In the glittering world of Westbridge, where mansions line the streets and family legacies are worth their weight in gold, five childhood best friends-Lisa, Theo, Gabe, Gen, and Sam-have grown up in the shadow of privilege, bound by a friendship as...
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The night was sticky with the kind of heat that clung to your skin, and the music pumping from Bennett McCarthy's house was loud enough to make the windows rattle. Lisa had only been inside for ten minutes, but it already felt like she'd been there all night. The usual faces, the usual conversations—it was Westbridge in all its suffocating glory, wrapped up in too much money and not enough fun.
She stood by the bar, sipping a drink that tasted more like sugar than anything else, watching as the party unfolded in the same familiar pattern it always did. Theo was off somewhere with Gabe, probably talking to people they didn't care about or drinking just enough to loosen the tight hold on whatever was going on in their heads. Sam had disappeared into a corner, his camera around his neck as he quietly observed the chaos. And here she was, smack in the middle of it all, feeling like she was standing on the outside looking in.
But one person was noticeably absent tonight. Gen had bailed last minute, texting Lisa a few hours before the party:
Sorry, I'm staying in tonight. My dad's in one of his moods, and I don't want to leave him alone.
It wasn't the first time Gen had skipped a party to stay with her father. Ever since her mother passed away when they were little, Gen had been the one to look after him, like she was holding their family together.
Lisa had texted back, We'll miss you, but she knew Gen wouldn't budge. Once Gen made up her mind about something, especially when it came to her dad, that was it. And Lisa respected it, even though she couldn't relate. Family was complicated for her, but in a different way. Gen and her dad had this bond, even if it sometimes felt like a weight Gen was always carrying.
"Bored already?" Haley's voice cut through the noise, and Lisa turned to see her friend sauntering up, a knowing smirk on her face. Haley had a drink in one hand and her phone in the other, fingers always moving, always in the middle of some drama.
"Just getting started," Lisa replied, lifting her drink in a mock toast. She wasn't exactly bored, just... restless. The way she always felt at these things lately, like she was waiting for something to happen but had no idea what that something was.
"You look like you're about to fall asleep standing up," Haley teased, leaning against the bar next to her. "Come on, St. Clair. Lighten up. It's Friday night, and we're at the biggest party of the year."
Lisa laughed, but it didn't reach her eyes. "You said that about the last party."
Haley rolled her eyes, brushing off the comment. "Okay, but this one is actually fun. Bennett's parents are out of town for the whole weekend. No limits."
"I can feel the thrill of it all," Lisa said dryly, taking another sip of her drink. "What's the plan, then? Are we just going to stand here and people-watch all night?"
Haley raised an eyebrow, her eyes glittering with excitement. "Oh, I have plans. But I need you to stop brooding and come with me."
Lisa glanced around the room, spotting Gabe and Theo across the way, laughing about something with a couple of guys from the soccer team. Sam was nowhere to be seen, but that wasn't surprising—he was probably off somewhere with his camera, getting shots of people who didn't know they were being photographed.
