The Last Beautiful Girl

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  Books. Change. Lives.

  Copyright © 2021 by INKubator Enterprises Holdings, Inc.

  Cover and internal design © 2021 by Sourcebooks

  Cover design by Casey Moses

  Cover image © Lauren Kate Preston/Arcangel

  Internal design by Danielle McNaughton/Sourcebooks

  Internal images © Freepik

  Sourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from its publisher, Sourcebooks.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  All brand names and product names used in this book are trademarks, registered trademarks, or trade names of their respective holders. Sourcebooks is not associated with any product or vendor in this book.

  Published by Sourcebooks Fire, an imprint of Sourcebooks

  P.O. Box 4410, Naperville, Illinois 60567-4410

  (630) 961-3900

  sourcebooks.com

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Laurin, Nina, author.

  Title: The last beautiful girl / Nina Laurin.

  Description: Naperville, Illinois : Sourcebooks Fire, [2021] | Audience: Ages 14. | Audience: Grades 10-12. | Summary: Isa Brixton and her new friend Alexa, who is a skilled photographer, start an Instagram account featuring portraits of Isa in the crumbling mansion she now calls home, and soon the rising numbers of Isa’s followers online and at school match the growing darkness in her personality.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2021014776 (print) | LCCN 2021014777 (ebook)

  Subjects: CYAC: Social media--Fiction. | Popularity--Fiction. | Mansions--Fiction. | Spirit possession--Fiction. | Horror stories.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.1.L38233 Las 2021 (print) | LCC PZ7.1.L38233 (ebook) | DDC [Fic]--dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021014776

  LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021014777

  Contents

  Front Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Prologue

  Part One

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Part Two

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Eighteen

  Nineteen

  Twenty

  Twenty-One

  Twenty-Two

  Twenty-Three

  Part Three

  Twenty-Four

  Twenty-Five

  Twenty-Six

  Twenty-Seven

  Twenty-Eight

  Twenty-Nine

  Thirty

  Part Four

  Thirty-One

  Thirty-Two

  Thirty-Three

  Thirty-Four

  Thirty-Five

  Thirty-Six

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Back Cover

  Prologue

  Like the ones before her and the ones after, it’s the glow that draws her in.

  Amory, Massachusetts, is a college town, and, among college students shuffling across campus in sweats and ripped jeans, Desiree knows she won’t stand out too much. She ditched her phone—even if it’s switched off, she has a superstitious fear of being tracked through it—and she’s never owned a watch. Who the hell wears a watch anymore? But now she wishes she did because she has no idea what time it is, and she worries she might be late. It’s already getting dark, and she can only guess what’s happening elsewhere. She can see it in her mind’s eye: the old building that used to be a church but is now a theater, all lit up, the backstage abuzz with activity, people running back and forth, wired from usual pre-show jitters. She loves this. Her costume, she knows, is already waiting for her on one of the mobile racks with their creaky wheels. The exquisite dress is sheathed in plastic, and a piece of tape with her name scribbled in Sharpie marks it as hers. Desiree, the star.

  The house stands a way off from the road, grass and open space around it marking it as different. Special. It’s a beauty, shockingly well-preserved. The only giveaways are the boarded-up windows that now look merely dark, an inky abyss without the reflective gleam of glass.

  It doesn’t occur to Desiree how she can see all this when there are no streetlights anywhere near, no lights from within the house itself. The sky is cloudy, a heavy indigo mass devoid of moon or stars. But there’s a glow about the place. The house is waiting for her. Welcoming her. Like it’s hungry for her presence.

  Just like all the other times, she has no trouble getting in. The front door is solidly gated off, but the doors near the back are unlocked, and she slips in with barely a creak of hinges. Lighting her way with a trusty flashlight, she goes in.

  The first time she came here—only weeks ago, although it feels like months—she was surprised by how clean it all was. Especially since no one seemed to guard the place or take care of it. Like the house hadn’t quite given up on itself.

  Downstairs is all emptied out, save for a chandelier wrapped in many layers of tarp and cobwebs. Upstairs is where all the furniture is stored, also wrapped to protect against dirt and time.

  But the most astonishing things, by far, are the paintings. They’re all of the same woman: pale face, auburn hair down past her waist. The costumes and poses and styles vary, but it’s definitely her.

  Desiree continues all the way to the fourth floor. Catching her breath—the climb left her more winded than she expected—she looks around: the hallway is blocked by some old wooden planks haphazardly nailed together. There are even bits of old, discolored warning tape. Just like last time, she ducks under it without effort.

  At the end of the hallway, the door stands out, its unusual ornamentation unlike anything else in the house. The beam of her flashlight reflects in the smooth, shiny lacquer of its surface; she can see the ghostly outline of her own face. When she grasps the handle, the door opens smoothly.

