“Did my dad freak out?” Holly asked in a small voice. Cassie sat back down next to her on the beach-grass-covered dunes. Holly’s bike lay nearby, along with her school backpack.

“He’ll be fine. He says he’ll pick you up tomorrow. You can stay with me tonight.”

“I’m just so embarrassed,” Holly wailed. “I want to tell him, but I’m afraid to. I’m still afraid to tell you. He’s going to be so disappointed in me.”

“Oh sweetie. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Your father loves you.”

“But you don’t understand. He’s always worried I’ll turn out like my mom. He doesn’t say it, but I know he thinks it. He has really high standards about some things. He’s like, kind of old-fashioned. He always expects the best. It’s so annoying.”

“Listen, Holly. Kevin knows what it’s like to be young. He was no saint when he was a kid, or even when he was in the Air Force. Judging by the stories Ben tells,” she added quickly, remembering she wasn’t supposed to know Kevin that well.

Not that it mattered now. Kevin’s icy-cold voice and cruel words didn’t leave much doubt that it was over between them. Whatever “it” had been in the first place.

Holly gave her a knowing look. “You don’t have to hide the truth, you know. I know you and my dad are sleeping together.”

Cassie swallowed hard. “Um…”

“It’s okay. That’s partly why I called you. You know my dad, so maybe you can help me talk to him.”

Maybe. Or maybe Kevin would freeze her into a popsicle at her own front door. “I’ll do whatever I can to help, but I honestly don’t know what that is. You have the wrong idea about us.”

It doesn’t mean you belong in this, he’d said.

Message received.

“Whatever. It’s okay. I’m kind of glad you are, because he needs someone. I mean, I kind of lost it at first, when I found out. He should have told me. But—seriously, will you help me talk to him?”

“Of course, I’ll do whatever you need. But you’re going to have to tell me first, you know.” She pushed her toes into the sand. “My curiosity’s going wild, I have to say.”

The girl buried her head in her hands. Her hair tumbled in thick sheets alongside her face. Gently, Cassie lifted the silky black mass away from her cheek.

And saw what she’d feared, what had been bubbling in the back of her mind. The faint traces of a nearly healed bruise.

“Did someone hurt you?”

“No. I mean, yes, but I deserved it.”

“Sweetie, that’s not possible. No one deserves a bruise like that.”

“I do.” Holly lifted her head and glared at Cassie. “I know what you think of me. You think I’m a nice girl, a good student, kind of a science geek, right? Someone who behaves herself and goes to school on time. Blah blah blah.”

Taken aback, Cassie shook her head. “I wouldn’t describe you like that. You left out the sarcastic sense of humor and great taste in TV shows. But keep in mind, I don’t know you nearly as well as I wish I did.”

Slightly mollified, Holly rubbed at a bit of the eyeliner that had smeared around her eyes. “Well, I know for sure that’s how other people see me. It’s because I’m half Asian. People assume I’m smart and studious and boring. I was sick of it.” She shoved her hair behind her ears, defiantly revealing the hint of color still left from the bruise.

“Okay.” Cassie contemplated the mark. “So you decided to shake things up by joining a fight club?”

Holly laughed, a surprised crackle of amusement. “Funny. But kind of close, actually. I wanted to prove myself to some girls I was hanging out with. They dared me to steal something. So I did. And while I was doing it, someone nearly caught me. That’s how I got the bruise.”

Oh shit. This was bad. Very bad. And totally not what Cassie had been expecting. She’d imagined boy trouble, a crush who turned out to have a violent streak. Maybe even a sexual encounter gone wrong. But stealing? That hadn’t crossed her radar at all.

“What did you steal?”

“Money,” the girl admitted. “A lot of money. Like, over a thousand dollars.”

Cassie fought to keep her reaction calm, to not scare her off before she told the entire story. “From where?”

Holly drew in a deep breath. “The observatory. Where I volunteer. I knew how to access the cash register for the tours and everything. That’s where I took it from. I wore a silly mask because I knew there were cameras. A security guard chased after me and grabbed my wrist. I got away but his baton thingie hit my cheek.”

Cassie went cold to the soles of her feet. “You were lucky he didn’t shoot you.”

“I knew he wouldn’t do that. The security guards there don’t carry guns.”

Jesus. Did she have some kind of budding criminal on her hands here? Luckily, in the next breath, Holly relieved her of that worry.

“I thought it was just a stunt. The other girls dared me to steal it, and I did. But after that I planned to give it back. Just sneak it back into the cash register as if it was there the whole time.”

“Let me guess. The girls changed the plan.”

“It was over a thousand dollars! They couldn’t believe I got that much. So they decided we should all have a spa day.”

