Jenny dragged herself from the bed and walked away from her own room, leaving Aubrey to gaze after her with tears in her eyes.
Half an hour later, after a lukewarm shower that made her feel somewhat better, Jenny headed down to breakfast. The veranda was thankfully deserted, the others hiding from the day in their darkened rooms. Looking toward the sea, Jenny took a deep breath of jasmine-scented air and told herself to at least try to enjoy her few precious remaining hours in this tropical paradise. Every morning, Ethelene put out rolls, coffee, and fruit, and the kids helped themselves—assuming they bothered to wake up. Jenny went to the sideboard and picked up a plate, thinking she might eat something after all. The vacation had been a sickening kaleidoscope of drunken nights and bleary days, yet its luxuries would be permanently etched in her mind, and make her want things. The palm trees and the aqua water, the gracious home with the sweeping vista of the ocean, the staff to feed her and clean up afterward. She wanted to be rich like Kate, but without the drama and the heartache. Was such a thing possible? Kate was the iconic poor little rich girl, living so far out on the edge that her feet were starting to skid off the cliff. She’d take them down with her if they let her. Since arriving, every one of them had been drunk or high every night, sleeping in the wrong beds, saying things they didn’t mean and couldn’t take back. Jenny wound up in bed with Drew two nights ago despite the fact that—she was pretty sure—he was gay. Nothing much happened, and they laughed about it in the morning, but still, she’d risked an important friendship. (Drew and Jenny saw eye-to-eye, and if she was honest with herself, she was more likely to keep in touch with him after Carlisle than with her wild and crazy roommates.) She didn’t blame herself. They acted out at Kate’s instigation. A dark magic emanated from the girl, from her Pre-Raphaelite hair and golden skin, from her marijuana pipe, that dazed them, and made them obey her whims no matter how self-destructive.
By the time Kate and Lucas staggered downstairs, it was late afternoon. They were red-eyed and catatonic, with matted hair, smelling of sex. When Jenny told them about Griff leaving, they merely nodded. There had been an ugly scene the night before, in the small hours while everyone else slept. Jenny heard the yelling, rolled over, and went back to sleep, but she hadn’t been surprised when Aubrey broke the news of Griff’s departure. Whatever happened was bad enough that Kate and Lucas had obviously been expecting him to take off, too.
“We have to get back home on our own now,” Jenny said, looking at Kate accusingly.
Kate shrugged and stared into her coffee. “People come and go as they please. What do you want me to do about it?” she mumbled.
“Griff left because of the way you treated him. You could at least take some responsibility for the fact that we’re stranded.”
Kate put her fingers to her temples and grimaced. “Lower your voice.”
“Meanwhile I’ve spent the day on the phone trying to clean up your mess, as usual. I reserved tickets for everybody on a United flight tomorrow morning,” Jenny said. She’d also placed a call to Keniston in New York, though she didn’t mention that.
Kate’s pretty mouth settled into a sullen line. “I’m not leaving till Sunday,” she said.
“They were the only seats I could find. Seven A.M. departure. It’s spring break. Everything else is booked. Drew and I want to get back to Carlisle on time, so we’ll be on it. If you want to stay, that’s your choice, but you won’t find an open seat until next Tuesday at the earliest.”
“Who paid for the tickets?” Lucas asked.
“Nobody. You can pay for yours at the airport,” Jenny said.
Jenny watched the alarm spread across Lucas’s face. It gave her a sick pleasure to think the expense would cause trouble for him. She wanted Lucas to suffer, she realized. They were all going crazy cooped up here on this hilltop, broiling in the sun and frying their brains with drugs and booze. How long until they were at each other’s throats? She had to get away; tomorrow wasn’t soon enough.
“I’m going to the beach,” she announced, and stood up.
She didn’t think they’d follow her. They were so lethargic they could barely hold their heads up. But as she collected her towel and sunscreen in the living room, Lucas skulked up to her.
“Hey, Jen,” he said under his breath, “I’m kinda short on money for the flight. I was wondering if you could maybe spot me something. I’ll pay you back, I swear.”
“You should ask Kate. She’s your girlfriend, isn’t she?”
“She says she’s broke.”
“This isn’t my problem, Lucas.”
“Kate told me the trip was free, or I would never have come.”
“And you believed her? You should’ve known better. Everything costs something,” Jenny said, and turned her back.
Jenny recruited Drew to come with her to the beach. The two of them had been going every afternoon—the only ones of the crew who’d bothered leaving the hilltop. Samuel was on his way to town and gave them a lift in his old Plymouth sedan, dropping them at the entrance to the cottage colony that they could see from the cliff’s edge. Small, brightly colored bungalows spread up the hillside. Jenny and Drew walked down a steep dirt path to the white sand beach, which was crowded with Americans and Brits of all shapes and sizes, some bright red, some pasty white, some a rich, deep tan. They wound their way through beach chairs and umbrellas down toward the waves, where they found an unoccupied spot to spread their towels.
“What a relief to be out of the lion’s den,” Drew said.
“Is it that bad?” she asked, pulling sunscreen from her beach bag and offering it to him. He squirted some into his palm and looked at her quizzically.
“I know they’re your friends. But honestly? Yes, it’s bad.”
Jenny rubbed sunscreen on her arms and legs, then lay down and closed her eyes, letting the sun bake the alcohol out of her. Drew’s comment hung in the air.
“Can you be more specific?” she said after a few minutes. “What’s bad about them, exactly?”
“Promise you won’t get mad.”
“Okay,” Jenny said with alarm, her stomach sinking.
“You’re one of the smartest, most ambitious girls I’ve ever met, and yet you’re known around campus as one of the Whipple Triplets. Is that what you want—to be mentioned in the same breath as a spoiled, druggie rich girl and a basket case?”
Drew’s words exploded in her head like little truth bombs. And yet, she couldn’t stand to hear her most ungenerous private thoughts spoken aloud. No matter what their flaws, Kate and Aubrey belonged to her, and she to them.
“That’s unfair,” she said.
“You said you wouldn’t get mad,” Drew said.
“I know, but they’re my roommates! I love them. I want to protect them.”
“Yes, exactly. You’re the responsible one, always saving their butts, while they behave however they want and break every rule. Don’t you worry something bad will happen?”