The rest of the week passed without anything weird happening.
Griffin and Lauren hung out with the boys every night and sometimes in the afternoons when they weren't working. Lauren was already in full swing with the events staff at the club. The first tasks they'd saddled her with were planning her mom's book club brunch and early prep for the charity tennis tournament coming up.
Griffin's job was a lot less demanding. She'd fallen asleep at the Tennis Hut counter the other day without anyone noticing.
Today, she had an afternoon shift and was supposed to meet Matty and Lauren when they got off work. They were going back to Lauren's house to get ready for Mary Kyle's party.
God, Mary Kyle.
The name alone made Griffin's skin crawl.
Another intern came in early to take the next shift at the Tennis Hut, so Griffin lingered awkwardly outside the golf Pro Shop, waiting on Matty. Lauren was supposed to meet them there too. Griffin checked her phone again. 5:03 PM.
The Pro Shop door swung open. Griffin jumped.
"No worries, just make sure all of the driving range buckets are full with balls tomorrow morning before the course opens," a guy said, walking beside Matty. He had to be in his early twenties, with a boyish face and fantastic hair.
Matty was looking at him like he was God's personal gift to man.
(Which, Griffin had to admit, didn't seem far off.)
"Yeah I'll make sure it's done, no problem," Matty said. He saw Griffin and veered off in her direction, waving to the guy. "See you tomorrow, Cutter."
He stopped in front of Griffin and immediately looked suspicious. He pointed at her face. "What is that goofy-ass little smile all about?"
"Nothing." Griffin shook her head innocently. "So that's Cutter, hmm? The assistant golf pro?"
Matty tried not to grin. He gripped the back of his neck and looked down.
"Oh, my God, you're actually blushing," Griffin squealed, jumping up and down. She could count on one hand how many times she'd seen Matty embarrassed.
Matty shushed her, wide eyes darting around to make sure no one heard. "Say that a little louder there, Griff. I don't think people over on the driving range heard you."
"Matthew, he's adorable," Griffin gushed.
"I know. And it's fucking tragic."
"What? Why?"
Matty pushed a hand through his hair, scrubbing at the top of his head. "I can't have a crush on my boss! And plus, I don't even know if, you know..."
"Oh." Griffin hesitated. She hadn't even thought of that. But then her face split back into another grin. "God, Matty, if you don't get on that, maybe I will."
"Do not," Matty growled. "What would Charlie think?"
Griffin's expression dropped. Just mentioning Charlie's name made her feel sick to her stomach. She'd waited all week for him to say something in front of everyone about Bill Hammond, but, for whatever reason, he'd kept his mouth shut. And Griffin needed to know why. Now.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.
Matty, seeing the power shift in the conversation, shrugged casually. "Oh, nothing."
"Matthew Ryan Barnes."
"Christ, my whole name? You're just like my mother," Matty said. Griffin socked him in the shoulder. "Ah! OK—geez. It's not a big deal. Charlie was just asking some questions about you last night."
Nerves prickled in Griffin's chest. If Charlie was asking questions, that meant he was still on this Bill Hammond thing, right? What else would he have been wondering about?
Griffin refused to show how much she wanted to hound Matty for answers.
"Huh. That's weird," she said, avoiding eye contact.
Of course Matty saw straight through it.
"Yeah. Super weird," he said. "You guys practically have a staring contest every time you're around each other. And what was up with yelling at each other at dinner the other night?"
Griffin held out her hands. "Dude, he came at me for no reason! You saw it, you were sitting in the line of fire."
Matty considered it. "I mean...yeah, I guess it was a tiny bit aggressive, but I don't think Chuck was actually trying to start a fight with you. Did you?"
Yeah, Griffin did, actually. But she didn't need to draw attention to anything right now. Not when Charlie was being such a sketchball.
"Chuck," she said. She hated when the boys called him that. "Whatta guy."
"Don't sidestep the point here."
"I'm not sidestepping."
Matty cocked an eyebrow at her. "I've known you long enough to know when you're sidestepping, but when you're ready to talk it out, I'm all ears."
Griffin could feel the tops of her own ears burning.
"Noted." She nodded toward Lauren clacking down the cobblestone path with impressive grace, considering the heels she was wearing. "Come on, Lauren's here."
Lauren's house was in the gated community on the island.
