“I just told you,” Penn said. “You are something rare and special.”

“But…” Gemma furrowed her brow, knowing there was something off about this that she couldn’t pinpoint. “You’re way hotter than I am. You’re more of everything you said I was. What do you need me for?”

“Don’t be silly.” Penn waved her hand. “And don’t worry about any of that.”

“Don’t worry about anything,” Lexi added, and as soon as she’d said it, Gemma felt her worries slipping away, as if she’d never even had them.

“We wanted you to come here and have fun.” Penn smiled at Gemma. “We wanted to get to know each other.”

“What did you want to know?” Gemma asked.

“Everything!” Penn spread her arms widely. “Tell us everything!”

“Everything?” Gemma looked at Lexi uncertainly.

“Yeah, like what you’re doing with that dolt you hang around with,” Thea said from beside her, and Gemma snapped around to look at her. “He’s way beneath you.”

“Dolt?” Gemma bristled when she realized that Thea meant Alex. “Alex is a really fantastic guy. He’s sweet and funny and nice to me.”

“When you look like us, every guy is nice to you,” Thea countered with an even stare. “You realize it doesn’t mean anything. Guys are shallow, and that’s all.”

“You don’t know Alex.” Gemma shook her head. “He is the most genuine person I know.”

“Why don’t we talk about boys another day?” Penn interjected. “They’re too much drama for tonight. Lexi, why don’t you lighten the mood?”

“Oh, right.” Lexi reached down the front of her dress and pulled out a small copper flask. “Let’s have a drink.”

“Sorry, I don’t drink.”

“Penn told me you weren’t afraid of anything,” Thea said, provoking her. “And now you’re scared of a little drink?”

“I’m not scared,” Gemma snapped. “But I’ll get kicked off the swim team if I get caught drinking. I’ve worked too hard for that to throw it away.”

“You won’t get caught,” Penn assured her.

“You guys go ahead and drink,” Gemma said. “It’s more for you.”

“Gemma,” Lexi said, her voice a song again. She held out the flask, but Gemma hesitated to take it. “Drink.”

Then Gemma didn’t have a choice. She couldn’t even think about another option. Her body moved automatically, taking the flask from Lexi, unscrewing the top, and putting it to her lips. It all happened the same way that she took a breath. Motions without thought or reason or control.

The liquid was thick, and it tasted bitter and salty on her tongue. It burned going down her throat, almost as badly as the time she ate too much wasabi. When she swallowed, she nearly gagged. It felt too heavy and hot to get down, but she forced it.

“That’s horrible!” Gemma coughed and wiped her mouth. “What was that?”

“My special cocktail,” Penn said with a smile.

Gemma held the flask away from her, not wanting the stuff anywhere near her. Thea snatched it from her hands, moving quickly, as if Gemma would try to stop her. She threw her head back and swallowed it down in a few big gulps. Just watching Thea drink it like that made Gemma gag for real this time.

Penn shrieked. She ran over to Thea and smacked her across the face, sending the flask flying. Dark burgundy liquid splattered all over the walls of the cove, but the waste didn’t seem to bother Penn.

“That’s not for you! You know better!”

“I needed it!” Thea snarled.

She wiped her mouth, then licked her hand, making sure she got every drop she could. For a second Gemma was afraid Thea might crawl over and lick the liquid off the dirt.

“What was that?” Gemma asked, her words already coming out in a slur.

The cove suddenly pitched to the side, and Gemma grabbed on to Lexi to keep from falling over. Everything swayed around her. She heard Penn talking, but her voice sounded like it was coming from underwater.

“That’s not…” Gemma struggled to talk. “What did you do?”

“You’ll be all right,” Lexi said. She got up and tried to put her arm around Gemma, maybe meaning to comfort her, but Gemma pushed her off.

She stood up and nearly tipped forward into the fire, but Penn caught her. Gemma tried to fight her off, but she didn’t have the strength anymore. All her energy had left her body, and she couldn’t keep her eyes open. The world was fading to black around her.

“You’ll thank me for this later,” Penn was saying in her ear, and that was the last thing Gemma heard.

NINE

Lost

“Where’s your sister?” Brian threw open Harper’s bedroom door, banging the doorknob into the plaster.

“What?” Harper rubbed her eyes and rolled over in bed to face her father. “What are you talking about? What time is it?”

“I just got up for work, and Gemma isn’t here.”

“Did you check her room?” Harper asked, slowly becoming alert.

“No, Harper, I thought I’d check your room first,” Brian snapped.

“Sorry, Dad, I just woke up.” She sat up and swung her feet over the edge of the bed. “She went out swimming last night. She probably just lost track of time.”