“Oh my God.” Cassie clutched at her head, hoping it didn’t explode. “A girl gang booking a spa day. You know, I’d totally watch that movie.”

Holly snorted. She shot Cassie a cautious glance. “You aren’t freaking out on me.”

Oh, she was, but Holly didn’t need that from her. She needed a calm adult who could help her through this. “Holy mother of God, Holly.”

So much for calm.

“And there it is,” Holly said gloomily. “The freak-out.”

“That’s…larceny. That’s a crime, Holly. Me freaking out is the least of your worries.”

Tears sprang to the girl’s eyes. “I know. You don't have to rub it in!”

Cassie sucked in some air before she freaked out even more. What was she supposed to do here? Couldn't Holly have called someone who knew how to handle a situation like this? Should she call Kevin right away? He would probably want to know that his kid had joined a girl gang and stolen a grand from her own place of employment. “I’m sorry. I’m not used to this kind of thing. I’m not a trained kid-wrangler. I’m more of a mom-wrangler, if you want to know the truth.”

“Me too,” Holly said with a hint of surprise. “And you want to know the crazy thing? I actually think my mom would laugh about this whole thing. She’s kind of a wild and crazy rebel.”

Cassie picked up a handful of pebbles and let them sift through her fingers. Kevin sure wouldn't laugh about this, guaranteed. “Is that why you did it?”

“No! I just wanted those girls to like me. I didn’t want to be the geeky one anymore. The dorky Asian kid. You wouldn’t understand. I mean, that part.” Her lips turned down in a pout of misery. “The part about high school hell, obviously you understand that. That’s why I kept your card after you came to talk. I decided if I was going to tell anyone, it would be you.”

“Well, I’m honored.” And terrified. “Also worried, sweetheart. That’s a serious amount of loot. You’re going to have to tell the truth to more than just me.”

“I thought about running away,” she said in a small voice.

For the first time in this conversation, Cassie felt on solid ground. Maybe she did have something to contribute after all. “Take it from me, that’s not the way to go. You can’t let your problems chase you away.”

“But my dad…” Holly cringed, unable to even finish that sentence.

Maybe Cassie shouldn’t call Kevin yet. Maybe her job here was to help Holly get to the point where she told her dad herself. “Do you still have any of the money?”

Holly stuck out her bare feet and splayed her toes apart. They were painted a deep indigo blue. “No, it’s all gone…but I got an awesome pedicure,” she said gloomily. “I should have told someone as soon as the other girls took the cash from me, but I was too chicken-shit. I want to pay it back. I’ll do anything the director wants. I’m so afraid of what she’s going to say. She’s going to think I’m such a loser!” She burst into tears and lowered her forehead onto her knees. For a while, Cassie just patted her back while she sobbed.

She didn’t really know what to say to make Holly feel better. Maybe there wasn’t anything. The girl had screwed up in a big way, and she’d have to pay the price.

“Did you know that the prefrontal cortex doesn’t fully develop until the age of twenty-five or so? That’s the part of the brain in charge of making good decisions. I looked it up once, when I was wondering what possessed me to leave Jupiter Point in such a rush.”

Holly’s shoulders quaked from her sobbing.

“Sometimes I think mine could still use some work, actually. But the point is, teenagers are famous for their bad decisions. That’s why they don’t go to jail like adults. I’m not implying jail’s what’s in store for you,” she added quickly when she felt Holly tense. “I don’t know for sure, but it most likely depends on whether or not the observatory wants to press charges.”

“So if I work something out with them, like I mop the bathroom floors for the next year—I mean, those floors get gross, especially on school tour days—you think maybe they won’t send me to juvie?”

The wobble in her voice tugged at Cassie’s heart. “I highly doubt you’ll go to juvie. This is your first offense, right?”

“Of course!” She scrubbed tears off her face. “Honestly, I’m not even that afraid of jail. I’m more afraid of what my dad’s going to think. What if he…” She broke off, digging her teeth into her lower lip with so much force Cassie was afraid she’d break the skin.

“What if he what?”

“What if he sends me back to my mom?” Tears flowed down her cheeks in a frantic stream. “I love my mom but I can’t live with her, and I don’t even think she wants me to. But I know my dad’s going to think this is totally a Mom-like thing to do. Which I guess it is. But that doesn’t mean I should be with her, does it?”

“Oh honey.” Cassie slung an arm around her shoulders and hugged her close. “I think you should trust your father. That’s what I think. He loves you, and no crazy teenage spa stunt is going to change that.”

“But what if it does? I mean, he could just go back to flying planes and traveling around the world being a hotshot pilot. He doesn’t have to be stuck here with me. His daughter, the juvenile delinquent.”

