The Last Party

by A.R. Torre

They wanted proof? Fine. I’d give them proof. I just had to figure out what.

You're already cocky enough, don't fuck yourself over.

“Yeah, I thought that was strange. I mean, not strange but . . . well. You know. Small world.” “Probably just a coincidence.”

Everyone is playing a part and every one has ulterior motives

I bent back in the chair, reaching my arms out in an attempt to stretch my chest. It was tight, like someone was sitting on top of it, and I coughed to try to clear my lungs.

Sir, you might be having a heart attack.

Sometimes it’s not the people that change. It’s the mask that falls off.

“I’m so sorry about my car. I don’t know what it could be.”

I'm sure Perla knows exactly what it could be

It was almost too easy.

Bruh... you're about to fuck up, aren't you?

Her voice rose a little. If Paige Smith had a tell, that was it.

It was starting to rain.

Why is it raining so much in So Cal?

my mom is even weirder than normal,

Guess she isn't as good as she thinks she is

I’ve never bribed someone before, but it seems wicked cool.

This kid is weird.

Grant’s obsession with the murders wasn’t normal or healthy, but then again, neither was mine.

She had a wall up around her, and no one had the mental energy to scale that thing.

I didn’t have daddy issues; I had a fucking daddy tsunami that was six layers deep and capable of decimation.

Is she lying?

Smarter than you thought

It was fun, setting all this up. Too bad it was going to end soon. That ending would be sad, but also the start of a new game, one with higher stakes, more deception, more rewards.

but why?

I’d had him in ways she never did.

This is your husband's sister you are talking about...

It felt like someone had smashed me in the nose with a hammer.

That's quite literally what rhinoplasty is.

You lead a thirsty horse to water, and the damn thing still doesn’t want to drink. This. This was why people just couldn’t be happy.

preferring items that didn’t show my neck.

Wait, does she have a scar there?

“If there’s something you want in life, you need to put yourself in a position to take it,

“My daughter.

Your wife?

“You don’t know her name?”

Let's not pretend you don't already know it.

“Tell her that if she doesn’t contact me or come here, the bunny will start talking about carrots.”

PIKETO!

My heart stopped for a moment in my chest, then began to beat faster.

Everyone is playing everyone in this book - even the kid, I'm convinced.

“Did she say why she did it?”

She put that one on you too, big boy.

only way that Piketo was guaranteed not to talk was to kill him.

🎼two can keep a secret, if one of them is dead🎶

No one ever believes the man on death row proclaiming his innocence.

And she knows that... cute.

Turns out, my dad’s sister was one of the victims, which is like the most uncool way that someone can be famous.

Your mother did a number on you.

We would each spend a stretch of time alone with Lucy, talking to her and sharing updates on our life and memories with her.

Nah, your wife was bragging above that grave.

I needed to leave her and take Sophie with me. But how? When?

Before that birthday party would be a good idea. But also, is it too late to save the kid?

Maybe after the party, I should just take her and disappear.

Oh you stupid, stupid man.

After tonight, I would likely never kill again.

Hopefully it'll be because your ass will be in prison for the rest of your life... or your kid takes you out.

I’d finally have what I wanted from the start—a distraction-free relationship with my father and the recognition and fame I deserved.

Tomorrow, or maybe the following day, I would hire a publicist

1. You are getting ahead of yourself. 2. Wouldn't it be too soon/suspicious to reach out to a publicist so soon?

the new version of Mean Girls played on the big screen

how apt

I’d told Leewood just a few weeks ago that I didn’t have the ability to kill someone.

Well, spoiler alert, you're about to get put to the test. Either way, this man about to end up in jail... rightfully or wrongfully.

She held out the cup, and I knew without looking that it would be an Irish coffee, made just how I liked it.

You like your drinks spiked?

I sat on the toilet and searched the internet to see how much Ambien it took to kill someone.

Yeah, you going to jail.

I shouldn’t wait until Monday. Tomorrow, as soon as the girls had been returned to their parents, I was taking Sophie and getting the fuck out of here.

Stupid, stupid man.

She hadn’t changed. She had just grown older and smarter.

My mother once told me that a lie only mattered if the side effects did.

it was better to be famous for doing something rather than being someone.

Sophie didn’t realize how much one line, one little bit of information, could sink me.

She's her mother's daughter, she realizes.

Nervousness was a look I had never seen on my daughter.

She's playing a part, just like her parents taught her.

There are no birds in prison.