Carmen steps forward, getting up in my face. “It’s not a charade. We’re queens in this school. The top of the social ladder. You’re yapping and running around the base of it because you can’t even climb the first rung.”
“You know, I feel bad for you,” I say. “I’ve been where you are, and I wouldn’t want to be there again. When you come around, talk to us. We’ll be here for you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go freshen up my lady bits. Gotta make sure the station’s fresh and clean for that train coming through soon.”
“Ugh, you really are an animal,” Becca says with a scoff.
I turn to the mirror and pull my sleek pony forward over one shoulder, surveying the belted dress that skims over my hips and falls to the top of my kneecaps. I look as prim and proper as a girl on the WHPA brochure. I give the Dolls a sugary smile. “Must be why all three of your boyfriends fuck me like animals.”
When they leave in a huff, Dixie stares at me in awe. “You really did used to be a mean girl, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. I was.” I smooth my skirt to wipe the sweat from my palms. I fucking hate cutting down other girls. I never wanted to do that again. But I’m not going to lay down and roll over when they treat me like a dog.
“Did you really let the Darlings… You know.” Dixie’s face reddens, and she drops her gaze again.
“Of course not,” I say, trying to calm my racing heart and shaking hands.
“Why’d you say that?” Dixie asks. “You’re just making it worse for yourself.”
I snort. “I think we’re past that. How can it be worse? Denying the rumors doesn’t make them go away. People are going to believe them no matter what I say. I might as well embrace the fact that I’m now the school slut. Maybe I can get something out of it.”
“She’s right,” Dolly says in her sweet lilting drawl. “You can’t stop the rumor train. You just gotta ride it until someone more interesting gets on.”
“I got off it,” Dixie says quietly.
“You miss it, don’t you?” I ask, cocking my head and studying my complicated friend.
“Yeah,” she admits with a shrug. “But I knew it wouldn’t last. A fat freshman is a boring target. It’s predictable. Obviously,I’ma dog.”
“Fuck that,” I say. “No one here is a dog. Don’t let me hear you say that again.”
“Fine,” she says. “But you have to admit it’s more interesting for both the spectators and the Darlings themselves when they’re picking on someone their own size.”
“Maybe that applies if you’re talking about my brothers, but I’m hardly their size.”
“You’re a challenge,” Dixie says. “Ruining you is harder. In their eyes, I was ruined before I got here. They were just biding their time with me because they needed a dog. They always wanted someone spicier.”
“Devlin does love a challenge,” Dolly says, studying me critically.
“Who picks the Darling Dog?” I ask. “You said there’s only one at a time. Do they only last one year?”
One year of this shit might do more than ruin me. It might kill me.
“The guys pick the Dog,” Dolly says. “But from what I’ve heard, it’s not just them.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, my heart flipping.
“Grampa Darling has a finger in every pie when it comes to his family,” she says. “He knows what’s going on with all five of his sons and all their kids, too. At least the legitimate ones. I bet there’s a dozen or more Darling bastards scattered around town, too.”
“Doesn’t he have seven sons?” I ask.
Dolly glances at the door and lowers her voice. “Yeah, but he disowned a couple of them. We don’t talk about them. They don’t even use his last name.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah,” she says. “The grandkids that go here are obviously his favorites, though. I mean, their family helped found this school. I hear Grampa Darling and a bunch of the sons are still in the Midnight Swans. You’ll see them up at school sometimes at odd hours.”
“The Midnight Swans?” I ask, my own voice lowering with excitement despite myself.
“The secret society?” Dixie whispers, her eyes wide.