best to stick to the background, cleaning up spills, throwing out stacks of used cups, and discreetly stashing bottles of alcohol in random cabinets and drawers. Maybe everyone will leave if they think we ran out? It’s a long shot, but I’ll take anything at this point. I even start scooping cups of Beau’s punch and dumping them down the sink when nobody’s looking. But all this is just a desperate attempt to keep the situation from escalating—it won’t stop what’s already begun, and it’s only a matter of time before Claire gets bored with her game and turns her attention back to me. Especially with Dylan, Jena, and Felix gone. I no longer have a buffer and I’m not sure if they’re coming back at all. Dylan might have driven everyone home for all I know. I wouldn’t blame them. I don’t want to be here anymore either.

“Brooke! You haven’t had a turn yet,” Claire calls from her throne onmyfucking couch. “Come over here and play with us.”

I hip check the drawer where I just stashed the Malibu and sigh with my whole body. “No, thanks. I have to finish cleaning up.”

“Don’t you have a housekeeper for that?” she practically spits.

“She’s off on the weekends.”

“How generous of you to give thehelpsome time off.” Claire stands and puts her hands on her hips. “Come on, I insist. It’s your turn. Truth or Shot?”

I’m done drinking tonight. I need to be ready for whatever chaos she’ll create before I can get her ass out of here, so I only have one option.

“Truth,” I say, coming around the island. The group in the den has thinned, but even so, fifteen sets of eyes watch me approach. Every molecule in my body is on high alert. Every nerve frayed. Every hair on end. Whatever’s coming won’t be good.

Claire holds many secrets I’d rather not reveal to the public. It’s anyone’s guess which scab she’ll choose to pick open tonight.

“Truth, that’ll be new for you. Let’s see…” She flings her hair over her shoulder and grins. “What’s the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to you?”

One particular moment springs to mind and Claire’s eyes sparkle, like she’s thinking of it too.

Shit.

I feel my cheeks begin to flush with anticipated embarrassment and I can’t actually bring myself to say the words. So, instead…I lie.

“Okay, fine.” I come closer and lean against the sliding glass door to the deck. “One time I was in a rush to get home after a student government meeting, but I accidentally locked my keys in my car. It started todownpour. I’m talking buckets of water. My white shirt went completely see-through in about five seconds, and I had to call my dad for the spare key and—”

“You’re lying,” Claire says. “That didn’t happen.”

I fold my arms. I’m not surprised she’s calling me out, but I’m not about to back down. “I’m pretty sure it did.”

Her face starts to flush with anger. “No. It fucking didn’t. You’re making up a wet T-shirt story so you don’t have to be honest. That. Never. Happened.”

I could hear a pin drop in this room. Maybe planting a seed of doubt will slow her down?

“How could you possibly know that, Claire? You’ve been gone. We haven’t spoken in months. You can’t know what did or didn’t happen in my life while you wereliving it upat your new school. I promise you, having my dad show up and see me like that was mortifying.”

Or would have been…if it happened.My dad wouldn’t show up to help me if my car wason fire, much less for something AAA could handle.

Claire looks like her head is going to spin right off her body. “Was it as mortifying as the time you peed your pants on the bus home from that dance competition? When Coach refused to stop at a rest area?”

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