Page 9 of Sorrow

It’s been months since I’ve been down here. Nestled in the hollowed out crook of alimestone mine, the teenagers and twenty-somethings of Cape Frost have been making this quarry a party spot for as long as I can remember. Powered by two small generators, there are white bubble lights hanging from the rock face and looping around the water, spotlights shining into the sky, and speakers blasting music that echoes through the chasm. Coupled with the tiki torches everywhere and the open fire pits, it’s really not a bad place to hang out — even if my brother made me promise never to come back after he caught me last time.

Nerves mount as I slip out of my truck and make my way over to the barrels full of whiskey bottles and coolers full of beer. Two guys I vaguely recognize are plopping tabs of acid on their tongues while the girl standing between them looks like she’s been tripping for a while.

Good for them.

“Do you mind?” I ask, gesturing to the cooler full of spiked tea and grabbing one when the taller one shakes his head. The bottle hisses when I twist the cap off.

“Chug it,” he yells over the music. “That’s the rule.”

Oh, that’s not dangerous at all.

I try to laugh it off, but the playful grin on his face vanishes.

“I’m serious. Chug it.”

Raising my eyebrows, I take a sip and hold the neck to my lips for a few extra seconds, blocking the opening with my tongue. I’m not much of a drinker, and I can’t afford to get sloshed off of a single drink when I came here for a reason.

Things get more complicated when that reason walks up behind Tripper #2.

“What’s going on?”

“New girl doesn’t know the rules.”

Tristan Turner eyes me with dangerous, calculating amusement. He looks so much like Holt with his hunched shoulders, thick eyebrows and sharp nose that it’s hard to remember they’re years apart in age, not twins. “That’s my booze, new girl. If you want it, you have to earn it.”

Not one part of me wants to, but if I can get Tristan talking, I might be able to discover something useful. “Rules are rules,” I say lightly, bracing myself and squeezing my eyes shut as I chug.

Fuck, I’m happy I chose something that isn’t carbonated.

It still leaves me breathless when I’m done, but Tristan snatches the empty bottle frommy hand and replaces it with a full one. “You’re the cursed girl, aren’t you? I recognize the shitty energy you’re putting off.”

God, I hate it here. “That’s me. You’re Holt’s little brother, right?”

“I’m nobody’slittlebrother.”

Ahh, so there’s a bit of a complex there. I can use that. “Sorry. You’re Holt’s brother?”

“More like he’smybrother. Stupid fuck doesn’t deserve to be put first just because he’s...”

“He’s what?” I push.

“Older.”

The sour look on his face tells me that’s not what he was going to say. There’s something in his eyes, maybe resentment? Humanity? Again, things I can use.

I take a sip of my second drink as I pull out my phone, pretending to check a message. Instead, I open my voice memo app and start recording. “If it makes you feel any better, he’ll probably end up in jail soon.”

Tristan takes a long, lumbering step toward me, crowding my space. The flames from the nearby fire flicker across his cheekbones and the stench of beer comes off his breath so strongly, I cower back. Helooks like the devil. “You don’t know anything,” he says in a low growl. “So I suggest you shut your fucking mouth unless you want me to shut it for you. Now chug.”

It’s hard to breathe with him this close to me. I turn slightly to walk away, but Tristan grabs my arm, takes the bottle from me, then wrenches my jaw open and starts pouring. I choke, sputtering the spiked tea up so it splashes all over his coat.

“Jesus fuck,” he hisses. “Messy bitch. Do it right.”

I nearly drop the bottle when he forces me to take it. The apple clearly didn’t fall far from the tree.

“Don’t worry, I’m leaving,” I say quickly. “I won’t be drinking anymore.”

Suddenly, the air around me changes. Shadows stretch over the snow-covered ground, telling me silently that I’m surrounded. Maybe this is why Boo has always told me to stay away from the quarry and the people who come here.

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