The Dolls (15 page)

I look up at Justin, who’s carrying on an animated conversation.

“Shy with girls,” Chloe amends, following my gaze. She sighs heavily. “Anyway, things were really good between us. And now . . . I don’t know what I did wrong.”

I swallow hard. “Sorry.”

She gives me a watery smile. “Oh, Eveny, it’s not your fault,” she says, which makes me feel even worse. She turns back to watching Justin with a dreamy, troubled expression on her face.

I open my mouth to reply, but Pascal interrupts our conversation with a long, low whistle as he makes his way up the hill to the Hickories. “Damn, girl!” He’s staring at me with a predatory grin. “You look
fine
.”

I notice Peregrine’s attention snap in our direction. Her eyes narrow at Pascal as he sits down next to me. “You’re the hottest chick in this whole school now, Eveny,” he continues. “What do you say we spend a little alone time in the teachers’ lounge?” He makes air quotes over
alone time
.

“No thanks,” I say.

“Ignore him,” Peregrine says coldly. “He’s just trying to get in your pants. He’s exaggerating.
Obviously
.”

“About me being the hottest girl in school?” I ask with mock innocence. I know that’s exactly what she’s talking about; her eyes burn with jealousy.

“She’s not as beautiful as you, Peregrine,” Arelia says, shooting me a smirk.

“Not nearly,” Margaux adds helpfully as she gazes in adoration at Peregrine.

To my surprise, Peregrine seems unmoved. “Give it a rest, girls,” she says. “She’s one of us. She has been long before you two joined the sosyete.”

Arelia’s and Margaux’s heads swivel toward me in surprise. “But she’s new!” Margaux whines.

Peregrine narrows her eyes at them. “For goodness’ sake, you
know
she’s a queen. Now quit being ridiculous and pour me another glass of champagne.”

I turn away from them in annoyance just in time to see Caleb walking up the hill toward us. My heart does a little flip-flop, and I feel color rising to my cheeks. I glance away as our eyes meet, but a second later, I look back and realize he’s still gazing evenly at me.

“Hey,” I croak.

“Hey,” he replies. He settles on the far side of the cashmere picnic blanket, facing away from me.

My heart hammers, and I’m not sure whether to be grateful that he doesn’t appear to be impressed by my magically enhanced looks, or disappointed that he’s obviously still avoiding me.

Peregrine purses her lips at our exchange. “So, Caleb, catch any good waves lately?” she asks, turning to him. “I heard conditions are supposed to be ideal in the Gulf right now.”

“Since when do you follow the surf forecast?” Caleb asks suspiciously.

“You know I’ve always been interested in your hobbies,” she says sweetly. “You know I haven’t left town, Peregrine,” he says. “Give it a rest.”

She laughs as he turns away, and I have the feeling she’s not as over him as she wants everyone to think.

Twenty minutes later, I sit down next to Caleb in American history, expecting his usual inexplicable silent treatment. So I’m surprised when he says, “I see Peregrine and Chloe have gotten their hands on you.” His voice is deep and warm, and it makes my stomach feel like Jell-O.

My cheeks heat up. “You could say that. It feels . . . different.” I take a deep breath and ask, “So what do you think?”

“You look pretty,” he says, and for a moment, my heart both soars and sinks at the same time. “But I thought you looked pretty before too.”

He doesn’t say another word for the rest of class, and he strides out of the room at the end before I have a chance to talk to him. But his words stay with me and echo in my head for the rest of the afternoon.

I call Meredith on my walk home, but she doesn’t pick up. I swallow back a lump in my throat and leave her a message saying that I miss her. I call Liv next, because she avoided me in physics and was gone by the time I reached the hallway.

“Look, I’m sorry about lunch today,” I say to her voice mail when she doesn’t answer. “I don’t know why Peregrine and Chloe are so picky about who eats in the Hickories.”

I spend the rest of my walk hoping that Caleb will pull up alongside me like he did my first day of school, but only a few cars whiz past, and none are his. I try not to feel disappointed.

When I arrive home, I wander around the rose garden looking for Boniface, but he’s nowhere to be found, nor is Aunt Bea.

Liv calls back at four, and before I can even say hello, she says, “There’s no law saying you have to eat with the Dolls just because they invite you.”

