“Yeah, Christmas isn’t my favorite,” she says. “Oh, I did get earrings from my aunt because she couldn’t guess my size, and even fat girls can wear jewelry.”
“Did she say that?”
“More or less,” Dixie says. “I also got a lovely box of dog treats, a collar and a leash in the mailbox. My parents were really confused since we don’t have a dog.”
“I thought they did away with the Darling Dog,” Dolly says.
“Doesn’t stop Colt from treating me like one,” Dixie says with a sigh. “What about y’all? What’d you get?”
“If it makes you feel any better, my Christmas wasn’t all that great, either,” I say. “My mom couldn’t be bothered to come down for a visit, since she’d miss all the good holiday parties in New York. And my dad decided to install a security camera on the balcony to ‘keep me safe.’ But it’s really to make sure I don’t sneak out or Devlin doesn’t sneak in my window. They took my phone, too, so I can’t even text him.”
“That’s messed up,” Dixie says, her eyes widening. “I thought it was bad when I got grounded.”
“The worst part is, I think it was King who did it,” I say. “Royal would have murdered Devlin if he caught him sneaking in. My dad, too. But King wouldn’t want to hurt me, and he knows hurting Devlin would. So he didn’t rat me out, he just had them put up security measures. As fucked up as it is, he’s really trying to protect me.”
“And he thinks keeping you apart will do that?” Dolly asks.
“Apparently,” I say, sweeping crumbs off my lap. “But it’s not making me want to give up on Devlin. Nothing is going to make me stop loving him. All it’s making me do is want to defy my family.”
“What are you going to do?” Dixie asks, her eyes wide.
“I don’t know,” I say. “But I’m not going to stop seeing him.”
“Are you going to the Darlings’ New Year’s Eve party?” she asks. “I heard it’s like, the most exclusive one of the year. It’s at Grampa Darling’s estate outside town, but he’s not there. No adults are.”
I turn to Dolly. “I assume you’ve been to these?”
“Of course,” she says, sounding wearied by the whole thing. “But it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Last year, one of their Dolls got roofied.”
I remember Preston stumbling off into the bushes with some drunk girl at Colt’s house, and I’m not too shocked. Some things are the same at any school.
“Did she get…You know,” Dixie whispers.
“Raped,” I say. “That’s the word you’re looking for.”
“Yeah,” Dolly says. “By two guys on the football team. Guys the Darlings thought were their friends.”
“Did they get arrested?” Dixie asks, her eyes wide.
“No,” Dolly says. “They take everyone’s phones, so there was no proof, but when Lacey told them, they beat up the guys so bad they ended up in the hospital. One of them had permanent brain damage. Last I heard, he transferred to Faulkner High where they have more services, and the other guy dropped out of school and is working at a gas station.”
“Wow,” Dixie breathes. “They really take care of their friends.”
“Yeah,” Dolly says. “And their enemies.”
“The girl was Lacey?” I ask. I remember her telling me about how great it was to be a Darling Doll on my first day of school. Now I understand her loyalty to them, despite her less than desirable experience as a Darling Doll. Still, they took her side over their buddies with no proof, and that has to mean a hell of a lot to any girl in her situation. Because the sad truth is, most guys would just call her a slut and be done with it.
“Yeah,” Dolly says. “She’s a bitch, but she has her reasons.”
“I guess you’re not going this year, then,” Dixie says.
“Oh, I’m going,” Dolly says. “I always go, and it’s my senior year, so this is my last one. Skipping it would be like skipping homecoming or prom. I may be leaving Faulkner, but I’m a southern gal at heart. I love tradition. Drape me in mums to the floor and crown me queen all day long.”
“Are you going?” Dixie asks, turning to me.
“I don’t know,” I say. “Devlin asked me to go, but now that I can’t leave my room without my family knowing, I’m not sure I’ll be able to sneak out.”
“I’ll take you,” Dolly says.