After changing into her Rosewood Day uniform and gathering her books for school, Hanna pulled up to the curb at Lucas's house. His family's Ford Explorer was back in the driveway, the hatchback still open. The Mercedes SUV Hanna had seen the night the Rumsons had stopped over was here as well—meaning Brooke was here, too. Hanna wondered if Lucas had just invited her over to break up with her in person. Not that she would let him beat her to the punch. She would break up with him first.
Well, let's get it over with, she thought, grateful at least she looked gorgeous after boot camp. Sighing dolefully, she slammed the door to the Prius and started up the front walk. As she was about to ring the bell, she caught sight of a faint flicker in the thick line of bushes that surrounded the Beattie property. It almost looked like someone was hiding there, but that was crazy. Who could be skulking around at 8 A.M. in fifteen-degree weather? When would Hanna stop thinking someone was following her?
Lucas answered the door almost immediately. His skin was golden, his blond hair was almost white, and he looked like he'd lost a couple of pounds. "Hey," he said, pulling her inside and giving her a huge hug. "I missed you so much."
Hanna recoiled. "It didn't seem like that when you were gone. I guess you were having too much fun to send me a text, huh?"
Lucas winced. "I'm so sorry. I thought we were going to have Wi-Fi, but the server was done. That's one of the reasons we're home early, actually—Mr. Rumson was freaking out because he couldn't check his BlackBerry. Brooke got onto Facebook for a moment, but none of us could get online."
"Yes, I saw that post." Hanna wasn't able to conceal her irritation. "You and Brooke looked very happy together."
Lucas searched her face. "You don't think we were…" He trailed off and pinched the skin between his eyes. "Oh, Hanna, I'm so sorry. It wasn't what it looked like."
"Uh-huh," Hanna said tepidly. She was sure he was just making excuses now that Brooke had to go home.
"I'm serious." Lucas guided Hanna over and sat her down on the couch. "After that first day, Brooke and i barely even saw each other. I went on these great hokes and on this amazing kayak trip, but all she wanted to do was tan." He moved closer, his voice to her ear. "She slathered baby oil on herself from morning to night. Which caused the other reason we had to come home."
At that, his gaze shifted to the hall. The two Rumson parents emerged from the kitchen, rolling their travel bags behind them. Brooke appeared next, wearing an ultra-short mini dress more suitable to warm climates and a pair of raffia wedges. Her face was peeling, she had a hideous sunglasses tan across her eyes, and she had some kind of white ointment slathered on both arms. The skin beneath the ointment looked like the blacken pieces of meat Hanna's father made whenever he attempted to use the grill. Hanna didn't know whether to laugh or cover her eyes.
"What happened to her?" she whispered.
"She got third-degree burns from the sun," Lucas answered in a low voice. "They were so bad we had to take her to the hospital. It was the scariest place I've ever been, Hanna—there were cockroaches in the waiting room, no one got a proper bed, and I swear none of the doctors had actual medical licenses. The guy treated Brooke told her that if she went back into the sun for even one minute, her skin was going to fall off—literally. Her mom watched her like a hawk after that. Brooke moped around the house day and night, whining that she was really bored. I wanted to kill her by the time the trip was over. I think everyone else wanted to, too."
Hanna hugged a throw pillow to her chest. "So…you didn't sunbathe nude? You didn't do Jell-O shots?"
Lucas looked at her like she was crazy. "Have you ever done a Jell-O shot? Those things are nasty! Anyway, we couldn't make Jell-O if we'd wanted to—the water in Yucatán was undrinkable."
Just then, Brooke noticed Lucas and Hanna sitting on the couch and smiled weakly. "Hey, Lukey," she said in a nasal voice, walking over to him with the stiff gait of someone who was very, very sunburned. "I guess we're leaving now. But it was so awesome to see you. We have to do another vacay together soon. Maybe spring break?"
Brooke spread out her arms to give Lucas a hug. Hanna shot off the couch and blocked her way. "Lukey says bye," she said sharply. "Good luck getting over your burns."
Brooke stared at Hanna as though she'd never seen her before. Hanna held her ground. There was no way she was letting this bitch get close to Lucas ever again. It was a lesson she'd learned the hard way with Vince: If you wanted a guy, you had to fight hard for him.
After a moment, Brooke shrunk away, muttered good-bye, and skulked back to her parents. Everyone sounded weary as they patted one another on the back and said they'd see each other soon. When Lucas's parents shut the door, Mr. Beattie leaned against the jamb and pressed his face into his hands. "I hope to never see that girl again as long as I live."
Hanna couldn't agree more.
The engine roared in the driveway, and soon the Mercedes SUV rounded the bend out of the neighborhood. Lucas shifted closer to Hanna. "I'm so sorry we couldn't talk even once while I was away. I thought about you every day, though. And hey, now we can hang out all break! Whatever you want to do, I'm up for it—even going to that new mall."
"I'm going to hold you to that," Hanna said, warming to him a little. "But we don't have to go to the mall—it sucks."
Lucas started to rub Hanna's shoulder's. "So did I miss anything while I was gone?"
Hanna pretended to pick an imaginary piece of lint off her Rosewood Day plaid skirt, thinking about boot camp, Vince, and Dinah. Was it wrong of her to have flirted with Vince? It wasn't like anything happened between them. And it hardly made sense to tell Lucas about boot camp—it wasn't like she was going anymore. Before coming over here, she'd tried on her skinniest jeans, and they'd fit just fine. It made her wonder if she'd really had that much weight to lose in the first place.
"Oh, not really," she finally answered breezily. "Except that you should never, ever take me to see The Nutcracker—it's still giving me nightmares."
Lucas snickered. "Got it."
Mrs. Beattie stuck her head into the living room and smiled at Hanna. "We don't have any cereal, so I'm going to whip up from French toast. Do you guys want some? There's plenty for all of us."
"Sure." Lucas looked at Hanna. "Wanna stay for breakfast?"
"Oh, that's okay." Hanna smiled politely at Lucas's mom. "I had coffee—I'm all set."
Lucas frowned and looked Hanna up and down. "You should have some French toast. You're really…thin."
Hanna placed her hands on her hips. "Isn't that a good thing?"
"Not exactly." Lucas circled a thumb and forefinger around Hanna's wrist. "I sort of liked you better the way you were before. Please have a couple pieces for me?"
The boot camp pledge flashed in Hanna's mind, along with all the sacrifices she'd made in the past few weeks. But then she thought of a stack of French toast, oozing with butter and syrup. It had been so long since she'd actually eaten a real meal.
"All right," Hanna conceded, standing up and pulling Lucas to her. "I guess I can have a piece or two."
"Excellent," Lucas said, leading her to the kitchen. Hanna followed behind him, absently touching the Cartier necklace at her throat. A calm feeling of well-being settled over her like a warm blanket. Everything in her life felt absolutely right again. And best of all, the only person who knew her secret about boot camp, Dinah's and Vince was Kate—and she wouldn't dare tell a soul.