She covered herself with an uncomfortable laugh, and they continued to talk in hushed voices as they walked to their first period classes.
Zoe turned to her locker, not wanting to appear guilty or hear any more false information. Though this was the beginning, as it was in small towns. Everyone would cling to the news at night over dinner to absorb one more tidbit of information about the teacher who murdered a kid while sleeping with another.
She was lucky her mom wasn’t much of a news watcher. Though she’d have to tell her soon. Zoe was tired of secrets and Mom would be disappointed to hear the information from anyone else. That was the next step to building their relationship again.
Teddy stayed with her as she gathered her books.
‘Hey, Teddy,’ Jackie said from behind her.
She turned and saw Jackie across the hall. It took her a minute to recognize the cheerleader. Even though she had her uniform on as she always did, now she sported straight bangs across her forehead. They were too thick to see any damage underneath. Q stood next to her, casually propped against the locker. His hands were still in bandages.
Seeing the two of them together was strange, but it somehow made sense. Megan had bonded all of them together. Some more than others.
‘You okay?’ Zoe asked Jackie.
Jackie and Q crossed the hallway until they stood in front of Teddy and Zoe.
Jackie swiped her hand at her new haircut. ‘I’m fine. I thought it was time for a change, and this helps to remind me.’
Zoe nodded, knowing how she felt.
Cece came down the hall, and she slowed when she saw the rest of them. She wore a simple pastel-pink tank top and cardigan with jeans. Zoe couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen Cece in a casual outfit.
Jackie lowered her voice. ‘What happened to you this weekend? I tried calling you.’
Cece sighed. ‘They grounded me, big time. No phone or computer unless I’m doing school work. And my parents made me return everything I stole. I’m about a quarter of the way through my closet.’
‘What about the photo?’ Jackie asked.
Cece sighed. ‘Megan changed my password after posting. And she linked another email. I’m frozen out. I didn’t bother cyberstalking myself. I don’t want to see any comments. Maybe she took it down? I have no idea.’
‘I searched for her online,’ Teddy said. ‘There’s no trace of her at all.’
‘There wouldn’t be,’ Zoe said.
The bell rang, and Teddy said, ‘We should head to class.’
Zoe started off in the direction of her homeroom and Teddy stood by her. Cece, Q, and Jackie fell into line next to them. The five of them walked down the hallway, side by side.
A few of Jackie’s cheerleading friends whipped their heads around when they saw their leader locked arm in arm with the class rebel. Jackie acknowledged them with a nod but their expressions returned only surprise and confusion.
Zoe glanced over at Teddy, and as if he read her mind, he did the same. He offered a reassuring smile and lightly squeezed her hand. The fluttering sensation that always accompanied seeing Mr. Curtis filled her stomach. Maybe she would be able to fix more than just the relationship between her and her mom.
She hated to admit that Megan had done this for them. She altered so much within one day. Zoe supposed that’s how Megan felt after losing Jacob.
‘Anyone want to head to the library for a study session?’ Q asked.
‘Too soon,’ Teddy said at the same time Jackie said, ‘Not cool.’
Zoe smiled and let out a small laugh. The release made her chest ache in the best possible way.
Their new relationships grabbed the attention of more than just Jackie’s friends. They received a lot of double takes and questioning looks as they walked to class. Zoe could almost hear the questions in their minds, wondering how the five of them were connected. She knew that feeling. It was the one she’d thought of on Saturday morning when they walked into the library.
Even though the others would never know, the five of them were bound forever by one boy. May he finally rest in peace.
The End
If you loved Six Little Secrets, then turn the page for an exclusive extract from Katlyn Duncan’s novel,
As You Lay Sleeping
E
‘For the last time, tell me what family she was assigned to and I will untie you.’
The portly, balding man in the chair had nearly sweated through his shirt. My request had been simple enough. Yes, the adoption had been closed. The caseworker wanted to protect the girl from knowing about her past and the lowlifes who’d created her. Calling them parents would have been too kind. But that was fourteen years ago and it was about time I found her.