Cassie bit back a laugh, even though Holly’s teenage exaggeration made her smile. She’d been like that too. Everything had seemed like the biggest disaster, the worst thing in the world…and sometimes, the best.

Then again, Holly knew her father better than Cassie did. Maybe Kevin would be so appalled that he’d hand Holly off to his ex-wife and rejoin the Air Force. What did she know? He’d slammed the door in her face pretty fast—for nothing more than having a private conversation with his daughter.

Besides, Holly’s feelings were the important thing here, and to her, this all felt huge and terrifying and catastrophic.

“How about this,” she told the girl. Holly looked up, her eyes completely ringed by smeared black eye makeup. “Let’s go to my house, which isn’t actually my house but an amazing celebrity home I’m taking care of. We can stock up on pizza and ice cream. And we’ll make a plan. Step by step, what we’re going to do next.”

“We?”

“Yes, we. I’ll be with you every step, as long as you want me. I’ll leave it up to you. You kick me out the second you want to handle things on your own.”

Holly squared her shoulders and sat up in almost a military posture. Maybe she’d learned that from Kevin. She wiped the heel of her hand across her face, then rose to her feet. “It’s my disaster, and I know I have to fix it. But maybe if you could help with the first part. The worst part. My dad.”

“Whatever you want, kid. We’ll be our own girl gang, how’s that?”

They spent the rest of the evening at Hunter and Starly’s house. Cassie gave her plenty of space to think about what she needed to do. In the meantime, she pulled out a deck of cards and they launched into a game of Go Fish punctuated by bites of pepperoni and mushroom pizza (Holly’s choice) and Rocky Road Ice Cream (Cassie’s ironic pick).

Having never spent extended time with Holly, other than that initial tour of Jupiter Point and some conversations at Knight and Day, Cassie discovered she loved getting to know her better. She was a funny mixture of insecure and brilliant, level-headed and passionate. Their senses of humor totally clicked. Cassie was able to get Holly rolling on the floor laughing with her imitation of various pop stars like Taylor Swift and Lorde, and even Beyoncé.

They actually had fun, despite the cloud of dread hanging over Holly.

It was too bad she probably wouldn’t be seeing Holly much in the future. That thought was especially bittersweet when Holly said, “One thing I feel really bad about is I might have guilt-tripped my dad about you. He thinks I don’t want him to date you, but that’s not really true. I was just mad at the world. Mostly myself,” she admitted. “I couldn’t believe I was so stupid.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Cassie said as she put down a ten of spades and scooped up Holly’s five of hearts. “Don’t worry about any of that. Water under the bridge.”

“But I like you. And I know my dad is crazy about you. I’ve never seen him this happy. It’s actually a little weird.” Holly played a king of spades and snagged Cassie’s jack of hearts.

Cassie’s heart sank. If only that were true—but she knew it wasn’t. Kevin had made that perfectly clear. “Listen, kid, it’s really not what you think. We’re good friends and I’m sure we’ll continue to be. He’s an easy person to be friends with, and I really enjoy having him around at Knight and Day. But that’s where it ends.”

Holly rolled her eyes, clearly not believing her. Cassie sighed inwardly and decided to let it go. If Kevin insisted on behaving like a jerk, that was on him, not her.

Finally, Holly set down her cards and straightened her spine. “Step one, tell my dad.”

“I concur.”

“Then if the world is still standing, step two is that I talk to my boss. I explain in excruciating and painful detail what I did. I’ll suggest different ways to pay the money back, if she’s willing to work something out.”

“I like it. Mature, responsible. Big points for difficulty.” She reached across the cards to high-five Holly.

“Thank you,” said Holly soberly. “Step three is to apologize to the security guard. I think I threw something at him. Do you think I should report myself to the police?”

“Let’s start with steps one and two and see how that goes. There’s something else, too.”

“What?”

“The girl gang. Anything you want to say to them?”

“Oh right.” Holly made a face. “I’m going to tell them that I’m turning myself in, and that they need to change their Bling Ring ways or they’re going to get busted. How’s that?”

“Eloquent. Holly, I’m impressed, I really am. You didn’t have to speak up about any of this.”

Holly shot her a wry glance. “Right, and live tortured by guilt for the rest of my life. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since that night. I honestly don’t know how real criminals do it.”

Cassie laughed. “Let’s keep it that way, shall we? Maybe you’ll sleep better tonight now that you’ve shared your deep dark secret.”

“Or maybe I’ll just be enjoying my last night on Earth.”

“Well, if you’re going to be that way about it…more Rocky Road? You know, for the road?”