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“You too, Tuck. Beau was telling me all about your rich girl. She drives a Mercedes? I don’t even think I’ve ever evenseena Mercedes in real life.”
My eyes pierced through Beau and he shrugged. “Yeah, she drives a Mercedes,” I replied.
Ashlynn continued, “I couldn’t even imagine. Seventeen years old and driving a car worth more than half of Aveline. Are you guys just, like, hanging out for the summer? I mean, there’s no way she’ll want to keep coming here after she figures out how boring it is. A girl like that would never stay somewhere like this. Plus, when do you leave for the Army? Aren’t you leaving soon?”
Leave it to Ashlynn Perry to ruin any sort of good mood a person could be in. Ashlynn was a notorious busybody and prided herself on being captain of the cheer squad at AHS, which consisted of five girls total.
I swallowed hard and felt my skin crawl with Ashlynn’s words. My mood soured, and I suddenly felt defensive. “I don’t know, Ashlynn, but your optimism is inspiring.”
Beau began to shuffle Ashlynn out of the line and over toward another truck. “Okay, babe, why don’t we go get popcorn instead of tacos?” He mouthed an apology and I ran my hands through my hair and exhaled.
I’m sure everyone who saw us was thinking it, and the worst part about the whole thing was that Ashlynn was right about everything. Pretty soon, school would start for Lettie, and I would be leaving for basic training, and all we would consist of were letters to each other. Letters that would have to be enough until the next time we saw each other.
Whenever that would be.
When you really pulled it apart and looked at it though, Lettie and I were a ticking time bomb, and it was only a matter of time before the whole thing exploded.
FORTY
AUGUST 2005
LETTIE
It didn’t take longfor word to get out that Theo and I were an item. My parents practically put it into the club newsletter, and when Avery called me freaking out, I knew I’d have to do everything in my power to keep the fact that this relationship was fake to myself. I couldn’t trust Avery with this classified information.
“How could you not tell me?” Avery commanded.
I lay against my bed, my hand over my forehead. “I’m sorry, Ave. It happened really fast, and I’ve been really busy.”
Not a lie.
“I would say! I have barely seen you all summer, and now I find out that you are dating Theo! Not to mention, I had to find out in the debutante program! What kind of best friend are you?”
I shot up in bed.
“What did you just say?” I asked, my pulse quickening.
“You heard me,” Avery snarled. “I already had a long talk with Fletcher about this because he didn’t tell me either, but he’s a guy after all. Butyou!Haven’t you ever heard of girl code?”
I shook my head. “Wait. Go back. It’s in thewhat?”
My mind was racing and I began to feel clammy. Was I going to throw up? Pass out? Die?
“The debutante program? The thing that announces the debs and their escorts? It came in the mail today. Duh!”
It was printed on the debutante programs?
“It’s in the program? Like the one that sends out to everyone within a twenty mile radius?” I was tangled up in the cord of my phone and trying to unwind myself.
“Yes. God, Violet, what is wrong with you?”
“I have to go, Avery. I’m sorry. I’ll call you later.” I hung up the phone and got up, heading downstairs to find the program. I found it lying on the desk in my father’s study, and I took it and ran back upstairs.
I opened the program. “No, no, no, no.”
There it was.
In ink.
