Page 31 of The Design of Goodbye
“That’s all right. More for me.” He leaned down, and I felt his hot breath against my ear. “But if you need a Big Bad Wolf later on, you know where to find me.”
I gagged and pushed him away from me. “You’re disgusting.”
I walked over to Jules as she finished filling the last cup. She handed me one, but I had no intention of drinking mine. First, I was driving. Second, I was never drinking again after the yacht party.
“You ready?” she asked.
As we followed Claire downstairs, I whispered to Jules, “Why didn’t you ask me if I wanted to dress as Ariel?”
“It slipped my mind.”
I wanted to argue with her about it, but I rarely argued with Jules about anything. When we entered the basement, Jules focused her attention on Tanner. For the next hour, I sat in a corner and watched Tanner and Alex—dressed as characters fromStar Wars—make fools of themselves as they played beer pong. Whenever one of them made a shot, they’d celebrate with a ridiculous dance. I was rooting for Alex because, any time Tanner made a shot, Jules threw herself at him while proclaiming he was the best beer pong player.
Ever.
He reveled in her praise. If only something as trivial as reigning champion at a drinking game could make me feelthataccomplished, maybe I’d be happier. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jules’s single status ended in the next few hours. Olivia Jones was in the same room, dressed as a maid and glowering at Tanner, who hadn’t acknowledged her. When the boys moved onto some drinking game involving Jenga, Jules came over to me, Claire following close behind.
“I’m bored,” said Jules, flopping onto a beanbag chair next to where I was sitting.
This wasn’t good. Lately, when she got bored, she asked me about—
“Get answers from Roo?”
“No.” I swirled the untouched beer in my cup. “Liam doesn’t open up easily.”
“You’re not asking the right questions,” said Jules. “Try harder.”
“It’s harder than you think.”
Jules scoffed. “And why’s that?”
I’d spent the rest of the afternoon thinking of Liam’s terrified exit from earlier today. “Because,” I started, lowering my voice, “I think something bad happened to him. It feels wrong to trick him into telling me.”
Claire downed the rest of her beer before asking, “Bad how?”
Should I tell them what I’d witnessed? Maybe if I did, Jules would understand, show some compassion, and stop pressuring me to harass Liam for answers. She’d see, like I did, that something bad must’ve happened to him, and she’d call off this whole thing. She wouldn’t make me pry secrets out of Liam, and she wouldn’t post the pictures. Andmaybeshe’d get Tanner, Bruce, and everyone to leave Liam alone.
“There were construction noises at the library today. They freaked him out, for some reason.”
“What do you mean?” asked Jules, finishing her drink as well. I handed her my full cup, and she rolled her eyes at me but took the now lukewarm drink.
“As soon as he heard the noises, he panicked and left.”
Jules and Claire laughed. Instantly, I knew I’d made a terrible mistake.
“That’s hilarious,” said Jules.
“Really funny,” agreed Claire.
“It wasn’t,” I said, remembering Liam’s panic-stricken face. “What’s wrong with you guys? Don’t you have any compassion?”
“Sure,” said Jules. “For myself and my friends.”
“Andcuteboys,” added Claire.
“Definitely that,” said Jules. “Most definitely not Roo.”
I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t watch them laugh about Liam.
