My father reached underneath his seat and slid out a manila envelope. From it, he pulled a stack of papers and pushed them across the table, spinning the stack around so that the pages would face me right side up.
My mother reached across the table and laid her hand over the stack. “First, your lawyer assures us that this is the scariest part. After this, it’ll be our turn to start piecing together a case, Cassidy, and I can promise you we’ve hired the best. They believe your actions, given the circumstances, were completely justifiable.”
“Mom’s right. The lawyers said it’s not too much to expect very little, if any, hard time. There are precedents for things like this. Battered wife syndrome. Self-defense. That sort. Really, your mom’s becoming quite the expert.”
My mother retracted her hand and sat back. “So … just keep that in mind.”
I tucked my hair behind my ear and pulled the papers closer. A tremor of impatience passed through me as I felt them focusing on all the wrong things.
My father shifted in his chair and it made a loud screech. “Sorry,” he said nervously. “It’s just that it does seem bad at the moment. Facing four charges of first-degree murder. And—” He coughed into his fist. “And the case of assault with intent to maim, kill, or dismember.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Four charges of murder?”
My father’s chin dropped. “Yes, I’m afraid one of the other boys died at the hospital … after. It’s all in there.” He waved at the papers. “Alex … McClung.”
I sucked in a sharp take of air and dug my fingernails into my palms. I teetered on the verge of losing it. So Tate had survived. Tate Guffrey was still breathing. I jiggled my leg in the stirrup.
“Only four?” I said, unable to mask the strain tugging at my vocal cords. “That’s all?”
My parents jerked and snatched each other’s hands again. It was so annoying how they did that.
“Cassidy, we know it’s a lot to take in. But yes, that’s all the information we have now,” said my mother.
No, that’s not what I meant, I wanted to say.
“The lawyers say you’ll testify, though, that you were frightened of them after the assault. That you didn’t mean to hurt them but you had no other recourse.” Wrong. They had it all wrong. I saw my knuckles turn white. “They think this will play well with the jury.” Their voices sounded distorted like they were coming out of a faraway megaphone. What was wrong with them? How could any of this matter to them? I went still. “You’re a star student. Homecoming queen. Captain of the Oilerettes. Paisley and Ava have both been over to ask about you, by the way.” I felt my back rising and falling, seething like a cornered animal. “They’re very concerned.”
I waited for them to finish. My eyes bored into my mother’s forehead. Then I swiped my hand across the table, and papers and puzzle pieces flew. “I am none of those things,” I screamed, leaning forward and pressing my chest into the table.
“Cassidy, please,” my father murmured. “We’re all stressed here. If you just say—”
I scratched the wood table. Saliva gathered at the corners of my mouth. “For the last time, my name … is not … Cassidy.”
“Cassidy, honey.” Tears sparkled in her eyes.
“My name’s not Cassidy!” I pounded my fist and the remaining puzzle pieces jumped. “My name’s not Cassidy. My name’s not Cassidy!” My shrieks filled the hushed room where other visitors’ heads swiveled to watch. “My name’s not Cassidy!” A young girl nearby squished her hands to her ears. “Not Cassidy!”
The woman that was my mother slumped into the man that was my father. An openmouthed o of alarm was pinned to his lips.
“Do you hear me?” I screamed at them with such force that they pulled back like I’d literally blown them there. “Do you hear what I’m saying? I’m not Cassidy! Stop calling me that!”
Out of nowhere orderlies arrived on either side of me, strapping my arms to the chair, unlocking the brakes, wheeling me backward.
“Marcy,” I muttered. “My name, I told you, is Marcy.”
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Dear Reader,
This book is about one character’s fictionalized response to an assault. There are as many ways to react to the aftermath of sexual assault and survivor trauma as there are victims. Although this is a horror novel, the true horror is that the inciting incidents contained in these pages are not far off from true-life events that are happening across high school and college campuses right now.
For support or for more information, please visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network at www.rainn.org or call their hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE.
Sincerely,
Chandler Baker
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
SITTING DOWN TO write this book, I felt lucky to be able to return to the world of Hollow Pines. Thank you to the team at Feiwel and Friends who made it possible: Holly West and Jean Feiwel, you both pushed me to take this story in a difficult but more personal direction. Holly, you’ve been the champion of these books. Thank you for loving Cassidy, Marcy, and Lena along with me. Molly Brouillette and Kallam McKay, I appreciate your hard work in helping these books reach their audience. Veronica Ambrose and Melinda Ackell, you keep me from making embarrassing mistakes within these pages for which I’m particularly grateful. And Rich Deas, thank you for having a vision and for creating gorgeous books.
When writing a horror story, it’s nice to have people who can make the process a little less scary: A huge virtual hug goes out to Tony DiSanto. You’re always willing to throw your heart and support behind these books. And to the rest of the team at DiGa, especially Tommy Coriale, Michael Maniaci, and Hayley Brooks, it’s a thrill to be able to work with you.
Shirine Coburn DiSanto and Meghan Holston, you didn’t have to, but you’ve adopted this project as your own and continued to be so generous with your time. Thank you both.
To my agent, Dan Lazar, your career advice this year has been invaluable. I’m glad to have someone like you in my court. And to Torie, for chasing down everything that needs chasing down.
I had a number of smart readers and friends who offered thoughts and motivation. Jeff and Maggie Langevin for clutch brainstorming. To Lori Goldstein, Kelly Loy Gilbert, Shana Silver, and Lee Kelly, thank you for providing a community of writers that understand. Charlotte Huang, as you know, I strongly believe that our e-mails are a little bit magic.
To my book club—Emily O’Brien, Kelley Flores, Lisa McQueen, Wendy Pursch, Julia Teague, Amy Morehouse, Kristen Largent, Kandice Karla, Whitney Waters, Kate Stein, and Susan Hobbs—for your cheerleading but also for years’ worth of lively conversations about books I might never have picked up on my own. Also the wine.
Lastly, big thanks to my family. My parents, Coni and Mike, you understand my crazy schedule and love to pitch in. To my daughter, thank you for your patience in letting me finish this book prior to your arrival and then for your promptness immediately thereafter. To my husband, Rob, hell hath no fury like a woman who is nine months pregnant and on deadline. Thank you for your patience and for your supply of chocolate milk, peaches, and boxed mac ’n’ cheese, among other things.
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OUR BOOKS ARE FRIENDS FOR LIFE.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CHANDLER BAKER grew up in Florida, went to college in Pennsylvania, and studied law in Texas, where she now lives with her family and an ever-growing pile of books. Although she loves spinning tales with a touch of horror, she is a much bigger scaredy-cat than her stories would lead you to believe. In addition to the High School Horror series, Chandler is the author of the young adult novel Alive. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Author’s Note
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Copyright
Copyright © 2017 by DiGa LLC.
A Feiwel and Friends Book
An imprint of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010
fiercereads.com
All rights reserved.
Feiwel and Friends logo designed by Filomena Tuosto
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
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First hardcover edition 2017
eBook edition 2017
eISBN 978-1-250-11769-4
Teen Hyde Page 22
