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Then Lina had begun to change It had been subtle at first, the transformations A few more holes in her ears, tears in her Levi’s, dark ed around her beautiful blue eyes
As usual, Madelaine had barely noticed Then, one day, she looked up at her daughter and saw him She’d realized then what she should have seen since childhood Lina was the spitting ier who lived life at a full run, taking no prisoners, asking for nothing Like her father, too, Lina saw through Madelaine’s brittle exterior, saw the oman inside A woman who couldn’t make rules, couldn’t enforce even the simplest conditions A woman as so desperate for love that she let people walk all over her
Lina Hillyard took a long, stinging drag off her cigarette and exhaled The sling with thecough by sheer force of will
Shifting uncolance at the boy beside her Jett was driving fast, as usual, his foot slaas Pedal, his free hand curled around a bottle of Jack Daniel’s he’d stolen from his parents On the other side of her, Brittany Levin was sucking on a lihing and talking and singing along with the radio It was blasting a song by the Butthole Surfers
The song ended and soan Jett cursed loudly and switched the radio off, then swerved onto the side of the road and hit the brakes so hard that all of them were hurled forward Lina’s hand shot out instinctively, slaarette hit the dashboard and rolled toward the vent
The little Datsun’s doors flipped open and everyone spilled out Lina reached for her cigarette By the ti beneath a huge cedar tree in the center of the clearing
It was their Saturday night party spot Yellowed cigarette butts already littered the ground, alongside empty liquor bottles and roach clips and cruht a booh the air
Lina dropped her cigarette and ground it out beneath her heel, then headed toward the group Jett was standing alongside the tree, guzzling Jack Daniel’s as if it ater The golden alcohol trickled down his stubbly chin and dripped onto his T-shirt
She wished she knehat to say to hi that would make hi as she could re in corown up without a father around Lina was certain it —that their lives were so alike But he never seehost, hovering on the peri to find the words that would admit her
“Hey, Hillyard,” Jett called out, wiping the back of his hand across his ot any money? We need more smokes”
Lina grinned and tucked a stray lock of black hair around her ear It wasn’tfro She always had moreher evil h for a couple of packs,” she answered, digging into her jeans pocket
Brittany gave her a stinging look Then she flipped open her purse and pulled out the pint of tequila “Here, Lina, have a drink”
Lina grabbed the bottle’s war her throat and exploded in her stomach
Brittany ran a hand through her short-cropped hair and sidled up to Jett Staring triu, wet kiss on his mouth Jett’s hand slid around Brittany’s waist and pulled
her close “You taste like tequila,” he ot the pot?”