Page 97 of The Glittering Edge

Penny flashes back to that evening in the hospital, watchingAmityville Highwith Corey. They were there until late, rewatching their favorite episodes. Toward the end of the night, Corey got quiet, all traces of a smile disappearing from his face. Penny was worried that she’d talked too much, or that he suddenly regretted wasting his day in the hospital when he probably had a million other things to do.

But when he spoke, it wasn’t about that. It was about Dylan.

“Just so you know,” Corey had said, “I told Dylan we’ve been hanging out because we both lost parents. Like, that’s our story.”

Penny nodded. “I guess it’s true, in a way.”

“Yeah. That part is true.”

“Which part isn’t?”

Corey shook his head. “I mean, yeah. I guess it wasn’t really a lie.”

Penny pulled her feet into the hospital chair. “Should I be worried? I know she doesn’t like it when you acknowledge the existence of other girls.”

“Ouch.”

Penny blushed. “Sorry.”

“No, you’re right.” He wouldn’t look at Penny as he said, “You should keep your distance.”

All Penny could do was nod. A few feet away, the truth serum sat in her purse like a knife.

“Turn left up here,” Dylan says, pointing ahead.

“But isn’t your house a few miles down County Road 40?”

“No,” Dylan snaps. “Turn left.”

Penny does, and Dylan goes quiet again. She’s staring out thewindow, and she looks drunk and tired and sad enough that Penny’s annoyance dissipates.

And then, Dylan drinks the water.

It’s the slowest minute—or is it only a few seconds?—of Penny’s life. As Dylan tilts the bottle back and drinks the entire thing, Penny keeps waiting for her to start coughing, to scream something dramatic likeWhat did you do to me?

But it never happens. Dylan drinks all the water, puts the cap back on the empty bottle, and throws it into the back seat.

Penny swallows, trying to ignore the anxiety that’s making her limbs go tense. She glances at Dylan as often as she dares, waiting for any sign that Dylan knows something is wrong.

“Are you sleeping with him?” Dylan eventually asks.

Penny nearly chokes on her laughter. “What?No! That’s literally impossible.”

“Not impossible,” Dylan says. “You’re cute, and sweet, even if you’re kind of pathetic. You’re probably a breath of fresh air for Corey. He avoids hanging out with me until I beg him.”

Penny’s hands tighten on the steering wheel. Dylan has no reason to share that with her. On top of it, her voice is a strange monotone. It’s like a layer of her personality has been surgically peeled back.

The truth serum is working.

Alonso said it will only last five minutes, and the clock is ticking. Penny ignores the fact that Dylan gave her a compliment, which is disturbing, and she asks a targeted question.

“Do you know why my mom is in the hospital?”

Dylan falls silent for a moment, and Penny forces herself to keep her eyes on the road.

“It has something to do with Helen Barrion,” Dylan says.

“How do you know that?”

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