Killer. (Book Six)

Twenty-Five: And The Winner Is...

Saturday night, Hanna sat at her dressing table, sweeping the last touches of bronzer across her cheeks. The black,lace-lined Rachel Roy sheath dress she'd thought for the Radley party fit her perfectly, snug but not too snug around her waist and hips. She'd been way too bust competing for Mike Montgomery diet came in a bottle.

There was a knock on her door, and Hanna jumped. Her dad stood in the doorway, dressed in a black V-neck sweater and jeans. "Going somewhere?" he asked.

Hanna swallowed hard, gazing at her made-up reflection in the mirror. She doubted her dad would buy that she was spending a quiet night in. "There's an opening for this big hotel outside town," she admitted.

"Is that why Kate's door is shut too? You're both going together?"

Hanna set down her makeup brush, resisting the urge to smile. They weren't going together, because Hanna had won Mike all to herself. Ha. "Not exactly," she said instead, reining her feelings in.

Mr. Marin perched on the edge of her bed. Dot tried to jump on his lap, but he swished him away. "Hanna..."

Hanna looked at him pleadingly. He was going to enforce the punishment now? "I have a date. It would be weird if she came with us. I've learned my lesson, I swear."

Mr. Marin cracked his knuckles, a habit Hanna had always hated. "Who's the guy?"

"Just..." She sighed. "Actually, he's Aria's younger brother."

"Aria Montgomery?" Mr. Marin squinted, thinking. The only time Hanna recalled her dad meeting Mike was when he'd taken Hanna, Aria, and the others to a music festival at Penn's Landing—Aria had had to drag Mike along because Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery were out of town. While they were watching one of the acts, Mike vanished. They frantically searched for him all over the grounds, finally tracking him down at the snack bar. He was hitting on one of the Pennsylvania Dutch girls who made the funnel cake.

"Does Kate have a date?" Mr. Marin asked.

Hanna shrugged. Earlier today, she'd told Mike to get out of his date with Kate by telling her he'd promised to go with the lax boys in their rented Hummer. If he'd said he was going with Hanna, Kate would have immediately told Daddy and ruined the whole thing.

Her father sighed and stood up. "Okay. You can go on your own."

"Thank you." Hanna breathed out.

He patted her back. "I just want Kate to feel welcome here. She's having a really hard time at Rosewood Day. As I remember, you didn't always have it easy there either."

Hanna felt her cheeks redden. Back in fifth and sixth grade, when Hanna and her dad used to be close, she used to moan to him about school. I feel like a big nothing, she confessed. Her dad always assured her that things would turn around. Hanna never believed him, but he'd ended up being right. Becoming friends with Ali had changed everything for good.

Hanna glanced at her dad suspiciously. "Kate seems really happy at Rosewood Day. She's best friends with Naomi and Riley."

Mr. Marin stood up. "If you talked to her, you'd know the truth. What she wants most is to be friends with you, Hanna. But you seem to be making that as difficult as possible."

Then he left the room, padding softly down the hall. Hanna remained on her bed, feeling both puzzled and annoyed. As if all Kate wanted was to be friends! She'd obviously told Hanna's dad that to get him even more on her side.

Hanna ground her fist into her mattress. It wasn't like too many people had broken down her doors desperately wanting to be her BFF. In fact, only two people came to mind: Ali, who had chosen Hanna among many other eligible sixth-grade girls, and Mona, who had sat down next to Hanna at eighth-grade cheerleading tryouts, struck up a conversation, and then invited Hanna to a sleepover at her house. At the time, Hanna had thought both girls chose her for specific reason—Mona because Hanna had been Ali's friend and was therefore someone with a bit of status, and Ali because she saw a potential in Hanna that no one else had yet noticed. Now, Hanna knew different. From the very start, Mona had been probably plotting to bring Hanna down. Maybe Ali had had more sinister motives for choosing Hanna too—perhaps she saw how insecure Hanna was. Perhaps she realized how easily Hanna could be manipulated.