The Perfectionists

Chapter 35

THAT MORNING, EVIE CAREFULLY PULLED on a dark blue dress and inspected herself in her full-length mirror. Behind her, Mal snickered. "That's what you're wearing to the police station? You look like one of the kids in Harry Potter."

Evie frowned. She had been going for I'm-responsible-and-you-should-take-me-seriously, but now that she thought about it, the long blue dress did look a little too Hogwarts-chic. She pulled it over her head and changed into a gray-cardigan-and-dark-wash-jeans combo instead.

"Are you sure you don't want to come?" she asked Mal as she put on her fake pearl studs. "It might be . . . I don't know. Satisfying."

"No thanks." Mal shook her head emphatically. "As long as Elliot is out there, I don't want to leave this house. Anyway, you guys don't really need me, do you? Just to give the cops Ben's flash drive."

"You're right," Evie said, then nervously shook out her hands. She just wanted this over with. She couldn't wait till Jay was behind bars, and everything could go back to normal.

As she was selecting a pair of flats, she noticed that the email bubble on her laptop was flashing. She clicked on it, thinking it might be someone asking for a ride. But then she saw the name . . . and the subject. Her heart stopped in her chest.

From: Crystal White
To: Crystal White
Cc: Evie Grimhilde
Subject: Evie Grimhilde's Dirty Little Secret

In the body of the email there was no text, just the link to an article, the one describing how Evie and her mom were evicted from their old house in Oakland. The one Mal had erased.

Well, Crystal had somehow resurrected it. Evie leaned forward and clutched the edge of the desk until her knuckles were white, concentrating on counting. One, two—Crystal must have BCC'd the recipients; who were they?—three, four—Was it the whole school?—five, six, seven—Or could it have just been sent to Evie herself, to remind her how much she was in Crystal's power?

"Evie?" Mal asked across the room.

Evie let out a small, wounded sob. Mal kicked off the covers and hurried over. "What's going on?"

Evie wordlessly stepped aside from the email. Mal's gaze slid over it fast. "That bitch," she snarled.

"I don't understand," Evie said weakly. She kept counting. Twenty-six, twenty-seven. It wasn't helping at all. "Why? Why would she do that?"

Mal paced around Evie's room, seeming suddenly on edge, as if the space weren't big enough to contain her. "She is everything that's wrong with the world. You can't trust anyone except your real friends."

But Evie was only half listening. She fumbled for her phone, pressing Crystal's number, with shaking hands.

Crystal picked up on the first ring. "Hey, dirty girl," she sang. "Did you like my email?"

"What the hell, Crystal ?" Evie raged. "Who did you send it to?"

"Oh, you know. Everyone."

Evie leaned over, sure she was going to throw up. She thought of everyone, reading that article. Seeing the picture of her. Putting it all together. Aha! they would think. This is why Evie never has anyone over! "But, why?" she sobbed into the phone. "I never did anything to you!"

"Exactly," Crystal said amiably. "You never did anything to me—or for me. You were happy to just sit there and let your friends make fun of me. And let's be honest—you haven't exactly been nice lately. Well, now it's your turn to feel what it's like on the outside. See you at school!" She paused. "Oh, and say hi to your mom for me! Maybe, if you're lucky, you'll grow up to be just like her!" And with that, she hung up.

Evie stared at the phone in her hand. Tears streamed down her face. Suddenly, her laptop let out another ping. It was another note from Crystal. This is what Doug thinks of you now, read the subject line.

The only thing in the message was a photograph. Evie brought her face closer to the laptop. It was a picture of Doug. . . and Crystal. They were standing in front of the Rachel the Piggy Bank at the Pike Place Fish Market, and the same sun that shone outside Evie window beamed over them. Doug had a disgusted look on his face, and he made a thumbs-down gesture with one hand. Crystal was holding his other hand. They were standing very, very close together.

Evie let out a squeak. Well, that settled that.

Mal sat next to her, squeezing her shoulder tight. Evie blinked, trying to imagine the shape the rest of the school year would take, but all she could see was a gaping black hole. Mal really was all she had now. No more friends. Definitely no Doug.

No anything.