‘I’m being reasonable here,’ I said, lifting the knife from inside my jacket. It had the sheath on, but the threat achieved the desired effect.
He mumbled something.
‘What was that?’
‘All of the files from that year were scanned into our server.’ He indicated the computer on the desk next to him.
‘I assume it is password-protected?’
‘Yes.’
I placed the knife on the desk, but his eyes never left my face. ‘Benjamin, was it? Make this easier on yourself and give me the information I need and I will leave you unharmed.’ My patience was waning, and I didn’t want to be in the presence of his rank body odor for an extended period.
He rattled off his username and password, and I entered them into the prompts. I searched the database for her birth name. There were two girls with that name, but only one of them had been born in Tennessee. There was little information about the girl. The fire that killed the mother would have destroyed any important documents, but I knew they didn’t hold anything of importance anyway.
‘There’s a reason these cases are closed,’ Benjamin said. ‘They are to protect the child.’
I glanced at him over my shoulder. ‘That is your job, isn’t it? To protect children. What about those who needed protection and were denied?’
He blinked rapidly, tracks of sweat dripping from his brow and into his eyes. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. Please let me go.’
‘Once I get what I need I will.’ I looked away. His relief would accompany him in death. I printed the information I needed and closed out of the file and signed out. If the system was monitored, I didn’t want anyone finding him before I was long gone. I crossed the room to the water bubbler and took the powder-filled packet from my pocket and dumped the contents into the paper cup. I filled the cup with water; the powder dissolving quickly.
I went to Benjamin, placed the cup on the desk and untied him. ‘You’re sweating like a pig. Here.’
‘Thank you,’ he said, staring at me.
I was used to the stares; they didn’t bother me as much as they used to. I handed him the cup. He chugged the liquid greedily. It wasn’t his fault he was going to die. It was an unfortunate circumstance that he had been working late when I arrived. I couldn’t risk his identifying me to anyone. His death would be swift, merciful.
I picked up the rope and coiled it around my arm, then shoved it in my bag and lifted the strap over my shoulder. ‘Goodbye, Benjamin.’
He opened his mouth to say something but, instead of words, a wet gurgle filled his throat.
I watched him clutch his chest and seize for a few moments before he went still. I pushed his rolling chair so he was situated under his desk. They would say he had a heart attack. No one would be the wiser.
I slid the papers from the printer into a large envelope, giving them the care they needed for my travel to Chester Bay, Connecticut.
Chapter One
It was the first time in hours that my phone didn’t ring. To any other average sixteen-year-old girl that would have caused an aneurysm, or at least twitchy fingers and a headache. I rolled over; the bright-purple-and-pink-striped beach towel under me stuck to my leg from the heat of the early afte
rnoon. I sat up and lifted the towel from under me. I wiped my sweaty face and dropped my sunglasses down from my head. Like hell was I going to get raccoon-eyes tan lines! The girls wouldn’t forgive such a summer faux pas. The lounge chair was warmer than it was when I sat down to sunbathe two hours ago and the backs of my legs immediately stuck to the plastic surface.
I grabbed my phone from under the chair so it didn’t take the brunt of the New England late-June heat, and I pressed the round button on the bottom of the screen. Several photo texts littered the screen. Earlier, I’d turned off the text notifications, leaving the ringer on in case Mom or Dad called. Dad would be okay with leaving a message, but Mom would have been frantic if I didn’t pick up before voicemail.
I scrolled through to find the latest from Kat. My best friend, and my boyfriend’s sister, posed on the deck of her parents’ sailboat in the matching bikini we’d both bought last week. Well, she’d bought mine as an early birthday present. I kept my relief to myself since I wasn’t sure how I’d be able to explain that expense on Mom’s credit card. The suit cost more than several items of my clothing combined.
