Page 44 of Soul So Dark

“Oh,” she says with a roll of her eyes and starts returning each item where she found it.

“But that’s what your friends do,” I motion to the key ring, “they don’t have to sound like a greeting card, they just have to show up when it counts. You know Aiden actually cried when my dad died?”

“What?”

“Yeah,” I nod, “I’ve actually seen him cry twice—when my dad died and when his dog died.

“I didn’t think Aiden had feelings,” she mumbles, handing the keyring back to me.

“Don’t go spreading it around,” I shove my keys back into my pocket, “but what about you? I bet you have secrets, too.”

“Like I’d tellyou,” Dallas scoffs, “you’d probably run off and tell Colson.”

“Dallas,” when I say her name, she startles and meets my eyes, “I told you, I would never do that to you. And besides, I just showed you a broken tooth I carry around from a kid I beat up. It’s only fair.”

Dallas eyes me apprehensively while she mulls it over.

“Fine,” she finally agrees as something sparks behind her eyes, “you know your friend, Rory?”

The way she says it immediately puts me on edge. Why the hell would Rory’s name come up in reference to any secret Dallas could possibly have?

“Yes?” I reply slower, and with a much sharper tone.

“Has he ever told you aboutElinafrom London?”

My suspicion suddenly switches to confusion. “The girl he met on vacation a while ago?” Rory still talks about this girl he met while skiing in Breckenridge, Colorado.

Dallas nods. “One and the same.”

“Do you know her?” I squint.

“I knowofher,” Dallas’s tone turns venomous and her doe eyes take on a devilish glint. “He texts her all the time. She only texts back when she feels like it, but he keeps coming back for more. Funny how the timing never works out for a meet-up, isn’t it? But I guess it’s more complicated now since her dad got transferred from New York to London.”

I stare at her, glitching out. How does she know anything about Elina? And the more confused I look, the more it entertains Dallas.

“I heard him telling Colson about her one time when he was over here,” she continues, “I searched for her on social media, found out about her, and then messaged him on WhatsApp to say thatI—” she raises her fingers in air quotes, “got a new number, but this is a much easier way to text with all the international travel my family does.”

Holy…shit...

I’m unable to hide my astonishment. “How long have you been doing this?”

“A year and a half.”

“Wait,” I pause, trying to wrap my mind around her story, “whyare you doing this?”

Dallas doesn’t hesitate. “He made fun of my Squishmallows,” she says flatly.

I glance down at the round, pink and purple plush creature with a shaggy head that’s poking out from her lower back.Is that what they’re called?Then, my gaze shifts to the oversized basket across the room filled with blankets and another couple of plush creatures that I can’t decide whether look like animals or vegetables.

“So, what’s in it for you?” I ask, “Just to fuck with him?”

“That,” she shrugs, “and he pays me for nudes.”

“What?” I nearly shout before catching myself and lowering my voice again.

Dallas erupts in a barrage of giggles and starts shaking her head. “Not mine, I swear,” she gasps, “I find videos and pictures and edit them to look like I took them on my phone. It takes five seconds. I found a really good preset that saves a lot of time. I also take normal pictures off her social media to mix in every so often to make it more authentic. He wanted to start sending me things like jewelry and shit, but I convinced him money was better so myparentswouldn’t ask questions,” she snickers.

“Are you fuckingserious?” I can’t decide whether to be impressed or horrified.