It was right across the golf course from the country club, and it was where the majority of the locals lived. A few years back, the Corbet's Inlet Home Owners Association decided that, in order to own property on the island, you also had to have a membership at CICC. And since a membership was low-key more exclusive than Augusta National, there weren't a lot of new people around. The majority of the island had been grandfathered in.
When they got to Lauren's house, they took turns showering and speculating what kind of drama would go down time at Mary Kyle's house. It was always something—a first-timer getting too drunk, a summer-only hooking up with a local's girlfriend, some idiot charging a keg to their dad's credit card without thinking it would show up on the bank statement... Never a dull moment.
Matty had thought to bring a change of clothes, while Griffin had to raid Lauren's closet. Lauren was at least five inches taller than Griffin, so her choices were pretty limited. She decided on a pair of jean shorts and an Arctic Monkeys t-shirt that Lauren probably bought at Urban Outfitters. Griffin felt like a total poser.
"Lookin' good, Griff," Matty said, smirking from behind a crystal glass of bourbon. Griffin flipped him off, and he wolf-whistled at her. "Someone's going to be the life of party tonight."
Lauren was lounging on the couch in a red sundress. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a strategically messy sock-bun.
"Hey, I forgot I had that shirt," she said. "You can have it if you want. It looks good on you."
Griffin sighed. She couldn't settle her nerves, and she couldn't figure why. Her chest was tight, her stomach in knots.
"Evan and Charlie just got to Mary Kyle's," Matty said, not looking up from his phone. "Evan said to hurry up."
The nervous tingling in Griffin's chest surged.
Lauren popped up off the couch. "Perfect, let's go."
Mary Kyle's house was on the other side of the island, a few houses down from Griffin's. They decided to park Lauren's mom's golf cart at Griffin's house and walk from there. They could already hear the music from two blocks away, and when they climbed the stairs to Mary Kyle's front door, they all took a moment to prepare themselves for what lay ahead.
Matty rang the doorbell. Mary Kyle swung open the door before the chime ended.
"Oh, my GOD, Matthew!" she shrieked, yanking Matt into a hug. Her eyes went wide over his shoulder. "And Lauren and Griffin! I'm so happy!"
She practically shoved Matty into her house, then hugged Lauren and Griffin against their will. Griffin could feel her eyes rolling into the back of her head.
"Hey, Mary Kyle. Thanks for having us," Lauren said. She had a lot more patience than Griffin.
"Of course! Come in! Get a drink!" Mary Kyle swung the door open wider and stumbled a bit. Her reddish-brown hair was way shorter than last summer, cut in a long bob (Griffin refused to call it auburn because that was what Mary Kyle insisted on calling it, and she sounded like a total D-bag when she did). She was wearing white jeans with a neon pink halter top and gold Jack Rodgers, and looked exactly like every other girl there.
Griffin and Lauren barely got through doorframe before Mary Kyle looped her arms through both of theirs and pulled them aside.
"Y'all. Who's the new guy with Evan? He's so cute," she said, grinning like a drunken idiot. She already smelled like the bottom of a margarita blender. "He kinda looks like Nick Robinson."
Griffin subtly pulled her arm away. "Who?"
"That's his cousin, Charlie," Lauren said.
Mary Kyle's grin turned calculating and she swayed a little bit. "Yeah, mm'definitely trying to give him a house tour later."
"We're gonna get a drink," Griffin said, pulling Lauren away with her. Matty followed closely behind. They didn't wait for Mary Kyle to respond and grabbed beers out of a gigantic Yeti cooler at the bottom of the stairs.
All the same faces of Corbet's underaged and overprivileged were present and accounted for: the New Bern crew, the Wilmington locals, a bunch of Matty's friends from Charlotte and Raleigh. It was weird as hell seeing a couple of the girls Griffin used to babysit shotgunning beers out on the back patio. She couldn't remember if they were going into ninth or tenth grade, then decided she couldn't judge—she'd mastered the technique the summer before high school.
She, Lauren, and Matty stopped to talk to a bunch of people, getting pulled into the exact same conversation over and over.
How was your school year?
Where did you decide to go to college?
Did you bring any alcohol?
We definitely need to hang out more this summer!
By the time they found Evan in the living room talking to Drew Sardis, Griffin was already thinking of ways to convince her friends to steal a case of beer and go back to Matty's house to party.
"Yo!" Evan jumped up to greet them. "Finally!"
