Page 98 of Burn Bright
“All of us. We’re the best together.”
“Or the worst.”
“Impossible.” Her blue eyes narrow on me, studying my face. “It’s so strange. You still haven’t cried.”
“You told me not to,” I say lightly. “Remember? The poem?”
She rolls her eyes, but a soft smile touches her lips. “Yes, but—it’s just…it’s franklyweird. Tom even said if you didn’t cry this morning, it’d be sus.”
Hearing her say “sus” makes me laugh hard. I fall back into the grass.
“What?” She smiles at my laughter.
“When you quote Tom, it’s just the best.” She speaks like she’s stuck in a Brontë novel, and Tom uses slang like a typical twenty-one-year-old.
“You aresus,” she jabs my arm with a finger, her smile flickering in and out.
I sit up. “Everything’s fine, really, Audrey.” I take off my ballcap. Running my fingers through my hair.
She searches my eyes, trying to uncover a lie, but finds none. Unfurling a black laced fan, she wafts her glistening face. “I overheard Mother and Father talking.”
“What about?”
“They said you’re working at some bar in New York. As a bartender.”
I suppress a groan in my chest.Fuck.Fuck. I rub at my eyes. “Really?” Only one person could’ve leaked that information to my parents. One person I’ve trusted for years.
My bodyguard.Chris Novak.
I clench my jaw. The betrayal sinks heavy, even though I have no idea why he’d tell them. Was it a security reason? Did he feel like they needed to know? He’s kept way worse shit a secret, butthen again, maybe his loyalty is askew after I went full Rambo mode.
She frowns. “Is that not true? They said you were bartending so you could be closer to a girl. They didn’t name or describe her, but I assumed it was Harriet.”
After the video chat where Audrey met Harriet, I’ve mentioned her to my sister. Once. Twice…a lot of times. I like talking about her.
“Yeah, it is Harriet,” I nod.
She perks. “Can I have her number? Which bar?”
“When you meet her in person, you can ask for her number. It’s not mine to give.” I scratch the back of my head. “And if I tell you the bar, youcannottell our brothers. Seriously, I don’t need Tom and Eliot to come crash my place of work and get me and Harriet fired.”
“I promise. I won’t.”
I shouldn’t tell her. “Even if they press you?—”
“I will not crack.” She puts her hands together. “Please,pleasegive me a chance. I know I haven’t been great at keeping secrets before, but I just need the opportunity to succeed and?—”
“Okay, okay.” I trust her, but this is a big risk. “We’re bartending at a placed calledWhere You Want to Be at the End of the World. It’s whereBreakfast at Tiffany’swas playing when we talked on the phone.”
Her eyes brighten. “Can I visit you there?”
“You have to be eighteen to get in.”
Her shoulders slump. “Being the youngest Cobalt is truly abhorrent.”
I smile. “I know. You’re almost there though.”
“I’m sixteen. Eighteen is alifetimeaway.” She falls back onto the quilt dramatically, and really, fuck Mandy Dean for not letting her into drama club.
