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“As soon as that table is out the door, cash out so you can go change. Raven and Natalie will meet us here in an hour, and I’ll drive. We’ll explain everything at Aurora.”
I nod. “I’ll be here.”
An uncomfortable silencesettles like a stagnant fog inside the interior of the Tahoe as Evan drives us to Aurora. Natalie sits up front with Evan, glancing over periodically to stare at me in the rearview like a suspicious parent. I try to swallow my amusement, but after the several shots I had before leaving the Sandbar, it’s becoming more and more difficult.
The Aurora is farther down the beach on the west end, and Evan takes the highway, weaving through traffic at fifteen over. Eventually, he turns off onto a darkened road that winds through a pine forest, and I read the collection of signs on the post at the entrance.
Dead End.
Coral Cove Road.
Every muscle in my body stills. This is the road. The one from the accident. I look out the window, trying to remember the video the Detective showed me.
“I thought the Aurora was on the beach,” I say, breaking the silence.
“It is,” Evan confirms. “We actually overshot it by about two blocks, but it’s quicker to take Coral Cove to get down there. There’s a shortcut through the back of the Danny’s Grocery parking lot that goes to Beach Drive, but no one knows about it. This time of night, Dolphin and Beach are stagnant with traffic trying to get to the strip.”
I nod. A shortcut to Aurora. I ball my hands at my sides, panic rising in my chest. Up ahead, I can see the sign for Danny’s Grocery along the curve, dark green like the hoodie Rose was wearing that night. The headlights illuminate a set of tire tracks on the road that slide into the grass, and a glittering sparkle along the grass line. Broken glass.
This was the spot where Paige’s life changed forever. Where my life changed forever.
We pass over it, following the curve, and turn into Danny’s Grocery. I glance up at the rearview, studying Evan, but he looks entirely unfazed. How can he not care at all? How can he drive this road and not think about her? It was a week ago today. A fucking week!
I glance over at Raven, bathed in the dim reading light mounted above her window. Her hands are paused in midair, holding a small compact mirror and makeup brush as she stares out the window. Evan might not look affected, but she does. Regardless of how I may feel, she and Mia have taught me that I am not alone. At least not in this. There is a degree of this pain that we share.
Evan drives around the parking lot for the small independent grocery store, and I spot two lingering cars in the back lot.The signs are dark, but the inside lights are bright against the night as stockers reset the store for the next day. Behind the building is a small, single-lane road leading away from the loading dock, and aOne Waysign.
We’re not going the one way.
I grab the door handle and wait for headlights, wondering when the trucks arrive to restock. We make it through, and pull out into the crawling traffic of Beach Drive. Further down the block, there’s no way to miss the Aurora. In a display that would rival the Las Vegas strip, laser lights swim into the night sky above the club, in blues and greens and purples, reflecting off a continuous spiral of smoke wafting up from the roof of the building.
Evan pulls into the sprawling parking lot, packed solid with cars, and drives around to the back where he has a reserved spot. I take a breath, compartmentalize everything I just felt on Coral Cove Road into a tiny locked box in my head, and open the door. It’s go time.
The Aurora isn’t just the largest nightclub in Pelican Beach. It’s the largest nightclub I’ve ever seen. Several stories tall, and shaped like an iridescent dome, it’s truly an architectural marvel. Lights and colors flash across the surface of the building, and shine a cool light on the patrons lined up at the door.
“You never told me the Aurora looked like someone buried Epcot Center in the sand,” I tell Evan as we form a line behind him, and head toward the employee entrance. “I don’t know how I missed this place from the plane. You can probably see it from space.”
Evan chuckles from the front of the line. “Like I told you, we like to create an experience they can’t get anywhere else.People come to Pelican Beach just for the Aurora. It’s like this all summer.”
“I don’t know why I expected anything less after witnessing your bougie monstrosity of a condo last night,” I comment, and he flashes me an amused glare that clearly saysshut up.
Natalie’s head whips in my direction, and I can feel her murderous eyes boring into me.
“Wow, Evan,” Natalie says, flashing him a giant fake smile. “Is there anything you haven’t shown Ivy?”
He shakes his head. “I trust her, and you should too. Now give it a rest, this may be one of our biggest nights of the year.”
Natalie’s smile falters briefly, but she plasters it right back on. The loyalty in this one is strong.
Evan speaks to the men guarding the back door, and after a moment, we’re all waved inside. A darkened tunnel snakes into the interior of the building, and we follow a path of twinkling purple lights to a side door. The bass from the music pounds in the walls, and my heartbeat rises to match it.
Evan opens the door, and we walk inside. He orders us to line up against the back wall, and I glance over at Natalie and Raven for guidance. When they obey, I fall in line. He picks up a camera from the table, presses several buttons, and stands before Natalie.
I can’t lie, she looks hot. We all do. Natalie is wrapped in a bright yellow lace lingerie dress with matching undergarments and gold platform heels. Her blonde hair is wrapped into a fluffy pony tail at the top of her head, and she has on enough body glitter to rival the giant disco ball we’re standing in. I know the moment she steps foot inside the club, she will shimmer like a Christmas ornament beneath the lights.
A bright flash strobes through the room, and he moves on to Raven.
“So we have a process here, and I’ll explain it to you,” Evan says, snapping Raven’s photo. Raven maintains her gothic princess vibe, with her long dark hair falling around her shoulders, with lime green highlights in the front, dark makeup, and a black lace corset and skirt. Her spiked black boots rise to her knees, and I immediately want to bother Evan about why she’s allowed to wear boots and I’m not.
