Chapters (97)
- Cover
- Back Cover Text
- Praise
- Booklist
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- 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
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Sixty-Six
- Sixty-Seven
- Sixty-Eight
- Sixty-Nine
- Seventy
- Seventy-One
- Seventy-Two
- Seventy-Three
- Seventy-Four
- Seventy-Five
- Seventy-Six
- Seventy-Seven
- Seventy-Eight
- Seventy-Nine
- Eighty
- Eighty-One
- Eighty-Two
- Eighty-Three
- Eighty-Four
- Eighty-Five
- Eighty-Six
- Eighty-Seven
- Eighty-Eight
- Eighty-Nine
- Acknowledgments & A Personal Note
- Excerpt
“Nope. It feels good to have the power to decide who lives and who dies, you know. Drink some more.”
The bottle was passed around, followed by swishes and gasps.
“Okay, there are important steps to this and this will only work if we do them all together. First, we have to take off our clothes.”
“What? Why?” Marie protested.
“We have to be totally naked.”
“But there’s bugs and things,” Marie said.
“Do it. I’ll go first.”
In the darkness Nikki stripped down, proving she was serious. Then Janie, feeling the alcohol and a surge of electricity at the illicitness, did the same, and soon they coaxed Marie to join them. Then Nikki reached into her bag for a candle. She lit it and placed it on the ground, collaring it with some stones, the dim light dancing over them.
“Now that we’re naked we have nothing to hide. We must each bare our souls to each other. Tell us your deepest, darkest secret and none of us can ever share it. Ever. This will bind us. I’ll start.”
Nikki watched the candle’s flame dance in the eyes of her friends as she revealed how Telforde, her mother’s boyfriend, came into her room at night. He would touch her and do things to her, and make her do things to him.
“He said that if I ever told, he would kick me and my mom out of his place because he pays the bills. I so want to kill him.”
Tears rolled down Nikki’s face glistening in the candlelight. She brushed at them.
“Your turn, Marie.”
“Uhm, I don’t know if I can.”
“Come on, Marie,” Nikki said.
“Uhm,” she sniffed. “Okay. No one knows this but the day Pike died… I was feeding him the apple. I cut big pieces because he liked them and I kept cutting them bigger telling him he looked funny with all that apple in his mouth.” She stopped, her voice quivering when she resumed. “That’s when he started choking. I tried to pull the piece out, but it was way down…and then he choked…and it was my fault he died. I never told my parents, anyone, but I think my parents know and they hate me for killing him. They think that I’m just a fat, stupid waste of life, that I killed my little brother and shouldn’t even exist for what I did.”
Marie wiped her tears.
Nikki and Janie touched her shoulders to console her.
“You know what?” Marie said, her composure instantly regained. Her tears gone. “Maybe I did kill him on purpose. And maybe I don’t even care. They always liked Pike more than me so it all evens out.” Then she giggled to herself.
Exchanging glances, Nikki and Janie took a moment to absorb Marie’s admission, letting a silent moment pass before Nikki turned to Janie, who took a breath.