  There are paintings of the same woman everywhere. The smallest one would probably reach just above her waist, the gilt of its frame glinting dully. She’s overcome with the sensation of being watched, like the paintings’ eyes move, ever so subtly, to follow her every movement. Except, before, she used to find it comforting rather than eerie.

  “I’m sorry I took that dress,” she says out loud, not sure who she’s talking to. “But we needed it for the play, do you understand?”

  At the same time
, she knows, deep down, she’s being dishonest. She needed it for the play. But, earlier today, she realized she couldn’t go on stage in it as it was. Something was missing, the costume incomplete.

  She feels along the wall: in the corner, cleverly camouflaged with the same drab wallpaper that covers the walls, is another door.

  It gives a soft click and opens to reveal a storage space. The lid of the trunk lifts without resistance. The ray of light from Desiree’s flashlight roams the trunk’s dusty insides, but, except for some fabric at the bottom, it’s empty.

  An unpleasant jolt travels up her spine. It was here—the jewelry box. It has to be here. This is where she left it last time, she’s certain. No one else has been here since. Right? She never told a soul that she came here.

  But the jewelry box is nowhere to be found, just like the stunning necklace and earrings inside it. She dreamed of it at night. She saw herself in the costume, with the earrings and necklace glimmering along her jawline. That’s why she’s risking it all to be here.

  She grabs one piece of the fabric at the bottom and pulls it out, gingerly shaking out the dust. It’s a dress, one she hasn’t seen before, and she has to admit it’s pretty. And well-preserved, given how old it probably is. A gown of dark-red velvet. A thought flits through her mind: if I wore this to prom, everyone would die. And, so, curiosity wins: she steps into the dress and eases it up her torso. It’s not a bad fit, truth be told.

  At the other end of the room, she notices another door.

  Desiree has to duck to pass through, but, forgetting all caution, that’s exactly what she does.

  At first she thinks this new room is filled with windows. The light of her flashlight bounces like mad back and forth. Then she realizes that it’s all mirrors, over a dozen standing mirrors, nearly floor-to-ceiling.

  Mesmerized, Desiree looks around. From every surface, her own face stares back at her.

  The darkness behind her seems to be stirring.

  In a rush of panic, she spins around, only to realize she was seeing the mirror’s reflection in the mirror opposite. Face-to-face, the mirrors create the unsettling effect of a dark, endless tunnel into nothingness.

  With a sigh of relief, Desiree turns back to her reflection.

  Only it’s not there. Nothing’s there.

  And then, just as quickly, there is something. It takes Desiree a beat to figure out what—or whom—she’s looking at. Auburn hair still snakes around a face in wild curls.

  But the face is gone. In its place, a smeared wax mask with black holes where its nose should be. Exposed teeth jut out of gray gums. Only the eyes are alive. Locking onto her own.

  Choking on a shriek, Desiree stumbles back, away and away until she trips over the hem of her pilfered velvet gown and topples to the floor. She doesn’t hear the house creak and groan like a waking beast. She can only look and look and look, her gaze forever fixated on the mirror.

  The floor beneath her creaks too. Dust—or ash?—rises up in small black puffs.

  Floorboards crackle and splinter, giving way beneath her weight.

  Like the ones before her, and the ones after, Desiree never sees it coming.

  Part One

  One

  The first full rehearsal is rough in that wonderful way. Starting a new work of art always is. And, in theater, it’s even more so: an actress is both the medium and the message. I’m not just writing a story or painting a picture and then ditching it—I am the story, I am the picture, I’m all of it at once, with my body and face and soul.

  But, of course, a great costume never hurts either.

  I twirl in front of the full-length mirror in the costume room. The dress is over the top on purpose. Heavy burgundy velvet with gold brocade and giant rhinestones, the dress is fresh off the rack, but it fits me like a glove. I do an exaggeratedly clumsy curtsy, flipping the hem of the skirt up over my knees like my character would have done. I look a little ridiculous but also, maybe, kind of hot.

  Because this role is daring. This role is not for the girl who wants to play the princess and the ingenue. Sure, Yvonne is a princess, but…a different princess. This role is for a girl who’s not afraid of looking ugly or having people laugh at her.

  Our drama teacher had doubts when we started casting. I think even my best friend Eve thought, deep down, that I couldn’t do it. Not going to lie—I had butterflies in my stomach before my turn. But, at the audition, I killed it. I left everything I had on the stage. Even before the cast list was posted, I knew the part was mine.

  Eve sticks her head through the door of the costume room. “There you are! Are you coming? We’re about to start.”

