by Lauren Sabel
A bing sounds on my phone, and when I glance at it, it’s a text message from Charlie. r u ready?
“Time to go,” I say. On the floor, Michael just taps his shoes as fast as he can. I smile down at him. After spending the summer with Michael, I know that his tapping means he’s feeling emotional, and this time it’s about me. And although I’m not ready to call him Dad, at least I know that he never abandoned me. He was just across the city all this time, locked up in Shady Hills.
“Hey kiddo,” Richard says, standing up from the couch and pulling me into a giant hug. “I’ll miss you.”
“Right back at you,” I mumble into Richard’s broad shoulder. “No good-byes, remember,” I add. “I’ll call you when I get there.”
“Drive safe,” Richard says, handing me the car keys, “and keep your eyes on the road.” Ever since Richard gave me his old car so that Charlie and I could drive to New York, he feels responsible for my safety, and for once, Mom isn’t worried about finding me dead on the road somewhere. When Richard says I’ll be okay, she trusts him.
“I’ll drive like I already know what’s coming,” I say, and Michael grins down at the floor. I pull open the front door, and then I pause for a second, looking at the world I love around me, the one that is about to change.
Then I throw my bag over my shoulder, give my mom a good-bye hug, and head out to my future.
On the road, I text Charlie. See you soon.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Writing teaches you a lot about life. It teaches you that you can persevere past the hard parts and start over fresh the next day. It teaches you that you can bring forth your best on command, but sometimes your worst sneaks through, and that’s okay too. But mostly, it teaches you that you can’t do it by yourself.
I didn’t do this by myself.
My gratitude goes out to my amazing editors, Katherine Tegen and Katie Bignell, for all their hard work, as well as the rest of my KT Books team: Katie Fitch, Amy Ryan, Kathryn Silsand, Maya Packard, David Klimowicz, Ruiko Tokunaga, Alana Whitman, Rosanne Romanello, and Lauren Flower. And also Josh Cochran, for my beautiful cover.
I am incredibly grateful to my agent, Jodi Reamer. You are truly a magic maker, and a great inspiration to me. Here’s to lots of Disneyland trips in our future!
My writing community has been invaluable to this book—it would literally not exist without them. I especially want to thank Tara Dairman, Jenny Goebel, and Laura Resau. Thanks also to the SCBWI Rocky Mountain division. This is our TRIBE! My special thanks goes to Kami Garcia for all of her support and encouragement. It’s meant more to me than I can say.
My teachers deserve thanking too—Simon Fill, for helping me with character, and my earlier teachers who believed in me despite all evidence that they shouldn’t: Jewel Speers Brooker, Dick Hallins, Breda Ennis, Pauline Fry, and Mrs. Shindler.
To my readers, thank you! thank you! And to the readers who gave my first book great reviews, please know that I’ve read them over and over. You gave me hope that I could write a second.
To the Edwards family and the Barnard family, who showed me that in-laws can be a wonderful and fulfilling part of my life. Thank you for being a part of my family and heart.
To Allie, Danny, Fletcher, and Maddie—every day I find another reason to love you! F&M—I know you will do great things. (An aunt can tell.)
My love and eternal gratitude goes out to my parents, for whom there are not enough words to thank them for all they have done for me. They are truly extraordinary and deserve all the happiness this world has to offer. You did good!
To my husband, Tyler, for helping to write and rewrite the plot of this book numerous times, and keeping me sane more times than that. Thank you for believing in me way beyond the point when I believed in myself. I love you and Alex (and our soon-to-be-born son!) beyond reason. You are truly the home in my heart to which I will always return gratefully and with open arms.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo by Tiffany Crowder
LAUREN SABEL has a masters in creative writing from Naropa University and currently teaches college writing courses online. She has lived in Rome, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, and London and currently resides with her husband and daughter in Boulder, Colorado. She is the author of Vivian Divine Is Dead. You can visit her online at www.laurensabel.com.
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BOOKS BY LAUREN SABEL
Vivian Divine Is Dead
Lies I Live By
CREDITS
Cover art © 2016 by Josh Cochran
Cover design by Katie C. Fitch
COPYRIGHT
Katherine Tegen Books is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
LIES I LIVE BY. Copyright © 2016 by Lauren Sabel. 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.
www.epicreads.com
Library of Congress Control Number: 2015954394
ISBN 978-0-06-223198-7
EPub Edition © May 2016 ISBN 9780062232007
16 17 18 19 20 PC/RRDH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION
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