Page 64 of The Debutantes
My stomach drops as I realize where he’s looking. The invitation, still in my hand.
“Tell me,” I say.
He takes the sort of breath you take when you know what you say next is going to shatter everything. Still, I’m not prepared for the impact.
“I found that invitation at your house on New Year’s,” he says. “It was addressed to your dad.”
23VIVIAN
JANUARY 2, 3:50P.M.
I head straight for the parking lot, not even sure what my plan is besides getting the hell out. All I can think is that Lily left the ball with a stranger, and no one stopped it.Ididn’t stop it. I should have been there, should have done something.
But it’s not just my fault. Wyatt was there, too. Wyatt was supposed to drive her home. And instead, he let her disappear.
I dig out my phone, jabbing at my screen until I find his contact, but just before I pressCALL, I see him: Wyatt, throwing his backpack into the silver Honda that Lily should have been in that night.
I march over to him. “Hey!”
He freezes with his hand on the car door.
“Why didn’t you drive Lily home after the ball?” I demand.
“Whoa, can you keep it down?” Wyatt’s eyes dart around the parking lot, where a few other people are turning their heads. But I’m well past caring.
“Answer the question.”
“I need to get home.” He starts around to the driver’s side, but I block his path. He groans. “Vivian, seriously. I’m leaving.”
“And I’m seriously going to lie in front of this car if I have to.”
For a moment, he holds me in his annoyingly blue stare. But even before he does, I know he’ll fold.
“Fine,” Wyatt says. “Get in.”
I slide into the passenger seat and shut the door. “Start explaining.”
He stares at the dash, teeth grinding, but this time, he doesn’t try to get out of it.
“We got in a fight. She didn’t want to get in the car, and we were arguing, and she—” His voice breaks. “She told me it was over.”
I sink back into my seat. Maybe I shouldn’t be so stunned, after everything, but I am. “Really?”
He shrugs. “Not like it’s a surprise.”
But it is. I mean, isn’t it? Sure, Lily and Wyatt have been through some rough patches in the past few months, but they’reLily and Wyatt. They’re the golden couple, the perfect picture of a Queen and her King. He adores her. She talks about their future like it’s inevitable.
But then I guess there’s a whole lot Lily and I have been keeping from each other.
Wyatt sniffs, turning away from me, and I realize he’s holding back tears. And as much as I want to, I can’t be mad at him. Because suddenly, I understand where all this has been coming from, the way he’s been lashing out: he’s as worried about Lily as I am. And he’s blaming himself just as much, too.
“I’m sorry,” I say. “I didn’t know.”
The car goes quiet, and even though I’m a little less pissed, I still have to ask.
“Coach says he saw Lily getting into a black Mercedes. Do you know whose it was?”
Wyatt frowns. “Coach Davis?”
