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Back The Mother Next Door Save as PDF
Chapters (84)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise
  3. Dedication
  4. About the Author
  5. HALLOWEEN
  6. Seven Weeks Before Halloween
  7. ONE
  8. TWO
  9. THREE
  10. HALLOWEEN
  11. Six Weeks Before Halloween
  12. FOUR
  13. FIVE
  14. SIX
  15. HALLOWEEN
  16. Five Weeks Before Halloween
  17. SEVEN
  18. EIGHT
  19. HALLOWEEN
  20. NINE
  21. TEN
  22. HALLOWEEN
  23. ELEVEN
  24. TWELVE
  25. Twenty-Five Days Until Halloween
  26. THIRTEEN
  27. FOURTEEN
  28. HALLOWEEN
  29. FIFTEEN
  30. SIXTEEN
  31. SEVENTEEN
  32. EIGHTEEN
  33. NINETEEN
  34. TWENTY
  35. HALLOWEEN
  36. Eighteen Days Until Halloween
  37. TWENTY-ONE
  38. TWENTY-TWO
  39. HALLOWEEN
  40. TWENTY-THREE
  41. TWENTY-FOUR
  42. Eleven Days Until Halloween
  43. TWENTY-FIVE
  44. TWENTY-SIX
  45. Eight Days Until Halloween
  46. TWENTY-SEVEN
  47. TWENTY-EIGHT
  48. TWENTY-NINE
  49. HALLOWEEN
  50. THIRTY
  51. Four Days Until Halloween
  52. THIRTY-ONE
  53. HALLOWEEN
  54. THIRTY-TWO
  55. Two Days Until Halloween
  56. THIRTY-THREE
  57. The Night Before Halloween
  58. THIRTY-FOUR
  59. HALLOWEEN
  60. THIRTY-FIVE
  61. Halloween, Present Day
  62. THIRTY-SIX
  63. THIRTY-SEVEN
  64. HALLOWEEN
  65. THIRTY-EIGHT
  66. HALLOWEEN
  67. THIRTY-NINE
  68. HALLOWEEN
  69. FORTY
  70. HALLOWEEN
  71. FORTY-ONE
  72. FORTY-TWO
  73. FORTY-THREE
  74. FORTY-FOUR
  75. HALLOWEEN... NOW
  76. FORTY-FIVE
  77. Seven Months Later
  78. FORTY-SIX
  79. FORTY-SEVEN
  80. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  81. ALICE SWANSON’S
  82. Reader's Guide
  83. Questions for Discussion
  84. Booklist

Jackie Hendricks.

Greg’s wife.

I felt like I’d been hit by a two-by-four in the gut.

Bam!

The sound echoed through my body. Then I realized I’d actually heard a noise.

I looked up. The Barn had gotten a lot darker suddenly. I dropped the photo and moved to the door, which had closed. My rock had given way.

I pushed at it, but the door didn’t budge. Had it really been that heavy? Heart now pounding, I pressed my whole body against it. But nothing. Not even an inch.

I grabbed hold of one of the hooks on the back of the door and shook it. No luck.

The door hadn’t just closed. Someone had re-latched the plank on the other side.

I was locked in.

HALLOWEEN

She’s trapped.

She’s stuck in Ivy Woods. Look at that face, staring off into the distance. Do you feel sorry for her? She doesn’t want to be here. She hates this place, even though she does a good job of acting the part.

She wore the stupid witch costume, didn’t she? She made the Rice Krispies treats. Bought her daughter the superhero costume she wanted, even though she’ll only wear it once and probably tear it before the night is over.

She’s playing her best role tonight—loving wife, doting mother, best friend. She’s pretending that her life isn’t falling apart around her, that she hasn’t lost everything. She doesn’t want to believe that her choice to move here—the perfect neighborhood—wasn’t the worst mistake of all.

But even though she’s a good actress—always has been—she can’t bear it anymore.

Not now that she knows about the betrayal.

But please, don’t feel sorry for her. Not tonight, on Halloween, the night of the spirits, when everything dead comes alive. She is no more innocent than anyone else here at this party, dancing and drinking and flirting with danger. Look at them all. How far they’ll go to feel this way.

She needs them.

She is just like them.

Maybe that’s why she hates herself the most.

Her friends (are they her friends?)—Alice, Bettina, Pia, and Kendra—are wrapped up in their own power and glory, drunk not only on the sweet punch, but on their own pride.

“Oh my god,” Alice exclaims suddenly, bouncing up from her chair. “Oh my god. We almost forgot a picture.” She waves her arms, her long black cloak billowing about her. “Ladies, come. Come here. Quick.”