I looked down at the pink and gray bandeau top with matching bottom. Mine looked dull in the Connecticut sun while hers appeared more vibrant against the clear blue ocean of the Caribbean. I flipped through the photos and commented on each one as she would be expecting. Then I took a picture of myself in my suit and sent it along.
It was around one. I wouldn’t be expecting anything from Rachael or Brittany for another hour. They were night owls and the main reason my parents forced me to turn my phone on silent at night. Rachael’s and Brittany’s late-night barrages of texts over the past week had disturbed the entire Daniels household. And, after two sleepless nights, I was happy to comply with the new cellphone rule.
After checking my text log, I let out a whoosh of breath. There weren’t any texts from Joe yet. I’d woken up this morning with twelve missed calls from him and one cryptic voicemail.
‘Call me back, Cara’ was all he said, though I sensed the ‘or else’ in the silence following his voice. I wished he’d gone on the family trip with Kat, though he insisted on staying home as his own graduation present. Two weeks of freedom to do whatever he wanted.
Even in the stifling heat, I shivered. Joe and I had been on some seriously thin ice since his graduation out of Chester Bay High two weeks ago. Our relationship seemed solid to everyone else. It had started like a fairytale, with a junior jock plucking a sophomore nobody from the masses of high school social hell. But it had a happy ending for only about a year. I could have ended it at any point after getting to know the real Joe, but, at the same time, I couldn’t. There was no going back after getting a taste of the high life. Besides, I’d burned enough bridges clawing to the top of the food chain, I would be ground meat if I ever attempted to climb back down.
The sliding door opened and my sister, Madison, stepped onto the deck. She squinted in the sunlight as if it would burn her pale skin the second she came into its light. Or it might have been the glare from her Coke-bottle glasses. She twisted her blonde ponytail around her finger. Hair color was the only trait we shared. I thanked the genetic gods for my ability to sustain a tan, unlike my sister.
‘What is it?’ I asked. Madison had rarely left her room so far this summer.
She pushed the bridge of her glasses further up her nose. ‘Joe’s on the phone.’
I ground my teeth together and glared at the phone in her hand. Why didn’t I think about the landline?
She held the phone in her outstretched hand as it continued to ring. ‘He’s been calling all morning. I saw his name on the caller ID.’
I stood up and crossed the deck, my bare feet pounding on the wood. I grabbed the phone from her hand and pressed the END button.
‘Why did you do that?’ Madison asked, squinting up at me.
I held the phone out to her. ‘I’m not in the mood to talk to him.’
She crossed her arms. ‘You don’t want to talk to your boyfriend? Since when?’
‘Since, I said so,’ I snapped. I wasn’t going to explain the intricacies of high school relationships to a fourteen-year-old.
Madison stepped back and scowled. ‘Why are you so mean all the time? Your stupid friends have turned you into a jerk, you know that?’
‘I’m not mean,’ I said. ‘You need to stay out of my business.’
She rolled her eyes. ‘Devin is right. You’re always mean.’
My breath caught in my throat. Devin had been my best friend since fifth grade. In fact, she’d been my only friend. Then I started dating Joe and all of that changed. She got weird and suddenly stopped hanging out and talking to me. Sometimes, Madison hung out with her little sister, Sabine. It was Devin’s fault that she didn’t stay friends with me; now, apparently, she had only her little sister to talk to. Pathetic.
I rolled my eyes. ‘It’s not my fault Devin was jealous that I had a boyfriend.’
Madison shook her head. ‘Whatever. I’m going inside.’
‘Take the phone with you,’ I said, holding it out.
‘Take it in yourself.’
She closed the sliding door, and I groaned, tightening my grip on the plastic phone. I would deal with Joe later.
I grabbed my cell, opened the door and entered the kitchen. Madison was already gone, probably in her room reading one of her fantasy books. She was obsessed with whatever new series was ripping money from tweens’ hands.
I placed the phone back on the cradle. It was one of Mom’s rules of cleanliness. Admittedly, there had been a few instances of low battery, enough for her to create the rule based on my phone habits before I had my own phone. Now it was ingrained in my head, as were many of her other rules around the house.
