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Back One White Lie Save as PDF
Chapters (59)
  1. COVER
  2. About the Author
  3. DEDICATION
  4. ONE
  5. TWO
  6. THREE
  7. FOUR
  8. FIVE
  9. SIX
  10. SEVEN
  11. EIGHT
  12. NINE
  13. TEN
  14. ELEVEN
  15. TWELVE
  16. THIRTEEN
  17. FOURTEEN
  18. FIFTEEN
  19. SIXTEEN
  20. SEVENTEEN
  21. EIGHTEEN
  22. NINETEEN
  23. TWENTY
  24. TWENTY-ONE
  25. TWENTY-TWO
  26. TWENTY-THREE
  27. TWENTY-FOUR
  28. TWENTY-FIVE
  29. TWENTY-SIX
  30. TWENTY-SEVEN
  31. TWENTY-EIGHT
  32. TWENTY-NINE
  33. THIRTY
  34. THIRTY-ONE
  35. THIRTY-TWO
  36. THIRTY-THREE
  37. THIRTY-FOUR
  38. THIRTY-FIVE
  39. THIRTY-SIX
  40. THIRTY-SEVEN
  41. THIRTY-EIGHT
  42. THIRTY-NINE
  43. FORTY
  44. FORTY-ONE
  45. FORTY-TWO
  46. FORTY-THREE
  47. FORTY-FOUR
  48. FORTY-FIVE
  49. FORTY-SIX
  50. FORTY-SEVEN
  51. FORTY-EIGHT
  52. FORTY-NINE
  53. FIFTY
  54. FIFTY-ONE
  55. FIFTY-TWO
  56. FIFTY-THREE
  57. FIFTY-FOUR
  58. Acknowledgments
  59. THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING

I tried to go back to sleep, to close my eyes and forget about all that had and hadn’t happened, but I couldn’t. Eight thirty turned to nine, nine to nine thirty, thoughts stinging, head pounding, eyes locked on the ceiling.

At some point I did drift off, but awoke to a rap at the door. I checked my phone. It was nearly three o’clock.

I forced myself out of bed and made my way into the living room, peeked through the drapes. Vera.

Cheeks on fire, I desperately wanted to head back to bed, pull the covers up and disappear beneath them, but she’d already seen me. Slowly, I opened the door.

‘Took you long enough,’ she said. She had a perky smile on her face and was wearing a long-sleeved black dress, a silver scarf twisted around her neck.

‘I was in the bathroom,’ I managed.

Her hand landed on her hip. ‘Are you going to invite me in?’

‘Yes,’ I said. ‘Of course. You want coffee? Or tea or something?’

‘I’m fine.’ She sat on the sofa. ‘Christ, you look awful.’

‘Thanks,’ I said, trying to act normal.

She threw her head back, laughing. ‘John told me you two hit the sauce a little hard last night. So that’s what happens when I encourage you guys to hang out? I hope I don’t have anything to worry about.’

I forced a quick laugh, as if the suggestion were absurd, but my heart pounded anyway.

‘So it was no easy feat,’ Vera said, ‘but I got a car this morning. A ninety-two Camry that somehow magically still works. Got back about an hour ago.’

I nodded along, trying to focus on the details, trying to push all thoughts of last night away.

Vera picked up on my discomfort anyway. ‘You okay?’ she asked. ‘You didn’t hear from Davis, did you? Or Ellie?’

‘No,’ I said smoothly, trying to gather myself. ‘I’m fine. I’m just nervous, I guess … about tomorrow.’

Vera folded her hands in her lap. ‘That’s why I came over. I know you’re as eager to do this as I am, but I wanted to make sure we were on the same page. With the car all set, things are officially in motion. We’ll be heading out tomorrow around two, aiming to get to the trail no later than three. You’re still good?’

Was I good? Far from it. I had betrayed her, even if we’d stopped. What we’d done was betrayal enough.

But the wave had already begun to build, growing taller and taller, and the only thing left was the violent crash against the beach.

‘Of course,’ I told her, delivering a smile. ‘Of course. I’ll be ready.’

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EIGHTEEN