It’s lingered in her voice every time she’s ever spoken to me, and I’ve never understood it. Her fake niceness is like an artificial sweetener. She’s insistent on acting nice toward me but wants me to know it’s not genuine. I suspect Holden has something to do with it. Grace did go to middle school with us. She knows we were once friends.

I raise a hand in a small wave. “Hi, Grace.”

“Hi, Cassia,” she replies, looking me and my pajamas over. “You look…cozy.”

I smile, the expression tight.

Grace glances at McKenzie. “You have the tequila?”

“Yeah.” McKenzie walks over to her suitcase and pulls a glass bottle out. I avert my gaze back to the television.

A male voice draws my attention to the doorway again. “Come on. You ladies ready to…” Finn’s voice trails when he sees me. “Cassia. Hey.”

I raise a brow. “Hey, Finn.”

Finn and Mark, Holden’s two closest friends, used to be guys I considered friends as well. Up until Holden stopped inviting me to hang out—with them, at all.

I wonder if Holden gave them a reason for distancing from me. I’m guessing not. He’s not the type to explain himself. And he was the common thread—the reason I was friendly with either of them in the first place. I’ve barely spoken to Finn since we started high school.

Finn takes a few steps into the room, acting like that’s not the case at all. “Whatcha watching?”

I shrug, since I’m not really sure. Finn seems to recognize the movie, though, because his eyes light up with excitement as he studies the motorcycle chase taking place on the screen. “Oh! I love this part.”

Well, that makes one of us.

“Finn!” Grace snaps. “Let’s go.”

She and McKenzie are waiting in the doorway. Impatience radiates from Grace. I’m surprised she’s not tapping her foot.

He jerks his attention away from the television, aiming it at me instead. “Wanna come, Cas?”

I’m shocked, both by the casual use of the nickname and the invitation itself. Questions fly to the tip of my tongue.

Why is he inviting me?

What are they doing?

Will Holden be there?

I swallow them all, forcibly. It’s after curfew. Whatever they’re doing, it’s not school-sanctioned. If I decline, I know exactly how this night will end. And for once, that bothers me. I’m a couple hundred miles from Pembrooke. If I stay out late, I won’t have to worry about my parents noticing.

So I nod and stand. “Sure.”

None of them expected me to agree, that much is obvious. Finn is the first to shed his shocked expression. “Cool. You ready?”