Never Have I Ever

by Sara Shepard

Page 31

 

  “Gabriella had what’s called a grand mal seizure,” the doctor says. “It’s when the electrical activity over the surface of the brain is altered. She’s a little shaken up, but she’s resting now and is doing just fine. ”

  Lili’s eyes are round. “She’s fine? But why did she have a seizure?”

  On and off goes the pen with nonstop clicks. “A seizure can be caused by an infection, but we tested her blood, and she showed no signs of infection. It can also be caused by a brain tumor, but we’ve done an MRI to rule out that possibility. More than likely—”

  “What about fear?” Lili cuts him off.

  The doctor’s eyebrows shoot up questioningly.

  “Can a seizure happen out of fear?” Lili asks. “Like if someone really, really scared her?” She turns and looks pointedly at me. I shrink down a little in my shoes.

  “That’s very unlikely,” the doctor says. “We think Gabriella has epilepsy. She’s probably had it since birth, but the disease can lay dormant in people for a long time before manifesting itself. Why it chose tonight to rear its ugly head, we’ll never know. ”

  “Epilepsy?” Lili repeats, looking like she doesn’t believe him. “But . . . that’s, like, a serious disease! Only freaks have epilepsy!”

  “Lilianna. ” Mrs. Fiorello shoots Lili an irritated look.

  “That’s not true,” the doctor says gently. “Epilepsy is very manageable. Many patients who have it don’t ever suffer a grand mal seizure again. But to make sure, Gabriella will have to be on medication for the rest of her life. We’re lucky she didn’t have a seizure when she was driving a car, or when she was somewhere alone. It’s great that all five of you were with her and knew to call an ambulance. ”

  I sneak a peek at the others, wondering if they’re going to speak up. The ambulance wasn’t called because of Gabby, after all, but because I’d stalled the car on the tracks. But no one says a word.

  The Fiorello parents nod, taking this in, and thank the doctor. He gestures to the swinging white doors. “You can go see her now if you want. She’s a little sleepy, but she’s been asking for you. ”

  We shove through the ER doors, pass a nurses’ station and a couple of empty beds, and find Gabby on a small cot in a curtained-off cubicle. She’s dressed in a faded, polka-dotted hospital gown, and her face is pale and drawn.

  Lili runs to Gabby and throws her arms around her, making the bedsprings squeak. “I’m so glad you’re okay,”

  she whispers, her voice choked with tears.

  “I’m totally fine,” Gabby says, looking exhausted but okay.

  After she hugs her parents, she gives us a small smile.

  “Hey, guys. ”

  We each hug Gabby. Her body feels so tiny under the thin hospital gown. Then we hug each other, all of us filled with relief and gratitude and nervous energy. Lili even hugs me, squeezing me tight. “Mark my words,” she murmurs into my ear. “The prank might have ended okay, but Gabby and I are going to get you. You aren’t going to know when, you aren’t going to know where, but we’ll get you back one way or another. ”

  I wave my hand dismissively. The Twitter Twins, pranking me? Right. I’m no longer that scared, needy girl from the waiting room. I’m Sutton Mercer again, the girl everyone looks up to. The girl everyone fears. The girl who gets away with everything.

  “I’d like to see you try,” I challenge.

  Lili doesn’t blink. “Game on, Sutton. ”

  “Game on,” I answer back.

  Chapter 31

  Clever Little Bitches

  “Please,” Emma whispered as Lili loomed close, her body weak from Lili’s choke hold and the lack of oxygen. “Please don’t hurt me. ”

  “Say goodbye,” Lili growled.

  Emma closed her eyes and pictured al the people she would say goodbye to. Ethan—she’d never even gotten to kiss him. She never realized exactly how much she wanted to kiss him until right now. Madeline, Laurel, and Charlotte

  —no more laughing with them, no more gossiping. It struck her, suddenly, that these were people she knew in Sutton’s life, not hers. Was there anyone who would miss her from when she was Emma? Who did she have who would mourn her? Even Ethan couldn’t grieve for Emma in public. He would have to know her as Sutton Mercer, not Sutton’s secret twin. And Alex didn’t know she was pretending to be Sutton, wouldn’t realize that it was Alex’s friend who was now dead.

  Sutton’s face, a face so identical to hers, flared in her mind. She’d wanted to know Sutton more than anything else in the entire world. And she’d wanted to solve this for her sister, to put this horrible crime to rest. Who knew what would happen now. I’m sorry, Sutton, she thought. I tried my best.

  I know, Emma. I tried to place my hand over my sister’s to comfort her, to let her know I was right there. The cave was tomb-silent. Lili leaned down so her lips were next to Emma’s ear. And then, quietly, joyful y, she whispered, “Gotcha. ”

  Her hands went slack from Emma’s neck. When Emma opened her eyes, Lili was giggling hysterical y. “Gotcha!”

  she cried again, louder this time, as though she were cal ing to someone.

  Rocks began to shift, and suddenly, the big boulder that had wal ed Emma in disappeared. A bright flashlight shone into their faces. “Gotcha!” another voice cried from outside the cave. Emma shielded her forehead and stared at the wil owy blond. Was that . . . Gabby?

