Page 37 of Darling Beasts

“That’s right,” Gabby said as she guided Frosty onto the wood planks they’d set down to accommodate anyone who might struggle to negotiate sand. “Sometimes I forget you got all the California perks, whereas Ozzie and I spent our time rotting in the rec pavilion.”

Talia narrowed her eyes. Was that pointed? It sounded pointed. It wasn’t Talia’s fault she visited Mom whenever she could, while Gabby and Ozzie only did to comply with what Talia presumed was a legal decree. Granted, they were young, and not as close to Daphne, but they’d so easily accepted the “absentee parent” narrative, happily letting Diane step into her place.

“You and Ozzie attended surf camp,” Talia said, suddenly remembering.These two, she thought,always with their revisionist history.

Gabby chuckled. “You’re thinking of when we did Junior Lifeguards,” she said. “And we didn’t touch the water after the first day. We spent the week laying out on the beach. Ozzie called it tanning camp.”

“I’m sure the people in charge were thrilled.”

“Oh, they loved it. Two fewer jerk kids to keep track of.”

They walked beneath the main canopy, where the volunteers stood at attention. Now that Talia saw the new merch on human bodies, she realized it kind of sucked. Dad dreamt up the slogan—GUNNING FOR YOU!—which Talia found both aggressive and confusing, and she suspected that more than one person would mistake Gunning for his last name. Meanwhile, beyond the tent waved a pair of flags.Ripcurrents, they advertised.Do not swim between these two spots.Literal red flags. Terrific. Talia was making everyone sign liability waivers, but didn’t want to actually have to use them.

“It sucks he’s not here,” Gabby said.

Talia startled, almost having forgotten where she was. “Who? Dad? He’s over there.”

“No.” Gabby laughed. “Ozzie.”

Talia snorted. “San Diego is the last place he needs to be, given his life is such a mess right now.”

“A mess?” Gabby repeated, brows pinched. “In what way?”

Talia paused to collect her thoughts. He called—what was it?—a week ago? He needed a favor, and this favor was to borrow several hundred thousand dollars. The ask was so outrageous Talia made him repeat it two or three times. But, no, she’d heard correctly, andmaybeshe could’ve cobbled it together in a life-or-death scenario, but not to “clear up a tax oversight,” whatever that meant.

“Thanks for considering it,” Ozzie had mumbled, before quickly hanging up.

“Talia...?” Gabby prodded.

Talia shook her head. “Oh. Yeah. I guess he’s having financial issues,” she said, surprised he hadn’t asked Gabby for the money. He probably respected her too much. Just like that, any lingering regrets Talia had about denying him flew away.

“You must’ve misunderstood,” Gabby said with some authority, because she was the only expert on the subject of OscarM. Gunn. It was so tiresome, their little gang of two. “He paid over a million bucks for a broken computer.”

“You see the problem, then.”

“You’re always assuming the worst of him,” Gabby said, squatting to retrieve a fresh pile of Frosty poop. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you tend to read into things.”

Talia clenched her jaw. Even when the problem was Ozzie, she somehow got painted as the bad guy. Enough was enough. “He invited Spencer to his apartment for anart show,” she said, “and apparently the whole affair had quite the whiff of desperation. He’s already trying to sell the damn computer.”

Gabby gave the slightest jump—a twitch, really—but just as soon regained her composure. Of course. She’d never let herself think poorly of sweet little Oscar. “He probably realized purchasing it was a mistake,” she said, “or thinks he can flip it for a profit. Anyway, if he were so desperate, wouldn’t he be here, same as me?”

Talia sighed. It was a fair point. Maybe the situation wasn’t dire, and he’d simply seen Talia as an easy target.

“You’re right. I am overthinking it,” Talia said, slightly hating herself for copping to this reputation of hers. “Forget I brought it up. You two are so close. If he were in any kind of trouble, you’d know.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Gabby

I was thinking about Ozzie, and trying to recall the last time we spoke, when Talia marched up and shoved a stack of fliers into my hand. “I need to check on the sign language interpreter,” she said. “And then it’s time to get this show on the road.”

I jiggled my head, hoping to clear out the Ozzie-related fog. My sister had rattled me, but also, I’d made an excellent point. Desperate people bent to Ustenya’s wishes. I knew firsthand.

“Let’s review the marching orders,” Talia said.

“I think I got it...”

“When you mingle,” Talia said, “hit the points we discussed.” She gestured to her list of very normal conversational topics.

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