“Lacey said they’re going to pick more Dolls tomorrow,” Dixie says as we head for the doors. “They’re each going to pick one. Do you think Colt will pick me?”
“I don’t know, honestly,” I say. “I don’t think you should let them label you and tell you what you are. But I know you have a different opinion on that.”
“Don’t you want Devlin to pick you?” she asks, widening her eyes at me.
“No,” I say. “I told him I don’t like any of it. He’ll give his to Dolly. She’s the original Doll, and he cares about her. And I guess whoever Colt and Preston pick will be their girlfriends, basically. I know they don’t date, but once they each pick a favorite, that’s how everyone’s going to see it.”
“It could be me,” Dixie says.
I sigh, shaking my head. Just because I don’t share her obsession with the labeling, that doesn’t mean it’s not important to her. “Maybe,” I concede. “I haven’t seen him hanging out with any girl in particular. Maybe they’ll just keep them for a while and give them to the girls they ask out when they’re ready to date someone. I mean, I don’t know why guys would give random girls jewelry, anyway.”
“Then I’ll never get one,” Dixie says glumly. “Colt would never actually date me. I mean, I could maybe be a hookup girl for him, but he’d never be my boyfriend. I wish you hadn’t told Devlin to get rid of them.”
“Sorry,” I say. “I thought it was demeaning. Maybe I should have left it alone.”
I remember the girls crying over it, and suddenly, I’m not so sure I did the right thing. It seemed so dehumanizing to me. But these girls liked being labeled. It made them special. And now I took that away from them.
I wish there was an easy answer, but I don’t see one. I don’t know if I did the right thing, or if I did something cruel. I thought I was on the right side, but now I don’t know which side is right. I don’t even know which side I’m on.
“Maybe I can still be the Dog,” Dixie says.
“You’re worth so much more than that,” I tell her. “You got up in front of the whole town and shook your ass like a boss.”
Dixie sighs. “Which, by the way, I’m still grounded for. I was hoping I could go to the Darlings’ New Year’s Eve party, but I don’t think it’ll ever happen now.”
“I’m sorry,” I say. “It’s my fault. But I’m not sorry you did it. You were a rock star.”
“I’m not sorry, either,” she admits with a sly grin.
“And hey, if it makes you feel any better, I don’t think your parents would stop you from going if the Darlings invite you.”
“You really think so?”
She’s so earnest it hurts me to look at her. I told Devlin I didn’t like them having Dolls and Dogs, and he said he’d get rid of them. He’s already disbanded the Dolls. As I look at Dixie, though, I wonder if she’s right. Is this her only chance to be close to Colt, her only chance to win him over? I don’t know if I’m ruining her dream or saving her dignity. And really, is it my place to decide? I thought I was making the school better, but now I’m not so sure. Maybe I should have kept out of it, the same as my brothers should have. Are all my good intentions paving stones on the way to hell?
sixteen
Crystal
There’s a reason I don’t want to be a Darling Doll. Not only is it too close to the Dog, but I’m done with people labeling me. I want to choose my own label. I don’t want to be a pawn in someone else’s game or a toy someone plays with. I’m no one’s fangirl. I’m Devlin’s equal. He’s changing the rules for me, and the whole school has taken notice. I don’t need a necklace to prove my worth. I already wear a fucking crown.
“Royal’s got a meeting with the coaches at lunch today,” King says to me on Thursday as we head to my locker before school. “I thought I’d go with him.”
“But the season’s over,” I say, hoping they’ll split off so I won’t have to get my coffee in front of Royal. I swear, Devlin’s needling him on purpose. I asked him to stop with the drinks in my locker, but he said no one was going to tell him he couldn’t take care of his girl.
“Season’s over, but Royal needs to play next year,” King says.
In Devlin’s spot. It won’t matter then, though. Devlin’s graduating. He doesn’t have to fight Royal to keep his place. They could all play together if they’d just get over their stubborn pride.
“We’ve got detention, but we can skip to look out for you,” Baron says.
“It’s fine,” I say. “No one is giving me shit anymore. You know that.”
“Yeah,” King says slowly.
Duke throws an arm around my shoulders. “Baby sis is the only one of us who’s made it to the top. No one messes with you.”
“And I don’t think she even tried,” Baron says, studying me with a look I’ve never seen before, both impressed and wary. The look of someone who underestimated me. Even my family does that—maybe especially them. It’s one thing for the Darlings to do it without knowing me. It’s hurts a little that the Dolces still think I’m some fragile, helpless little girl, even when I’ve proven otherwise.