The relaxation from sunbathing had been ruined by Madison’s interruption, and I didn’t feel like going back outside. Besides, I didn’t want to burn this early in the summer. I wanted to be a deep brown goddess, not a lobster.
I opened the refrigerator and pulled out leftover homemade pizza from the night before. I ate a slice while I headed to my room. I sent a dirty look to Madison’s door. I hadn’t been that annoying when I was fourteen. Her dour moods had brought down the entire family at times. I wished she would get over herself.
I went into my room and closed the door. My shoulders relaxed upon entering my sanctuary. I tossed my phone on my bed, still not made from that morning, my faded pink comforter a heap on the floor.
I headed to my desk and adjusted the photo of Kat, Rachael, Brittany, and me at senior prom back into place on my corkboard. We were the only juniors in attendance this year. Next to that were our tickets and several other candid photos. I smiled at the memories of the fabulous time we had that night. I couldn’t wait until my own senior prom next year.
I sat at my computer desk and opened my laptop. It was nearly five years old, yet refurbished. It took a while to boot up, but it was my baby. The keys were perfectly worn to the shape of my fingers, and it had been my first big purchase last year after working as a grunt at the Chester Bay Inn. It helped that Dad managed the inn, though he didn’t portray any nepotism. I smiled and nodded at every task given to me, even though I cringed on the inside. I never looked at a toilet the same way after that summer. I negotiated to help out during school breaks as long as cleaning toilets was out of the picture. I was checking my email when the phone rang from the kitchen; the shrill brrring-brrring grated against my temples every few seconds. Joe wouldn’t give up.
I glanced at the prom picture; Kat’s eyes bored into mine. The combination of that and the echo of Joe’s voicemail filled my head. I inhaled sharply. I couldn’t believe I’d been so reckless. What if he told Kat I was ignoring his calls? Then all of this would have been for nothing.
I flung the door open and ran for the phone. ‘Keep ringing,’ I mumbled to myself.
I heard Madison’s door open. ‘Can you—’
‘I got it!’ I huffed, en
tering the kitchen. I flung myself over the counter and reached for the phone and pressed the TALK button on the last ring.
‘Joe?’ I said into the receiver.
‘Wow, finally,’ he said.
I scratched my forehead. ‘I was outside.’
‘I heard Madison talking to you,’ he said.
I bit my lip and tried to find some legitimate excuse. ‘She accidentally hung up?’ I couldn’t help the statement coming out as a question. I was never quick on my feet.
A female voice said something in the background.
‘Is someone there?’ I asked.
‘If you bothered to call me back, then you’d know.’
‘Be serious.’ Joe had been into many things, but I never thought he would cheat on me. At this point, I knew too much for him to do that without serious repercussions. We had been at a stalemate for a while now because of it.
‘It’s the TV. Relax, babe.’
I cringed at the endearment. Joe took a long inhale, then exhaled, filling my ear with the sound of his satisfied breathing. I glanced at the clock. It didn’t matter to Joe what time it was. Any time was a good time to get high. He could be just as childish as Madison, though in more reckless ways.
‘Why did you call?’ I asked.
‘Can’t a guy call his girlfriend? You’re still my girl, aren’t you?’
He was taunting me. I’d made it clear many times over the last year that I wanted it to be over. But he held my reputation over my head, like a piece of meat above a starving dog. I didn’t give in this time. He would be away at college soon, and a mutual breakup was imminent.
‘What do you want?’ I asked.
‘I want to see you. One last time.’
I paused. ‘What do you mean ‘one last time’?’
He inhaled slowly. I could imagine he was holding a joint or his pipe, blowing smoke rings into the air. An accomplishment he found as impressive as winning a gold medal at the Olympics. ‘I’ve decided I wanted to be free this summer.’
‘Free?’
‘Yeah, I’m going to Stanford in the fall. And I don’t want to be tied down to Chester Bay anymore.’
Six Little Secrets Page 14
