Secrets and Lies(40)

“Oh, I know we’d have fun,” Tenley retorted. Especially once Abby is locked away, she added silently. “And I really wish I could.” For the briefest of seconds she thought about just saying yes. But Hunter was counting on her; she couldn’t do that to him. “Unfortunately, I already have a date. You didn’t see the posters at school today?”

“I didn’t see much of anything at school today,” Tim admitted. “After first period, Tray talked me into furthering my surf education instead.”

Tenley laughed. “Of course he did. Well, Hunter and I are… well, we’re… uh…”

Tim’s face fell. “Oh. I get it. You’re dating.”

“It’s just for show!” she blurted out. She hadn’t planned on saying it, but the smile that crept back onto Tim’s face made her glad she had. “We’re both on the court, so we decided a relationship would up our chances of winning. But,” she added playfully, “I didn’t promise my faux-beau every dance.”

Tim sighed dramatically. “Unfortunately, my homecoming rule of thumb is, I only go if I have a future queen on my arm.” He ducked farther into her car, until his face was only inches from hers. “Guess we’ll just have to wait till next time.”

A tingly feeling was spreading through Tenley. “Too bad,” she said. “I’ve been told I’m a pretty good dancer.”

“Not as good as me, I bet. I do what I like to call the ‘surfer shuffle.’ ”

Tenley laughed. “I can’t believe I’m going to miss that.”

She was still thinking about Tim when she got home a few minutes later. It was probably a good thing she couldn’t go to the dance with him. It could have been strange, and people would have talked.… She was in the middle of convincing herself that it was for the best when something on her bed caught her eye. It was a blue silk scarf, resting casually on a mound of pillows. She picked it up. The silk was buttery soft against her skin. HERMÈS, the label read.

“What…?” she murmured. She’d seen this scarf before. She’d made fun of this scarf before. It belonged to the one and only Abby Wilkins.

Which meant Abby had been here. In her bedroom.

She staggered backward into the hallway. The room seemed dirty all of a sudden, tainted.

“Watch, Miss Tenley!”

Tenley whirled around to find Sahara standing barely an inch behind her. She made a big show of glaring at Tenley as she stepped out of her way. “You’re the one who should watch it,” Tenley snapped. “What are you doing here at midnight anyway?”

“I work late,” Sahara said indignantly. “I heard a noise up here and came to check.”

“A noise?” That got Tenley’s attention. “Did you see anyone?”

Sahara shook her head. “Just you, who almost trampled me.”

“So you have no idea how this scarf got on my bed?” Tenley dangled the blue scarf in front of her, holding it gingerly between two fingers as if it were poison.

“Of course I do,” Sahara replied. “I put it there. Landscaper was here today and he say he found it in the woods.” She gave Tenley a strange look. “It’s not yours?”

Tenley didn’t reply. The woods. Abby hadn’t been in her bedroom at all; she’d been in the woods. She took off running down the stairs, ignoring Sahara’s calls behind her. The rear floodlights switched on as she flew out the back door. They turned the grass around her a vibrant rain-forest green. But down by the woods, the grass was so dark it was almost black. The light didn’t reach that far.

Tenley hesitated. Warning flags waved in her mind: scenes from every horror movie she’d ever seen. Don’t go in the woods alone.

She turned back. Whatever nasty surprise Abby had planned for her in the woods, it could wait until tomorrow.

Her hand was on the door handle when she heard it: Abby’s voice, in her head. I never pegged you for a wimp, Tenley. Tenley froze. Abby had said it as a joke the night of the beach party—the night the darer’s new round of messages first started.

Tenley bristled. She might be a lot of things, but a wimp was never one of them. She was Tenley Mae, the girl her dad used to say could move mountains. She looked down at the scarf. Abby had left it here, knowing she would find it. She let her hand slide off the handle. She refused to let Abby scare her. Grabbing her pepper spray out of her purse, she marched across the lawn.

The air smelled sweeter in the woods. A faint trickle of moonlight leaked through the trees as she walked farther in. A breeze wrapped around her, soft and cool, and somewhere in the distance an owl hooted. She’d forgotten how nice it could be back here, so serene.

Then she saw the body.

