Halston

“Oh my god.” The hotel room is dark as midnight, the blackout curtains drawn tight with a hint of daylight around them. The sensation of cool sheets against my naked body mixed with the pounding throb in my head wasn’t exactly how I planned to wake up this morning. “Thane. Wake up.”

He’s out cold, but I shove him until he begins to rustle, and when he rolls closer, he wears a dreamy smirk.

“You were supposed to take me home last night.” I wrap the sheets around me, climbing out. “And where the fuck is my dress?!”

“You said it was uncomfortable. You took it off.” He sits up, clicking on the bedside lamp and running his fingers through his messy hair as he watches me scramble around the room.

“I don’t remember saying that.”

“You were plastered last night.” He chuckles. “Never seen a girl put it down like that before. You didn’t get sick once. We were shocked.”

I tug my dress on, thinking back to last night. All I remember is leaving the dance, climbing into Thane’s brother’s car, and heading to the hotel to party a little.

“You were pacing yourself at first, then you were outside on your phone. When you came back in, you slammed a couple more shots of tequila and passed out.”

I don’t remember any of that.

He climbs out of bed, and the first thing I notice is the fact that he’s not completely naked. “We didn’t screw. Just so you know.”

Thank god.

Although I wouldn’t know for sure, I suppose.

“You have to take me home,” I say. By some miracle I manage to find my phone buried under a mountain of empty beer cans.

Twelve missed calls.

All of them Uncle Vic, and all of them spanning one o’clock in the morning until as recently as fifteen minutes ago.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

I may not have screwed Thane, but I’m still screwed.

* * *

The silence of the house when I step inside Sunday morning sends a chill to my veins. There’s no television humming in the background. No clinking or clamoring coming from the kitchen. Not so much of a hint of Aunt Tab’s Sunday morning cinnamon rolls in the air.

Sliding off my heels in the foyer, I reach for the stair railing and begin my quiet ascent to my room so I can change out of this scratchy dress.

“Halston.” Uncle Vic’s voice booms, echoing off the two-story ceiling and sending a quick shudder through my body. Turning, I see him standing at the bottom landing, arms folded and mouth bunched tight.

“Uncle Vic. I’m so sorry. I fell asleep and—”

“This is completely unacceptable.” He doesn’t give me time to explain. “We trusted you. We extended your curfew. We gave you a chance to show that you could be respectful and responsible. We’ve opened up our home to you, Halston. We want to see you succeed and become a productive member of society. The last thing we want is for you to end up like your parents.”

I glance away. He didn’t need to bring them into this.

I’ll never be like them.

“You know, I was so proud of you this past summer when you started working,” he says. “And then you just quit one day. For no reason.” He shakes his head, but if he only knew … “And then school starts. You get this new boyfriend.” He says boyfriend like it’s a dirty word. “It’s like that’s all you care about now. Going out on the weekends. Messing around with boys. This is exactly what I was afraid of.”

I’m not half as bad as he’s making me out to be, though I suppose if he’s comparing me to his virginal prodigy, Bree, I’m going to come out looking like the devil himself.

“I’m sorry,” I say again. “It won’t happen again. I swear.”

“Damn right it won’t happen again.” His face is red, his nostrils flaring as he steps toward me. I’ve seen my uncle get worked up about things in the past, but I’ve never seen him like this. “Give me your phone.”

“What?!”

“And your computer.” He holds his hand out, eyeing my clutch.

“Why are you doing this?” It’s not like he’s crossing some line. He gave me the phone. He bought me the computer. He has every right to take them from me.

“What’s the passcode to your phone?” he asks.

I freeze, unable to speak. If he logs onto my phone, if he digs deep enough into everything I do, he’ll find my activity on Karma. All those opportunities I had to delete our conversations … I never wanted to because I loved going back and re-reading them, especially on the days when I missed him.

“Your passcode, Halston.” His voice is louder this time. He has zero patience, and there’s not a chance in hell he’s going to calm down and change his mind anytime in the impending future.

“Eight, two, nine, six, two, eight,” I whisper the numbers, it’s all I can do to force myself to speak.

