Page 52 of Hush Darling
“Please!”
“One. Time’s up. Open?—”
“I cheated on my senior project!”
He stilled, then tsked. “Wendy Moira Angela Darling.”
“Please don’t make me drink any more wine. I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
“How did you cheat?”
“I paid a boy on my street to write my essay for me.”
“What was the topic of the paper?”
“I forget.”
“No, you don’t.” He lifted the wine.
“It was something about ethics!”
He laughed. “You cheated on a paper about ethics?”
“I know how that sounds, but I was?—”
“Did you pass?”
She looked down, ashamed. “I got an A—the highest grade in the class.”
“What an immoral little liar you are. What other unethical things have you done?”
“I’m truly not that interesting. My parents are extremely strict.”
“Which only tells me you have a craving for acting out. Tell me all the ways you’ve disobeyed Mumsy and Daddy.”
She shook her head. “I came here. They think I’m in my bed right now, but I snuck out.”
“And how did that happen?”
“Peter came to get me.”
“Why would he do that? You said you’re not lovers, and you seem unsure if he’s even your friend. What did you promise him?”
“Nothing.”
“Don’t lie to me. You did something to provoke his interest.”
She lowered her gaze, ashamed of what they would find as the last text on her phone. “I sent a picture of myself.”
“What kind of picture?”
“The immoral kind.”
“Be more specific. Show me what you were doing in the picture.”
She closed her eyes and swallowed. Leaning forward, she plumped up her breasts like she had for the selfie. When she opened her eyes again, his expression was unreadable.
“So, you’re not completely innocent.” He sipped the wine and studied her. “Are you attracted to Peter?”