“I know,” I reply. “I’m sorry.” I wish I could explain to her that like it or not, I’m linked to Chloe and Peregrine forever. But of course Liv’s not in on the Secret of Carrefour, so all she sees is that I’m choosing popularity and power over real friendship.

She’s silent for a moment, then she says, “No big deal,” but her tone tells me she’s still pissed off.

“Hey, so Drew invited me to go see his band play tonight,” I say.

“At Domion? Yeah, I was planning to go.”

“Cool. So would you want to go together, maybe?”

“What, are Peregrine and Chloe busy?” The bitterness is creeping back in.

“I didn’t ask them,” I tell her. “I’m asking you.”

“Oh.” She pauses. “Yeah, all right. And I’ll come get you. But dude, you need to get your driver’s license.”

“I know.”

“And Eveny? Don’t invite the Dolls, okay?”

“Don’t worry,” I tell her. “I definitely won’t.”

UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE

HarperCollins Publishers

..................................................................

A
unt Bea gets home fifteen minutes before Liv is due to arrive, her navy T-shirt and skirt smudged with flour. She looks surprised to see me in skinny jeans, boots, and a flowy top, all dressed for a night out.

“Don’t tell me you’re meeting up with Peregrine and Chloe,” she says, looking at me suspiciously.

“No, my friend Liv is picking me up. We’re going to see Drew’s band play in the Périphérie.”

She chews her lip. “Who’s Liv? One of the girls in Peregrine and Chloe’s sosyete?”

“Actually, she pretty much hates Peregrine and Chloe.”

Aunt Bea’s expression relaxes a little. “Well, I was hoping we could talk.”

“Me too. But Liv’ll be here in a few minutes.”

“The morning’s fine, I guess,” Aunt Bea says. She kisses me on the cheek and walks away without another word.

Five minutes later, I hear a horn honking outside. I look through the peephole and see Liv sitting in a pale blue VW Bug with rusted bumpers.

“I’m heading out!” I call up to Aunt Bea, who doesn’t respond. “Back by eleven!”

I lock the front door behind me and climb into the passenger seat of Liv’s car. “Hey,” I say, but she doesn’t reply. My heart sinks; she’s obviously still annoyed about today. “Look,” I say after she’s pulled out of my driveway and is sputtering down the hill. “I know you don’t like Peregrine and Chloe.”

She snorts. “Understatement of the year.”

I glance down. “It’s complicated with them, Liv. I knew them when we were kids. They’re kind of part of my life whether I like it or not..”

Liv’s shoulders relax a little. “I don’t want you to get sucked into their little circle of clones, that’s all.”

“Just because I’m hanging out with them doesn’t mean I have to
become
one of them.” But the words taste like a lie, because of course I
am
one of them.

Fifteen minutes later we’re walking into Domion, a rundown looking restaurant heaving with people. At least half the crowd inside is our age, and I tag along after Liv as people come up to her to say hi. A few of them I recognize from the crawfish boil, but most are unfamiliar and don’t pay any attention to me.

Liv seems completely in her element. Dressed in a denim miniskirt, faded leather cowboy boots, and a sheer blouse with a cami underneath, she also appears more relaxed than she does at Pointe Laveau.

“You see why I don’t exactly fit in with your new friends?” she asks as we settle into seats at a high-top table to the right of the stage. “Unlike them, I realize there’s more to life than looking hot and messing with guys’ heads.”

Liv’s smile is bright, but her eyes are hard. I wish I could explain that their snubbing her has nothing to do with money and everything to do with birthright. But of course I can’t, so I settle for changing the subject. I ask Liv about her family, and she tells me she has a little brother named Davy, a freshman at Carrefour Secondary, and that they live with their dad; their mom left when Liv was three.

“My dad disappeared before I was born,” I tell her. “So I get it.”

She looks up at me with an expression of surprise. “I didn’t know that,” she says. “Where did he go?”

“No idea. I only know that he’s from somewhere back east and that my aunt hates him.” I hesitate and add, “I’ve been thinking about him a lot since we got here, actually. My aunt swears I’ve never met him, but I have a weird, hazy memory of talking to him at my mom’s funeral.”

“So you’ve never heard from him other than that?” she asks.

I shake my head.

Liv studies me for a moment. “Maybe Peregrine and Chloe know something about what happened to him, since their moms knew your mom.”

