by E. E. Cooper
Brit hadn’t stayed as long at the station. Apparently she’d become hysterical and had been taken to the hospital. The police wouldn’t tell me any specifics, but it was clear she’d spun out a thousand different stories, as if hoping if she came up with enough lies one of them would be good enough to convince everyone around her. Instead the multitude of stories was burying her. And they’d be checking into them now. She’d been hooked and the more she thrashed and tried to get away, the deeper the hook sank.
I’d beat her.
As my parents pulled into our driveway I could barely make out someone sitting on our front stoop. Then I realized who it was and warmth spread through my stomach. I opened the door as soon as the car came to a stop.
“Zach, I’m not sure Kalah is up to seeing anyone tonight,” my mom said.
“It’s okay,” I said, cutting her off. I turned to him. “Take a walk?” He nodded.
My dad sighed. “Don’t be long.” He and my mom leaned against each other as if they each needed the support and went into the house.
Zach and I walked silently through my neighborhood. The lights were on in other houses. It was as if real life was happening in there, and Zach and I were in some alternate universe. Separate.
I smiled when I saw the Thompson house up ahead. I’d babysat for them for years. All of their lights were out. I held my finger to my lips to indicate Zach should be quiet, and I led him around to their huge backyard. At the far end, butting up against the woods was a tree house. Calling it a tree house almost wasn’t fair. Mr. Thompson was a carpenter and he’d created a tree McMansion. I climbed up the ladder and Zach followed. Stacks of patio cushions were on the floor, and I passed him one. I sat and leaned against the wall, letting the smell of cedar relax me.
“I don’t know what to say,” Zach said finally. “Is it true?”
“Which part?” I asked.
Zach fidgeted on his cushion. “People are saying Brit killed Beth.”
I nodded.
He let out a long breath. “Whoa.”
“I knew, but I didn’t know how to prove it,” I said. “She was going to get away with it. I had to keep her close until I could find a way to make sure she was caught. In the end I had to confess so that someone would listen to me, but then she snapped.”
“She told me you did that stuff to Sara so I wouldn’t trust you, didn’t she?” Zach asked.
My throat tightened and my eyes burned. I nodded.
“I had no idea,” Zach said. “I’m sorry. You know, for all the stuff I said.” He picked at the seam of the cushion. “I should have known you weren’t like that.”
“It’s okay,” I said.
“It’s not okay.” Zach rubbed his face. “Look, I know you and I weren’t dating anymore, but we were friends. I knew something was wrong. I should have had faith in you.”
The idea that things between us might be okay again felt like slipping into a warm bath, letting each muscle in my body loosen. There wasn’t anything romantic there, but Zach was one of the best people I knew. Knowing he wanted to be my friend made me want to forgive myself too. “I’m still sorry for what I did to you,” I said. “None of this shit with Brit makes it right.”
He reached over and took my hand. “Then we’re both sorry, so we’ll call it even. Deal?”
“Deal,” I echoed. We sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes. “What are people at school saying?”
Zach whistled. “People are pretty freaked out. Now everyone’s rushing to say they knew there was something weird about Britney and her story the whole time. I heard on the radio on the way over here that they’ve got cops at Brit’s place. Apparently they’re carrying out paper bags of stuff.”
The crime forensics people. They’d found something. I felt yet another band of tension disappear.
“Damn, girl, I knew you were a field hockey goddess, brilliant at chem, and able to quote Star Wars movies with the best of them, but I had no idea you were also a crime fighter.”
I giggled. “I don’t think I have to worry about getting fitted for a Wonder Woman outfit quite yet.”
“Shame, because you could rock that look.”
I punched him in the arm.
Zach rubbed his arm. “Seriously, though, what you did was brave. Stupid and insane, but brave.” He paused. “Beth would have been proud of you.”
A flicker of pride smoldered in my stomach and spread through my body. “I did do it, didn’t I?”
“You sure did.”
I was filled with a rush of energy, and I jumped up. “Get some ice cream with me? The DQ should be open for another half hour or so.”
Zach looked at his phone to check the time. “We’ll have to hustle. You up for running?”
I kicked his foot lightly. “You worry about keeping up with me.”
He smiled. “We all have to worry about that—you’re a force to be reckoned with, and if chocolate is on the line, let alone sprinkles . . .”
I didn’t wait for him to finish. I dropped to the ground from the tree house, filled my lungs with a deep breath, and started to run. I wasn’t running away from anything anymore. I was running forward.
The air-conditioning in Dr. Sherman’s office was turned too high, and I shivered. My parents had offered to set me up with another psychologist. They worried I might not want to work with her since she hadn’t believed me. I couldn’t really blame Dr. Sherman. I wouldn’t have believed me either. On our first appointment back, she’d fallen all over herself to apologize for letting one patient influence her view of another. I think she felt ashamed that she’d been caught swallowing every lie that Brit fed her, but she wasn’t the only one. No one could sugarcoat a lie quite like Britney.