Drew swept Lauren up into a hug and spun her around. Griffin stepped back and put her hands up to ward him off before he did the same to her.
"Aw, no hug from Griff? My evening's gone to shit now." He grinned at her, still holding his arms out wide. Griffin caved and gave him a side hug (freaking Prince Eric smile), and Drew kept his arm around her shoulders when she tried to pull away.
"I'm so fucking ready for this summer, man," Drew shouted over the music to Evan and Matty. He took a huge swig from a red solo cup and held it up to them. "Last one before everything starts to get weird."
Griffin side-eyed him and sipped her beer. Why was everyone acting like this was their last summer ever? Drew wasn't even going to college next year...
"Heard that," Lauren said, tapping her beer against Drew's. "You couldn't pay me to spend another summer here."
A flurry of movement on the far side of the living room caught Griffin's eye—Charlie, leaning back against the counter with Mary Kyle falling into him. She was practically between his legs and he was smiling down at her as he drank from a red solo cup.
"So, Griff." Drew tightened his grip on her shoulders, trying to get her attention. "What's the deal with your tennis stuff this summer? Do you have to head to W&L early or anything?"
Griffin glanced back at Charlie. He was wearing a plaid button-down with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Mary Kyle had her hand on his forearm.
"What's the deal with your tennis stuff, Drew?" Griffin asked, leaning into him and smiling. She didn't know why she was doing it except that she was suddenly in the mood to flirt.
Drew took the bait without hesitating and started into all the potential schools he thought were going to recruit him next year. NC State was his top choice (which absolutely was not going to happen) but he was mostly leaning toward smaller, Division III schools so he could "still have a social life." Griffin nodded occasionally and stole a few more glances at Charlie until she realized he'd disappeared somewhere. Mary Kyle was gone too.
She downed the last of her beer.
"I need one, too," Drew said, taking her empty can for her and asking if anyone else wanted one. He disappeared into the kitchen to get another round.
"That kid really needs to calm the fuck down with the tennis talk," Matty said.
"Agreed," Evan said, looking at Griffin. "Yo, where'd Chuck go?"
Griffin frowned. "Why are you asking me?"
"Mary Kyle had him in the kitchen a second ago," Lauren said, narrowly dodging two New Bern boys stumbling in the from the patio. She glared after them, then looked back at Evan. "I don't know where they went, though. Has she had him cornered this whole time?"
"Pretty much," Evan said.
"Gotta hand it to her." Lauren laughed. "Homegirl works fast. I'm kinda impressed."
Lauren was obviously kidding, but it still needled Griffin more than it should have. She didn't expect Lauren and her friends to hate Mary Kyle as much as she did, but Griffin was petty enough for the thought to cross her mind. If Mary Kyle had done to one of her friends what she'd done to Griffin, Griffin would've happily taken a swing at her with her tennis racquet if they'd asked her to.
Griffin remembered exactly what it felt like being sixteen and having her parents sit her down one morning at breakfast to talk about how 'making bad choices while you're young can ruin the rest of your life.' Griffin had absolutely no idea what they were talking about until they brought up a conversation they'd had with Mary Kyle's parents.
"Mrs. Bowman had to hire a cleaning service to get their carpet cleaned," Griffin's dad had said impatiently. Like that was supposed to help.
"The Bowmans aren't mad," her mom cut in. "They were more concerned about you. We know you're going to drink as a teenager, but you can't let yourself get out of control. Getting sick because you drank too much—"
"Wait, WHAT?!" Griffin shrieked. "They told you I was the one who puked on their carpet?"
Mary Kyle had had a party the night before.
Mary Kyle had also downed a bottle of Patrón and projectile vomited all over the Bowmans' living room.
Even after explaining everything to her parents, Griffin still had gotten grounded (house arrest) for two weeks because she couldn't deny she had been drinking. And by the time Griffin got her phone back, she didn't even have the urge to text Mary Kyle about it anymore. Lauren had already made sure the record was straight with their friends. That was when all the shit-talking started on Mary Kyle's end, for no reason other than that was just what Mary Kyle did best.
If being an all-around asshole were a sport, Mary Kyle Bowman would be an Olympic decathlete.
And now she was probably off somewhere making out with Charlie.
Not that that had anything to do with it.
"Griff."