“Maybe,” I agree. Truthfully, I hadn’t thought to ask.

Liv is looking at me differently now. “I guess I can see why you’d want to hang with them sometimes,” she says grudgingly. “Even though I still think they’re pretty worthless human beings.”

I open my mouth to answer, but I’m interrupted by a mash-up of guitar strings behind the small stage. A moment later, Teddy, the guy who threw the crawfish boil, bounds out and hurls himself into the seat behind an impressive drum set. He begins banging the cymbal with a drumstick, and a moment later Drew runs out with an electric guitar, and two other guys I don’t recognize come out playing a banjo and a bass guitar. Teddy whales on the drums while the guy with the banjo leans toward one of the microphones and begins to sing in a low voice that reminds me of John Mayer.

Drew looks up and grins at us after the first verse is over.

“They’re good, aren’t they?” Liv says once he looks away. “Good chord structure. Good hooks. They’ve got a good look too.” She pauses and adds, “Especially Drew.”

I realize she’s staring at Drew raptly as he launches into a solo to begin the second song. I see a blush creep up Liv’s neck, and I wonder for the first time if she likes him as more than a friend.

We both clap along as the band rocks out to the next song, which reminds me a bit of an Irish drinking anthem with a hard rock rhythm and a smattering of banjo strings.

“I’m Tallon Duchovny!” announces the banjo-playing singer after Drew has strummed his last chord. “And we’re Little Brother, from right out here in the Périphérie!”

The room explodes into applause, and Drew grins at us again as he strums a few chords to lead off the third song. Tallon is singing lead again; the lyrics are about a girl who goes around breaking hearts. After the chorus, Drew and Tallon lean toward each other and engage in a few minutes of dueling licks; Tallon plucks out complicated melodies on the banjo, which Drew mimics while Teddy and the bass player keep time.

“I’ve never heard anything like this before,” I shout to Liv over the music as Little Brother launches into a fourth tune.

“They’re something special!” she shouts back.

After their first set, Teddy bounds over to our table, still clutching his drumsticks, while the other guys head into a back room to put their guitars down.

“Hey, Eveny!” he says. “Hey, Liv!” His forehead is glistening with sweat, and he’s grinning. “Anyone want to go do a shot with me at the bar?”

I say, “No thanks,” at the same time Liv says, “Sure, why not? There’s something I want to run by you anyway.” I give her a look, because after all, she’s the one driving home after the show.

“They’re not real strict with IDs in this town, are they?” I ask.

Liv and Teddy both laugh. “The Dolls aren’t the only ones who can get away with breaking the rules,” Liv says. I watch as she follows Teddy, giggling about something he’s said.

I turn my attention back toward the stage just in time to see Drew emerge without his guitar. He heads straight for me.

“You came to my show,” he says, giving me an awkward half hug.

“Yeah, me and Liv both.” I gesture toward the bar.

He glances her way then grins at me. “You look beautiful tonight, Eveny. Really.”

“You looked pretty good up there yourself.” I change the subject before it gets uncomfortable. “I’m really glad we came. The band’s amazing.”

“Thanks!” He launches into a long explanation of how they’re trying to get a record deal with some New Orleans-based music label, and I’m listening until a familiar deep voice somewhere off to my left catches my attention. I do a double take when I see who’s sitting there.

It’s Caleb, all by himself at a table near the back of the room, giving a pretty waitress his order.

I feel my heart leap into my throat.
What’s
he
doing here?

Caleb catches me staring and half raises his glass in greeting, then turns away as if he has no interest interacting with me at all.

As I force myself to refocus on Drew, I feel a river of heat flowing through me, and I hope it’s not showing on my face. Drew’s still talking, and when he leans in and touches my arm to make a point, I pull away and feel instantly guilty when a hurt expression flickers across his face. But what if Caleb thinks I’m
with
Drew?

Drew makes it worse a second later by giving me a peck on the cheek. “Seriously, Eveny, thanks so much for coming out tonight. It’s really cool of you.”

Then Tallon beckons from the stage, and Drew says sadly, “Looks like I have to go. But see you in a few, okay?”

Liv sits down next to me a moment later holding two drinks. She pushes one toward me. “They’re both Sprite,” she says.

I thank her, and I’m about to open my mouth to ask what she thinks Caleb is doing here when she asks eagerly, “So did Drew say anything about me?”