The scarf and pepper spray slipped right out of her grip, falling to the ground. “No.” It was supposed to be a scream, but it came out barely a whisper. She ran over to the body, falling to her knees. “Guinness. Guinness!” His eyes were closed, black waves falling across his forehead. “Guinness!” She shook him, slapped his face, but he didn’t move.

Time slowed as she fumbled through her purse for her phone. Her cheeks were wet, but she couldn’t feel herself crying. She couldn’t feel the phone against her ear, either, or Guinness’s jacket under her hand as she tried again and again to wake him. She kept looking for some kind of wound, but she found nothing.

“Hello, nine-one-one.” The voice was calm, professional. “What’s your emergency?”

“It’s my stepbrother,” Tenley sobbed. “He’s unconscious.… I can’t tell if he’s breathing!” The words tumbled out of her, not her own.

“What’s your address, ma’am?” the calm voice asked.

“One Dune Way. Hurry! I think… I don’t know…”

“Ma’am, I’m going to need you to calm down and check for a pulse.” The woman spoke slowly, as if talking to a child. “Can you do that?”

Tenley’s hand was shaking like crazy as she slid it down to Guinness’s wrist. She pressed her fingers against his tattoo. “I feel something!” she gasped. “It’s faint, but I feel it.”

“Good. Now I need you to stay with him. The ambulance should be there in an estimated two minutes.”

Tenley didn’t remember the rest of the conversation, but soon she could hear the sirens roaring into the driveway. “Back here!” she screamed. In the distance, she could hear her mom yelling for Lanson. “We’re back here!”

The EMTs were halfway across the lawn when her phone let out a sharp beep. A new text flashed on the screen, the number blocked. The first EMT reached them, kneeling next to Guinness. “He’s breathing,” he yelled to the others. Tenley could see her mom and Lanson racing outside, their screams muffled by the sirens. She tried to push delete on the text. Whatever the darer had to say, it didn’t matter right now. But her shaking thumb accidentally hit the read button instead.

Dropping like flies! Make sure the right girl wins queen tomorrow, or who knows who you’ll lose next.…





CHAPTER EIGHTEEN


Saturday, 7:22 AM


Sydney hugged her old stuffed teddy bear To her chest. Ever since freshman year, Teddy had resided on the top shelf of her closet. But last night, after Tenley called her about Guinness, she’d gotten him back down. She’d needed all the comfort she could get.

“Syd?” Her mom came into her bedroom. Clearly, she’d felt the same way, because she was wearing Syd’s dad’s ancient Red Sox sweatshirt—the one Sydney had used as a blankie when she was younger. “I just got off the phone with Marie at the hospital.”

Sydney pulled herself up, bringing Teddy with her. Her cheeks felt raw from the hours she’d spent crying, and Teddy’s fur was stiff where her many tears had landed. “What did she say? Is he okay?” Her throat was raw, too, her voice hoarse.

Her mom sat down on the edge of her bed. “He’s stable, hon.” She took Sydney’s hands in hers. “He’s going to be okay.”

Sydney closed her eyes, a shudder of relief running through her.

Last night, Sydney had come home to find her missing cell phone lying on her bed with one of the darer’s notes:


Had to borrow it--couldn’t ruin the surprise!



Sydney had freaked. How had Abby gotten inside her locked apartment? But then Tenley called, and nothing else was important after that.

Tenley was in hysterics. All Sydney was able to glean from their conversation was that Guinness was in the hospital from what looked to be some kind of drug overdose. “Abby texted me,” Tenley hissed. “She knew about it. She was gloating!” Then Tenley had to get off the phone, and Sydney hadn’t been able to reach her since. She stayed awake half the night, alternating between crying and willing her phone to ring. When she still hadn’t heard from Tenley by 7 AM, she woke up her mom. Her mom’s friend Marie worked the morning shift in the ER on weekends, so she’d asked her to call to see what she could find out.

Sydney faced her mom. “Did you learn anything else?”

“They found heroin in Guinness’s blood,” her mom told her gently. “They’re calling it an accidental overdose. He’s feeling a lot better today, but they’re restricting all visitors, by his father’s orders. Marie said he’s supposed to be transferred to a rehab center tomorrow.”