“Is Brit going to go to jail?” There was a part of me that wanted to see her in an orange jumpsuit, stuck behind bars for life. I wanted her to pay for what she’d done to Beth and to me. To raise my hands in victory as I stood over her crushed form. Then there was the part of me that couldn’t forget that Brit had once been my friend. There would be moments when I would remember her telling a joke, or how when Brit laughed really hard she would get the hiccups. That part of me didn’t want her to rot in jail. Spinning back and forth between the two perspectives was enough to keep me up at night.
“There hasn’t even been a trial yet. Britney is still under observation, but given the evidence the police have collected and her various confessions I wouldn’t be surprised if she took some kind of plea deal.”
I shifted in my seat. It made me uneasy that Brit was locked up in a psychiatric facility. It was like she was living out the future that had been destined for me. It felt as if I’d ducked out of something and left her holding the bag. She was under a suicide watch after she’d broken a glass and tried to cut her wrists. I’d been told they were very superficial cuts. I didn’t believe Brit really wanted to die, but it scared me that she’d gone to that extreme.
“I just want everything to be over,” I said.
Dr. Sherman nodded. “Unfortunately these things take a long time. You have to be patient and to know that the real justice is that this ugly thing has come to light. Britney isn’t going to be free for a long time. She may not be in jail, but she’ll be in care. You don’t need to worry about her. Your focus needs to be on moving forward in a positive way.”
I took a deep breath, letting myself imagine a future. A good one. One without Brit. “My parents and I are talking about some options for next year,” I said.
“A fresh start might be good for you,” Dr. Sherman said.
I smiled. “It’s not fresh. This time I’m taking what I learned with me.” Brit was to blame for what happened, but I’d been passive for too long. I’d whined about how unfair all of it was instead of doing something. I wouldn’t make that mistake again.
At the end of the day, Beth was still gone. Proving Brit had done it didn’t bring Beth back. Now, with the truth out, it was all the more clear that there was a huge hole in m
y life and no one would replace Beth. I’d move on. I’d be okay, but I would always miss her.
“How are you coping with the police interviews?” Dr. Sherman asked.
I sighed. I’d been in and out of the police station so often in the past three weeks that I half expected them to issue me my own laminated ID card. They went over and over what I knew about Beth and Brit’s friendship and every detail I could remember from the day Beth disappeared. It felt like I was talking in circles, but they insisted it was important. “The police are okay,” I said.
Dr. Sherman cocked her head to the side as if she were trying to read my mind. “I know you’ve been through a very difficult time, but I get the sense you haven’t given yourself permission to let go of that pain yet, to let yourself be happy again.” She leaned forward as if she was going to share the secret of life with me. “This horrible situation is over, and you survived. It’s okay to enjoy that.”
Of course I was happy Brit had been arrested. But Dr. Sherman was wrong if she thought it was over. I want to believe Brit’s time had run out, but that would be the worst thing I could do. Underestimating Britney can be lethal. “It’s hard,” I mumbled.
“What would Beth tell you?” Dr. Sherman cocked her head to the side as if she could almost hear Beth’s whispered advice.
I sat silently for a moment. I pictured Beth sitting on the log at the beach, her hair blowing around, and how she would tip her face up to the sun.
“Don’t worry, Kalah—you win some, you lose some, but what really matters is that you keep getting back up and into the game. You never know what might happen, but if you quit, nothing happens.”
I swallowed hard. Beth wouldn’t want me to be afraid. Or at the very least she wouldn’t want that fear to stop me from living my life. I closed my eyes and let myself think of her again and then opened them, ready to face whatever came next.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to Anica Rissi for suggesting this adventure, and Melissa Miller for ensuring that I completed it. Without Melissa’s cheerleading and willingness to brainstorm, this book wouldn’t exist. I can’t express how much I appreciate her support. The entire crew of Katherine Tegen Books is also to be thanked and is deserving of cupcakes, but Alex Arnold, Kelsey Horton, and Joel Tippie in particular deserve seconds.
I’d also like to do a special shout-out to librarians and booksellers who do such an amazing job of connecting readers to books. Special thanks to Taylor, Levi, and Brett at my local North Vancouver Chapters and to Helen and Susan and Kidsbooks for introducing me, and my books, to so many.
I could not do any of this without the support of so many friends and family. For all the good wishes, chocolate sent, listening ears as needed, and butt kicking as required—I owe you all.
Lastly, to readers far and wide who reached out on social media or by email to let me know you enjoyed the book—thank you. Writing is a solitary venture, but knowing there are readers at the end of the journey makes every word worth it.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
E. E. COOPER lives in Vancouver with her husband and a very spoiled dog. Avenged is the sequel to Vanished.
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BOOKS BY E. E. COOPER
Vanished
Avenged
CREDITS
Cover art and design © 2016 by Joel Tippie
COPYRIGHT
Katherine Tegen Books is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
AVENGED. Copyright © 2016 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2016935937
ISBN 978-0-06-229392-3
EPub Edition © October 2016 ISBN 9780062293930
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