  Emma scuttled out of the cave. As soon as her feet hit solid ground, Gabby cuffed her playful y on the shoulder.

  “You were so scared! We got you so good!”

  Madeline, Charlotte, and Laurel appeared behind Gabby, contrite looks on their faces. Emma’s heart raced, and she gasped for air. “Did you guys know about this?”

  Laurel smiled sheepishly. “We found out at the dance. ”

  Emma gaped. She turned to Lili, who was climbing out of the cave, then back to Gabby. She tried to settle her nerves with a deep breath, but it caught in her throat. “How long had you been planning this?” she sputtered.

  The Twitter Twins exchanged a glance. “Lili and I scoped this place out a couple of weeks ago on a camping trip with our dad,” Gabby admitted. “And then when you invited us to go camping, we put everything into action. ”

  Lili grabbed Gabby’s flashlight and shone it up the ridge.

  “There’s a ledge just below where Gabs fel . She jumped there after you pushed her. ” She put pushed in air quotes. “I made lots of noise down here to make it sound like she’d had a bad fal . ”

  “So you were here the whole time?” Emma asked.

  “Yup. I only pretended to cal a cab,” Lili said. “I hid my car in the back of the Super Stop earlier today. ”

  “Oh, and we weren’t real y fighting about Kevin, by the way,” Gabby said with a grin. “Lili isn’t into him. ”

  Lili made a face. “He smel s like smoked salmon. ”

  “He does not!” Gabby’s plump lips pursed.

  Lili shrugged and turned back to Emma and the others.

  “When you guys left, I drove here and hid at the bottom of the ravine—there’s another parking lot nearby that got me here much faster. Once I knew Gabby pretended to fal , I climbed into the cave”—Lili pointed at the rocks—“which we actual y made. Wait ’til you see it in the daytime. It looks so fake and cheesy. ”

  “Lili waited for you guys,” Gabby went on, proudly rocking back and forth on her heels. “And then, when Sutton climbed in, I came out from my hiding place and wal ed you in together. ” She wiggled her hands in front of her face as if to say Spooky.

  “You should have heard Sutton!” Lili’s eyes gleamed.

  “She was begging for her life! It was priceless!” Lili shone her flashlight on her iPhone. “I got a recording of it. We can all hear Sutton. ‘Please! Don’t hurt me, please! Can’t we talk about this?’”

  Gabby grinned at Emma. “You’ve been freaked for weeks, waiting for us to pran
k you. I swear you were going to pee your pants when we drove you to the impound the other day. ”

  Lili wagged her finger at Emma. “I told you we were going to get you back for that car-stal ed-on-the-tracks prank. ”

  “Speaking of which, did you like our little choo-choo charm?” Gabby flicked Lili’s charm bracelet and it jingled. She turned to the others. “We sent Sutton a little present at the country club a couple of weeks ago. A little reminder that we weren’t even yet. ”

  “So it was you,” Emma said, more of a statement than a question.

  “Of course it was us. ” Lili grinned. “Who else would have?”

  Gabby giggled. “Who knew the unflappable Sutton Mercer could get so frightened?”

  Everyone turned and looked at Emma, waiting for her response. Her heart was stil thrumming fast. Her blood coursed with adrenaline. Just moments ago, she’d believed this was the end. She could have sworn Gabby and Lili were Sutton’s kil ers and the case was solved. But now, everything felt turned upside down. This was al just a prank? There was no malice, no murderous revenge? Her relief mingled with the sinking realization that once again, she had no idea who had kil ed Sutton.

  But for the first time in weeks, I relaxed. Emma was safe

  —for now. Gabby and Lili just wanted to be in our clique. My kil er was stil out there, but the five girls who stood staring at Emma—thinking she was me—weren’t kil ers. They were my friends.

  Final y, Emma straightened up and took a deep breath.

  “You definitely got me,” she admitted. “It was a good prank. ”

  “It was an awesome prank,” Charlotte agreed. “How did you think of it? Did you guys have help?”

  “Believe it or not, the idea came out of our tiny brains,”

  Lili pointed just above her ear. “We’ve told you a mil ion times, we have tons of ideas for pranks. But you snobs didn’t listen, so we decided to take matters into our own hands. ”

  Charlotte crossed her arms over her chest. She glanced at Emma. “I think this might’ve been the best prank ever. ”

  “Much better than the train tracks,” Madeline piped up.

  “Better than the snuff film, too,” Laurel added. “And even better than what Sutton did to . . . ” She peeked at Madeline and shut her mouth.

  Gabby and Lili turned to Emma. They looked so hopeful and eager, two puppies desperate to impress the alpha dog. Al at once, Emma felt for Gabby, for al she’d been through.

  I felt badly for Gabby, too. But more than that, I felt embarrassed. I’d cal ously brushed off her seizure. I’d insisted, over and over, that no one dare tel what I’d done, like I was the most important person in the room. Was it possible I’d treated my murderer cruel y like this, too? Had I crossed the wrong person, someone who’d sought revenge with more than just a prank? Someone who’d paid me back by taking my life?

  Final y, Emma cleared her throat. “I know I said there was only room in the Lying Game for four people, but I think we can make an exception. ”