Page 57 of Her Wicked Knights
"I remember." I tell her drily. I remember standing right here when Dad came home to tell me, how devastated he was. He cared so much about keeping this town safe, and in the end...
Hadley swallows, and I don't doubt she's remembering the same thing I am. "There's another body."
This time, I don't fake my shock. "What?"
Hadley nods, nipping at her bottom lip like she's debating how much information to give me. "A girl. They haven't been able to identify her, but it's clear the remains are a few months old, and since no one's missing, she probably wasn't from here."
I want to ask what else she knows, whether it was someone close to my age, whether they were connected to our parents' deaths in any way. But the truth is, I don't think any of it really matters, does it?
"Let me know if you hear anything more." I shrug, spotting Audrey on the other side of the door just moments before she opens it and lets herself in.
Hadley bristles, but says nothing as Audrey saunters in, shaking the rain water out of her hair. "I need to borrow your blow dryer."
"You could have stayed in the car." I laugh. It's not like I need her to escort me like a damn child.
Like everyone else, Audrey has been clingy since my parent's died. Everyone has been, none more than Hadley. I broke up with Jake because he was fucking suffocating me, but I can't break up with my own sister. At least Audrey hasn't been as bad. She cycles, recognizing that she's being too much and backing off every so often to disappear for a little bit and then coming back to start the cycle again.
"I came in because I needed the dryer." She laughs. "I got wet on the way out to my car."
"Fine." I laugh. "Let's go."
Hadley ignores Audrey, and Audrey ignores Hadley as we pass her to go upstairs. I wish my sister would ignoremelike that, if only for a day.
"Think I'm gonna change my shirt, too." Audrey says, stripping her top over her head before we even get to my room.
"Audrey!" I chastise, using my hand to shield my view as I open my bedroom door. I'm used to her changing in front of me by now, but today she opted not to wear a bra, and I could absolutely live the rest of my life without seeing my best friend's tits.
"What?" She laughs, stalking to my closet. "They're just tits, Mars. You've got them too. Big ones, at that."
I cross my arms over my chest. The shirt I chose is low cut. My skirt is short. The boots that stop just below my knee make it clear I'm dressing for me... not because I want attention, not because I want to be flirted with, not because I miss Jake's touch. I want to feel alive tonight, and part of that is feeling good. AndI feel as good as I can about how I look, a carefully constructed facade covering the mess I am beneath everything.
"Don't try and hide 'em now, babe." Audrey laughs. "You need to actually hike 'em up a little more. I mean, your tits enter a room before you do, so may as well make them stand tall and proud."
"You're ridiculous." I laugh, but she's not entirely wrong. Maybe if I swap this bra out for something with more lift, I'll have some supportsomewhere.
Unlike my friend, I turn around as I change my bra, opting for a lacy black one I only wore one other time, when it had very much been a choice for Jake's benefit. The lace sticks out of the cut of my top, almost like it was meant to, and I cock my head, appraising my appearance.
"Hot." Audrey confirms. "That's an outfit you wear when you want to get fucked. Who will be the lucky man... or woman?"
"Not woman." I laugh and then realize what I said. "Not man either. I'm not trying to get fucked. Life's done a good enough job of that lately."
"Fair." She sighs. "But still, you should make the most of tonight. It's been a while, right?"
"Since going out, yeah." I agree. This is the first time I'm going out likethis. There's a bar that serves minors somewhere, and I'm not too proud to try my luck tonight with something that will force me to feel good, even if only for a little while.
"Well, good thing I brought drinks to start us off." Audrey finally selects a shirt from my wardrobe and pulls it over her head, appraising her image in the mirror from all angles before turning to her purse. She pulls out a handful of mini liquor bottles. "Jack or Jim?"
"Is whiskey the only option?" I laugh.
"Tonight, it is." She shrugs, decides to hand me the bottle of Jim, and opens one for herself.
I hesitate for a moment, watching her. "Do you want me to drive tonight?"
"No." She shakes her head. "You won't drink enough if you drive. You need to cut loose."
I won't drink at all if I drive, which is why I'm asking now. "You're not going to drink that much?"
"Not too much." She shrugs. "I'll stay sober enough to drive your luscious ass back to my house so that Hadley won't give you a hard time for coming home wasted."
