Chapters (61)
- Copyright Notice
- Dedication
- AUTHOR’S NOTE
- ONE DANNI
- TWO ROSE
- THREE DANNI
- FOUR DANNI
- FIVE ROSE
- SIX ROSE
- SEVEN DANNI
- EIGHT ROSE
- NINE DANNI
- TEN ROSE
- ELEVEN ROSE
- TWELVE ROSE
- THIRTEEN ROSE
- FOURTEEN DANNI
- FIFTEEN DANNI
- SIXTEEN ROSE
- SEVENTEEN DANNI
- EIGHTEEN ROSE
- NINETEEN ROSE
- TWENTY DANNI
- TWENTY-ONE DANNI
- TWENTY-TWO DANNI
- TWENTY-THREE ROSE
- TWENTY-FOUR ROSE
- TWENTY-FIVE DANNI
- TWENTY-SIX ROSE
- TWENTY-SEVEN DANNI
- TWENTY-EIGHT ROSE
- TWENTY-NINE ROSE
- THIRTY DANNI
- THIRTY-ONE DANNI
- THIRTY-TWO ROSE
- THIRTY-THREE DANNI
- THIRTY-FOUR ROSE
- THIRTY-FIVE ROSE
- THIRTY-SIX DANNI
- THIRTY-SEVEN ROSE
- THIRTY-EIGHT DANNI
- THIRTY-NINE ROSE
- FORTY DANNI
- FORTY-ONE ROSE
- FORTY-TWO DANNI
- FORTY-THREE ROSE
- FORTY-FOUR DANNI
- FORTY-FIVE ROSE
- FORTY-SIX ROSE
- FORTY-SEVEN DANNI
- FORTY-EIGHT ROSE
- FORTY-NINE ROSE
- FIFTY ROSE
- FIFTY-ONE ROSE
- FIFTY-TWO DANNI
- EPILOGUE ROSE
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- Also by Sophie Gonzales
- Praise Page
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
- Newsletter Sign-up
At the back of my mind, I become vaguely aware that my scowl has returned. This time, I don’t have the wherewithal to correct it.
THIRTEEN ROSE
Eleanor holds us hostage in her bedroom to provide feedback on her Macbeth monologue until it falls dangerously close to dinnertime. We’re rescued only by Danni’s fifteen-minute warning alarm, which explodes into sound right as Eleanor’s in the middle of her four-hundredth or so run-through. The three of us scramble to our feet before Eleanor can beg us to stay for just one more scene.
When we arrive at the B-floor landing, I stop Danni by touching her shoulder. She turns to look at me, and I’m about to speak, but I find myself distracted. For the first time, I’ve noticed the color of her eyes. They’re a remarkable shade of hazel. How is it that I’ve never noted her eye color before?
“Your tag is hanging out,” I say, gesturing to her collar. She nods and lifts her hair, automatically assuming I mean to help her tuck it back inside. It is not what I meant, but I certainly can’t refuse now, can I? After all, what kind of girl hesitates to touch another girl so innocently? There’s nothing intimate about this gesture, is there? Yet, when my fingers brush against the back of her neck as I tuck her tag back in, I realize with horror that my face has heated. I whirl to face my room at once, hoping Danni didn’t catch sight of the color of my cheeks. “We’ll come grab you for dinner?” I ask the wall, which is an entirely normal way to speak to somebody.
“Yeah, see you in a few minutes,” she says. Well, she said nothing about meeting her at Harriet’s room, which I presume to mean she ran out of time to visit. Suddenly, Eleanor’s impromptu rehearsal feels like the best way we could have spent an afternoon. I watch after Danni for a second, even as all there is to look at is the back of her caramel crown as she descends, before I realize I’m alone with Molly.
For the first time in a long time.
Molly darts ahead of me toward her room, but I quicken my step and fall just behind her. “So,” I say in a low voice, aware that we are in a hallway right now. “Are you coming to Mum’s birthday?”
She’s never missed it. Never. And yet, I predict the reply before it’s left her lips.
“I’m actually busy that night. Sorry.”
She has to pause to unlock her door, which gives me the chance to draw closer. “Which night?”
“The night of the party.” She fumbles with the key card, and the lock flashes red. She shifts her cape, which is lying in the crook of her right arm, to her left.