She had enjoyed the dorms at first. In the evenings after dinner, she and her group of friends would get their work done. Teachers and prefects roamed the halls, open doors were mandated, and they made sure the girls were all in their rooms studying. At nine thirty, they had free time, and often ordered pizza, spending the next hour and a half before curfew and lights-out laughing and telling stories. Adding to their fun was the vodka snuck in by their favorite pizza guy. Then, in Blaire’s junior year, one of the other girls got caught sneaking out one weekend. Security was tightened, curfews were moved up, and none of it seemed fun anymore. They’d limited how many weekends she was allowed to spend off campus, until Lily changed all that.

One Friday evening, the Michaels had taken the girls to Haussner’s, a Baltimore landmark known for its hundreds of paintings covering practically every inch of the walls, and a favorite of Blaire’s. Over dessert, Lily took a sip of her coffee and looked at Blaire.

“Blaire, darling. Harrison and I have something we’d like to discuss with you.”

She remembered feeling panic-stricken. In her experience, a sentence beginning that way usually heralded bad news. She racked her brain, trying to think of anything she might have said or done to upset them. A glance over at Kate revealed nothing; she was looking at Lily.

Blaire cleared her throat. “What is it?”

Lily smiled, and all of Blaire’s reservations evaporated. “We were wondering if you’d like to live with us instead of staying at the dorm.”

“Um,” Blaire said as Lily continued, “Before you answer, we just want you to know how much we’ve come to love you and, well, you’re a member of the family now.” Lily extended a hand toward Kate. “We’re so happy that Kate has you. It seems silly for you to stay all alone in the dorm when you could be with us.”

“I would love that,” Blaire said, and turned to Kate. “Did you know?”

Kate had smiled and nodded.

That was a long time ago, but Blaire had always been grateful for the way Kate’s family had so fully taken her in.

She put the car in gear and headed to Kate’s. Now Kate was falling apart again, and needed Blaire. She knew that if these threats didn’t end soon, it wouldn’t be much longer before Kate cracked for good.

19

Kate heard the doorbell and walked to the front hall, nodding to Brian, the guard on duty, as she opened the door and let in an icy blast. The weather had turned dramatically yesterday. Blaire, in a down parka and gray wool hat, stamped her feet and rubbed her gloved hands together as she entered the house.