“And the password on your laptop?” he asks.

“A farewell to arms,” I say softly, adding, “All one word.”

“Bring it to me.”

Turning, I take the steps, biding my time. And when I make it to my room, I close the door, crack open the laptop, and drag the Karma app to the trash. If I’m lucky, he’ll shove my phone in a drawer and never look at it again, and no one will know about the Kerouac and Absinthe saga.

Wrapping the charger around the computer, I carry it down in my arms and hand it over.

“When will I get these back?” I ask. “I have homework due this week.”

“You’re not getting them back, Halston,” he says. “Where you’re going, you won’t need these things.”

“Where I’m going?” I squint.

“Pack your things. We’re leaving first thing in the morning.”

“Wait. You’re kicking me out because I came home late after homecoming?” I’ve never spoken back to my uncle before, but I can’t keep my mouth shut this time. He’s overreacting.

“It’s a culmination of several things,” he says. “There’s a place that’s better equipped to handle girls like you.”

“Girls like me?” I spit his words at him. “Uncle Victor, I’m your niece. I’m not some wayward soul, some problem child.”

He exhales, head tilted. “I see you going down the same path your mother did at your age. I’ll be damned if I let it happen to you. You have a future, Halston. But if you continue on this path, defying authority and abandoning your responsibilities and obligations … you’re going to end up just like her.”

“You won’t give me another chance?”

“We’ve been giving you chances all year.” He shakes his head. “You’re family and we love you, but having you here has been a big adjustment for everyone.”

My jaw falls. “I sit in my room ninety-nine percent of the time. I don’t make a sound. I clean up after myself. I do my chores. You’re making me out to sound like some kind of heathen, Uncle Vic, and it’s not fair.”

Vic’s nostrils flair, and he squares his shoulders. “I wasn’t going to say anything. I promised Bree.”

“What?” My brows twist. Oh, god.

“Bree told us you were working at an adult restaurant,” he says.

That fucking traitor.

“It wasn’t an adult restaurant,” I say with air quotes. “Not the way you’re making it sound.”

“Not to mention the alcohol bottles Bree found under your bed last month,” he adds.

My jaw falls, and it may as well hit the floor. “Alcohol bottles? She’s lying to you, Uncle Vic. She’s jealous and she’s making this up to—”

His hand lifts in the air, cutting me off. “Since you’ve lived here, Bree’s come to us on a number of occasions to report missing items. Jewelry. Clothes. That sort of thing. We’ve kept our mouths shut because we knew you needed our support to turn your life around, but enough is enough, Halston.”

“This isn’t fair! Bree just gets to say whatever she wants about me and I don’t get to defend myself?” My voice shrivels in my hot throat. “You’re just going to take her word for this?”

“We have no reason to believe she’d make any of this up,” he says. “She’s a good girl. She gets straight A’s, does what she’s told. She’s never lied to us.”

My hand claps across my mouth, and I breathe in through my nose to keep from hyperventilating as I pace the small space at the top of the stairs.

This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening.

“The decision’s been made. Tabitha and I have already decided. I made the phone call to an old colleague of mine this morning.” Uncle Vic pulls in a hard breath. “You’ll be finishing your senior year at Welsh Academy in Brightmore, New Hampshire. It’s a reform school. You’ll live there in the dormitories with a roommate.”

“You’re sending me to boarding school? No. Absolutely not. I’ll just … drop out and get my GED and—”

“If you refuse to finish your high school education the proper way, I’m afraid my offer to pay your tuition will be off the table.” His chin lifts as he peers down his nose. I know that look. It’s his way or nothing, and I don’t exactly have eighty grand lying around to pay for college. “Eight months and then you’re done. You’ll emerge a better person, with more discipline, more respect, more poise and grace.”

“I can’t believe you’re doing this.” My eyes burn, but I refuse to cry. “You’re all I had. And you’re just shipping me away, like I’m not your problem.”

“You were never my problem to begin with,” he says. “But I took you in because you’re family. And I love you. I know it may seem harsh, Halston, but I’m doing this for you. This is going to change the entire trajectory of your life. And someday, you’ll thank me for it.”