Page 65 of The Debutantes
“He was outside getting his girlfriend’s shawl or something. And you’re not answering the question.”
The look on Wyatt’s face turns into something like dread. “Lily told me she was going to Uber.”
I bite the inside of my cheek. Maybe itwasjust an Uber. Maybe I’m jumping to conclusions. But still, I don’t relax.
“What if she didn’t?” I ask. “What if it was someone else? Someone—”
“She ran away.”
He says it so calmly that for a second, I don’t think I heard him right.
“What?” I manage finally. “You don’t actually think she just—”
“Vivian, I’m telling you.” He turns to me with a look I hate, like he’s sure. “That night, she told me she was leaving.”
It’s like the floor falls out from under me.
“What? Where?”
“She didn’t say. Just said she was going.”
“And you didn’t tell anyone?”
“Obviously, I did,” he snaps. “I mean, eventually. That night, I was so mad and honestly fucking embarrassed that I couldn’t even talk about it. But I told her parents the next morning. They knew. But she was already gone.”
Lily ran away. It’s what Marty said, what Piper said. But it can’t be true. Not with everything else that’s happened.
“She wouldn’t,” I argue. “It doesn’t make sense. We found her necklace at the Den. She sent us this email.”
“What does it matter? She clearly didn’t give a shit about any of us.”
“Bullshit.”
“Yeah? Then why didn’t she give you a heads-up?” His stare burns into me so hard it almost stings.
I turn away.
“You could have told me,” I say.
He laughs darkly. “So could Piper.”
I force myself to look at him again. “What?”
“I don’t know how she found out, but I overheard her ratting to our parents that I ‘lied’ about driving Lily home, or whatever. I wouldn’t be surprised if she knows the rest.” He scoffs. “Honestly, I’m shocked she didn’t tell you everything. Take every chance she had to act all superior.”
Maybe I shouldn’t, but I feel betrayed. It’s not like I know Piper that well, but I thought we were on the same team. I thought, maybe, we were something like friends. But this whole time, she had a lead we could have used, and she hid it. And maybe it’s not the worst lie, but it’s one too many.
I shove the car door open. “Thanks for the chat. This was awesome.”
“Wait. I’m sorry. I just—” He stops, and as much as I want to leave, I freeze, my heart suddenly pounding. “Look, I know she’s your best friend, and you don’t want to hear it, but maybe we all need to wake up to the fact that we don’t know Lily as well as we think we do. She was never going to let us.”
I want to argue that he’s wrong. I’ve known Lily for thirteen years. You can’t know a person for that long and notknowthem.
Can you?
I shut the door, and he doesn’t try to stop me. Or maybe he knows I won’t let him. Either way, I storm back to my car alone, throat burning. All I want is to get the hell out of this parking lot and drive somewhere no one will see me cry.
And then I notice the envelope on my windshield.