  Eve is dressed in her normal clothes: high-waisted jeans, a crop top, and those flats her mom brought her from Milan that the whole school envies. She looks me up and down, gown and all. “It’s not a dress rehearsal, Isa.”

  “I know. I think I’ll wear it anyway. It’s what Yvonne would do, right?”

  “You’re way too pretty to be Yvonne,” Eve teases.

  “Yvonne isn’t meant to be ugly,” I say. “The other characters just hate her because she doesn’t fit in. Besides, I think that’s kind of the point, isn’t it? That looks aren’t everything.”

  Eve rolls her eyes and taps one of those fancy flats. I’m one of the few at our Brooklyn private academy whose parents aren’t uber-rich—and, believe me, no one at this place ever lets me forget it. Most of their parents are bankers and CEOs and the like while my mom is a photographer and my dad does something with school administration and rich people. Eve’s shoes from Milan cost more than my entire wardrobe, and, if I want to keep up, I better get creative. Even then, every so often some mean girl will quip about how much she loves my “daring choice of an H&M skirt” or something like that.

  It all changed when I joined the theater club. They began to respect me, grudgingly. And this role will take me to a new level. At the end-of-term play, everyone knows there are college admissions people in the audience, looking for talented students. Not that I’ll ever tell anyone, except maybe Eve, but I could really use a scholarship.

  “You’ve got this, Isa,” Eve says. “You’ll act the hell out that role. And, if they’re too stupid to give you a full ride to every college in the universe, then it’s their loss.”

  I steal one last glance in the mirror, and a dark thought eclipses my joy like a cloud.

  As if picking up on it, Eve asks, in a lowered voice, “And your parents? Any news?”

  “They haven’t decided yet. They’re up there now, touring stuff, I guess,” I answer carefully. I don’t want her writing me off yet.

  Eve comes over and gives me a hug, making the skirt of the velvet gown rustle. “It’ll be no,” she whispers. “And even if it’s yes, my offer still stands. My mom is on board. It’ll be fine.”

  “It’ll be fine,” I repeat, willing it to be true.

  “Now go and knock them dead.”

  I give her the thumbs-up. Velvet dress swishing around my ankles, I leave the costume room and head toward the stage entrance. There’s a gasp from my classmates. Wearing the dress was the right choice.

  If my parents go through with this—if they actually make me move and leave all this behind—I might literally knock them dead.

  Two

  “I’m not moving upstate with two years of school left, Mom.”

  I’d thought about this at length and decided to play it rational. If I want to convince my parents that I’m mature enough to be on my own in Brooklyn, having a shit fit won’t help the cause.

  “Think about it. It’s ridiculous. I’ll have to go to a new high school, which probably doesn’t even have a theater program. Everything I’ve worked for will be for nothing!”

  “It won’t be for nothing,” my mom says. “You’re being dramatic, Izzy.”

  “Mom, dramatic is just
a sexist word to describe a woman who’s passionate about what she does. And I’m not being dramatic.”

  Only now I realize she used my childhood nickname. Not a good sign. Only second-worst to my full name, Isabella.

  “We thought of everything. The high school in Amory is great. One of the best in the country…”

  “So is my actual high school,” I point out. “And I don’t have to start over from zero.”

  “…and they have a theater program. I checked. Theater, dance, arts. And they do at the university too.”

  “What does it matter?”

  “You’ll have a leg up in admissions, for one thing. And it’ll be free, for another.”

  “There’s so much wrong with that, I don’t know where to even start.” I fold my arms over my chest. “Taking away someone’s well-deserved spot in the program because my parents work there? You’re always the first one to speak out against this stuff.”

  But, for some mysterious reason, my mom’s social consciousness seems to have vaporized. Of course. We don’t need it anymore, now that it’s inconvenient, do we? This whole new development is so out of character that it’s like someone swapped my once-cool mom for a complete stranger. My mom, Taylor Brixton, the edgy photographer, a celebrity almost. Well…she used to be.

  “I even showed the dean your Instagram,” she says. “He thinks you’d be an ideal candidate.”

  “You showed my photos to some strange guy? Those are private!”

  “Well, you did post them for the entire internet to see,” Taylor points out. Which is…not wrong, I guess. But still.

  “Eve’s parents will move into Eve’s old room and give us the big one. We’ll each have our own desk. It’ll be fine. Don’t you trust me?”

  “I’m not going to impose on Eve’s parents like that.” Taylor—I’ve called her that for forever, except when I’m mad at her or when she does things like, you know, turn my entire life upside down (I think it makes her feel like a Cool Mom, so she doesn’t object)—shakes her head. “Izzy, you can’t live with someone else’s family for two-plus years like some languishing exchange student.”