Vicious Little Darlings by Katherine Easer

with anyone.
    â€œIt’s your turn, Agnes,” says Maddy.
    â€œThis game is stupid,” Agnes grumbles.
    Maddy nudges Agnes with the back of her hand. “Come on, we both went. You have to go too.”
    â€œFine.” Agnes takes a sip of her scotch. “I don’t know … What do you want to hear? That I’m a hermaphrodite?” She snorts.
    I laugh too, but Maddy just pouts. “Be serious.”
    â€œWhat should I say? That I’m adopted? You already know everything about me, M. There are no secrets between us.” She gazes intently at Maddy before turning to me. “So, yes, I’m adopted. It’s no big deal. In fact, I really lucked out because my parents are great. I’m not scarred or the least bit curious about my biological parents. I’m perfectly fine.” The way she says it makes me think otherwise, and the tiny red hives crawling up her neck confirm it. But the fact that Agnes is adopted doesn’t surprise me. I suspected there was more to her; I knew there had to be a flaw to her seemingly perfect life.
    â€œOkay, my turn,” Maddy says. “Now this one shouldn’t be much of a surprise.” She licks her lips. “I want to marry Sebastian and have his babies.”
    â€œNot this again,” sputters Agnes. “Stop lying to yourself, Maddy.”
    â€œI’m not. I really love Sebastian.”
    â€œYou’re in denial,” Agnes says. “You’re only with him because you think he’s the kind of guy you’re supposed to be with. You don’t even really like him—”
    â€œOh, really? Are you me? How would you know how I feel?”
    Agnes puts a finger to her lips. “I don’t think the whole quad needs to hear this.” She gets up to close the window. “I know you, Maddy. I know you’re afraid—and that’s okay—but don’t fool yourself. You need to start thinking about what you really want, what’s good for you. He i s not good for you.”
    Blood rushes to Maddy’s cheeks. “You don’t understand what we have together. You’re jealous because you don’t have someone who loves you as much as he loves me.”
    Agnes winces.
    â€œWhat do you know about love anyway? You’ve never experienced it. You’re the last person who should be giving me advice.” Maddy shakily pours herself another glass of scotch. “You already know I’m going to die young, so why can’t you just let me be happy?”
    Die young? What is Maddy talking about? I feel dizzy all of a sudden, disoriented. I shouldn’t have drunk the scotch so fast. Maybe old scotch is more potent than young scotch, because all I seem to want to do right now is lie down.
    Maddy drains her glass. “Do you think it’s fun worrying about death all the time? At least Sebastian makes me laugh.”
    Agnes rolls her eyes. “Sebastian’s a loser. And you’re not going to die young, so stop saying that—”
    â€œWait!” I exclaim. “What are you guys talking about?”
    â€œNothing,” snaps Agnes. “It’s none of your business.”
    â€œYou’re so rude, Agnes.” Maddy turns to me. “I’m sorry. I should’ve told you earlier, but I didn’t want you to think I was a freak.” She looks down and swallows. “Ever since my parents died, I’ve had the feeling that my life would be cut short and I would be joining my mom and dad in the afterlife sooner rather than later. I just feel it in my bones. It’s like I gained a sixth sense after they died. I get feelings about things, and I’m usually right. Like, I had a good feeling about you when we met, and that turned out to be true. And tonight, when we were at the house, I felt a sense of peace. But the night we ran over Hope, I knew something bad was going to happen.” She shudders. “This must sound really weird