Griffin looked up at Matty, who lifted his chin toward the kitchen. He elbowed Evan to get his and Lauren's attention, too.
The first thing Griffin saw was Mary Kyle stumbling and catching herself on the counter. She was laughing, and a piece of her hair was crossed out of place over her forehead. She stumbled again and caught herself on Charlie next, who fell back against the refrigerator with the inertia. Mary Kyle apparently found it hilarious and squealed over the music's heavy bass-line. Every person in the living room turned to stare.
Charlie looked like he wanted to be literally anywhere else on the planet.
"Oh, God," Lauren said. "That's some serious, 'Hey trainwreck, not your station' right there."
Griffin started to laugh right as Charlie found them in the crowd, his expression pleading. His eyes locked with Griffin's, and his face went blank just long enough for her to understand it looked like she was laughing at him. She stopped.
Charlie shook his head and flicked his gaze away, looking pissed. Mary Kyle slumped against him more. He hauled her up and tried to prop her against the kitchen counter.
"Someone should probably do something about that," Matty said, looking from Lauren to Griffin.
Evan shrugged. "Chuck'll be fine. He's got a lot of experience with psychotic women."
Of course he did.
Griffin looked back toward the kitchen. Charlie had gotten Mary Kyle to sit on the kitchen counter so he didn't have to hold her up anymore, but he still had a hand on her shoulder to keep her from rocking forward.
Guilt grabbed at Griffin's stomach—which wasn't fair. She hadn't been laughing at Charlie, and she shouldn't feel like she needed to explain herself to him.
She started toward the kitchen anyway.
"There she goes," Matty called after her. "Saint Connolly."
The kitchen was a frenzy of teenagers doing shots off the granite countertops and the epicenter of the terrible house music. Someone had plugged an expensive-looking laptop into an expensive-looking sound system and turned the bass all the way up. The discarded solo cups on top of the speakers vibrated wildly on every drop.
Griffin walked by Charlie on her way to the kitchen sink and held up a finger to tell him to hold on. She found a glass in a cabinet above it, filled it halfway with water, then opened the refrigerator to add ice and a splash of the first kind of juice she could find. She turned back to Mary Kyle and Charlie.
"Oh my God, Mary Kyle, try this drink I just made," Griffin said, sliding up next to her and leaning against the counter. "There's so much vodka in it and you can't even taste it."
Mary Kyle's head rolled in Griffin's direction. Her eyes were half shut and most of her eyeliner had worked its way onto her cheeks.
"Yeah? What's innit?" she slurred.
"Secret recipe. Just try it," Griffin said, eyes shifting to Charlie. He pursed his lips hide his smile.
Mary Kyle lunged for the glass and almost slid off the counter. Charlie steadied her as she grabbed the drink and chugged. He mouthed a subtle thank you to Griffin, then had to catch Mary Kyle before she slipped forward again.
Griffin studied Charlie's profile and tried not to think about how much she could see Four-Years-Ago-Charlie in it when he wasn't smirking or being an asshole. There was an easy confidence in the way he carried himself. An attractive self-awareness. It was too bad he always ruined it with turning into a cocky little—
Something shattered on the floor and Griffin felt a sudden, sharp pain in the side of her foot. She yelped.
"Whoopsies," Mary Kyle giggled. "Whatever. That drink sucked, anyway."
It took everything in Griffin to not look at her foot. She stared at the shocked expression on Charlie's face instead. His wide eyes kept darting down for a second and then back up to Griffin's.
"I'm bleeding, aren't I," Griffin said, panicked. Nauseated.
Charlie was still keeping Mary Kyle propped up on the counter. He didn't answer her and he didn't have to. Griffin could already feel the blood soaking into her flip flop.
"Yo, is everything okay over here?"
It was Drew. Or, at least, Griffin was pretty sure it was him over the music. She was too afraid to look anywhere else but Charlie's face.
"Oh, shit, Griff—" Drew stopped next to her and put a hand on the small of her back.
Griffin shied away from him, accidentally dropping her gaze to her foot. There was a shard of glass stuck in the side, just below her big toe, and a growing blood stain on the hardwood floor next to her flip flop. She studied it for a second, right before the edges of her vision started going black.
She breathed in once, twice, and watched the world tip sideways.
The last thing she saw was Mary Kyle falling forward too.
A/N:
* * *
Copyright © 2023 by Alex Evansley
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