Chapters (47)
- Cover
- Dedication
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- 2 Months Later
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Books by Kasie West
- Back Ad
- About the Publisher
“Mystery?” I stopped at the now-empty space of ground my clothes used to occupy. “Where are my clothes?”
She led me to a chair, where they were folded nicely. I pulled my shirt on, then stepped into my sweats.
“Yeah, he’s all over the internet, but nobody knows who he actually is. Or at least nobody is outing him.”
“If nobody knows who he is, then how does Katie know he goes to our school?”
“Rumors, I guess.”
“I need food,” I said, nodding to her chips. “Where did you get those?”
Amelia pointed, and we headed toward tables covered in pizza boxes and snacks set up on the patio. “So are you curious?” she asked.
“That guy made me lose my first race in weeks. So yes, very curious.”
Three
I awoke to a persistent knocking and let out a moan. “Yeah?”
The door swung open. Mom poked her head in. “You’re still asleep?”
I wasn’t sure if she wanted me to answer that question or if she was making a statement, so I rubbed my eyes and sat up. My shoulders protested.
“Hadley. You have thirty minutes.”
My mind, slow from sleep, tried to play catch-up.
My struggle must’ve shown on my face because she added, “It’s the fifth. Of April.”
“Oh!” Eric’s day. Crap. I hopped out of bed, tripping over the sheet that had tried to follow me. I’d seen my dad charging the car battery the day before. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t connected the two. “I’ll be ready.”
She gave me the look that showed she was hurt. I had forgotten and she was hurt. I was a horrible daughter. “I’m sorry.” I kissed her cheek and ran for the bathroom. To make up for oversleeping, I’d have to skip the shower. My shoulders weren’t happy about that plan. They needed some heat therapy. I hoped gross lake hair wouldn’t be doubly offensive to my mom. I brushed my teeth, pulled on some clothes, and ran to the corner mart near our house. I searched the aisles until I found Eric’s favorite candy: Hot Tamales. I paid and made it back to the house just in time to see my dad stepping down from the porch.
He smiled. “You ready?”
I wondered if my mom had told him I’d forgotten. I clutched the bag with candy. “Of course.”
“Then let’s do this.”
“Where’s Mom?”
“She’s coming.” He led me the fifty steps to the truck that sat on a raised platform under our big eucalyptus tree in the front yard. The place it had sat for the entire sixteen years of my life—a monument to my brother who died before I was born. Our front yard was big, but the truck seemed larger than life today.