The low voice scraped against Tenley. Calum emerged from the snow, curls drenched in white, feet climbing steadily up the rocks. He wasn’t wearing a jacket, but he showed no signs of cold. In fact, he looked perfectly at peace, as if he’d simply gone out for a nighttime stroll. “I told you I’d catch you, Sydney. I just didn’t realize I’d get all three of you at once.” His teeth glowed under the beam of his flashlight when he smiled. “Happy belated birthday to me.”
“There’s three of us, Calum,” Sydney hissed. “And one of you. What do you think you’re going to do?”
Calum’s hand disappeared into the pocket of his pants. It returned holding a slim knife. Silently, Calum unsheathed it, making the silver glint against the snow. “I brought this with me. If I’ve learned anything from the movies, it’s that every villain needs a good backup plan.” He cocked his head to the side. “Though, am I really the villain here? Or is it actually the slut?” His eyes lingered on Emerson. “Or perhaps the bitch?” His gaze traveled to Tenley and she grimaced involuntarily. “Or, the worst culprit of all.” His eyes locked on Sydney. “The liar.”
He lifted the knife, his eyes never leaving Sydney’s face. “Stop him!” Tenley screamed. She switched off her flashlight. Emerson dove for Calum’s flashlight at the same time. One-two: the lights snuffed out.
Calum lunged for Tenley, and she kicked hard with her good leg. His dark form buckled, and something slipped from his grip, landing softly in the snow. The knife. She dove for it, but his arms were longer, and he clutched it first. Tenley could hear him panting as he lunged at Sydney, the silver blade slicing through the air.
“No!” Tenley launched herself at him from behind. She landed on his back, clinging on like a piggyback ride as she gouged at his eyes. “Drop the knife!” she ordered. She could feel skin tearing away beneath her nails. Calum arched his back with a scream, bucking her off instead.
Emerson ran at him before Tenley even hit the snow. The knife swiped at Emerson’s arm as she shoved Calum hard, sending him stumbling backward. Sydney came from the side, punching him in the face with a grunt. Tenley scrambled back to her feet. Her injured leg protested, but adrenaline surged through her, numbing the pain. Separate, Calum had been able to hurt them. But together, they were stronger. They were powerful.
Tenley rammed into Calum, her elbow smashing into his cheekbone with a painful crack. The knife swung wildly as he stabbed blindly at the air.
Emerson grabbed Calum’s hair, yanking him backward. “Get the knife!” she yelled. As Sydney dove for the knife, Tenley kicked Calum right in the gut. Once, twice, three times. And then Calum was buckling over and Sydney was screaming, “I got it,” and the knife was above her head, a trophy glinting in the moonlight.
“Not for long,” Calum growled. He tore out of Emerson’s grip. In the darkness he was nothing but a shadow, but Tenley didn’t need to see his face to know the evil that was on it. This was the person responsible for Caitlin’s and Delancey’s deaths. The person who’d made them all fear for their lives again and again.
“Get him!” she howled. They ran at him from all sides, their combined weight enough to knock him off his feet. Tenley felt the slam as Calum collided with the snow. She was on top of him in an instant. She kneed him in the ribs with all her strength. “Stop,” he croaked.
“That’s enough, Tenley!” Tenley heard Sydney’s scream, but she couldn’t pull away. She flung herself at Calum, again and again, pounding, kicking. For their freedom. For their fear.
“Tenley, stop! We’ve got him!”
But she couldn’t. She wouldn’t.
For Caitlin. For Delancey.
She hit him again. His blood wet her fists, but still she didn’t stop.
“Tenley! Tenley!”
Arms wrenched her back. “It’s okay,” someone was saying. “It’s okay. I’m here now.” The arms were around her, hugging her tight. Voices rang out nearby, loud and shouting, and suddenly light washed over the island, turning night into day.
“It’s okay. It’s okay.” The voice was Tim’s. The arms around her were Tim’s. He pulled her away from the police and the firemen, away from Calum, face bloody and battered as a cop dragged him to his feet, away from Sydney collapsing against her dad, and Emerson crying into Josh’s shoulder. “It’s okay,” Tim said again.
Sirens were blaring now, one after another, until the ground vibrated with their song. “Look at me, Tenley.” Tim’s voice was gruff, and she could hear the whisper of his heartbeat through his shirt. Slowly, she tilted her head up. In the flashing lights, Tim’s face glowed red and blue. Gently, he cupped her chin in his hand. “I have you,” he promised. “You’re safe now.”
EPILOGUE
Eight months later
“It is with great pleasure that I stand before this year’s graduating class!” Principal Howard rested her hands on the lectern and stared out at the seniors and their families gathered before her. A soft breeze rustled the trees nearby, dusting the football field with flowers. “I know that for many of you, this has been a year of hardship and loss. But after darkness comes light, and I’d like to think that, for everyone, today is a bright day. You did it! When you leave this field today, you’ll be ready for your future.”
Sydney clasped her hands together, pressing her new ring into her palm. Her parents had given it to her the night before: a thin gold band dotted with tiny diamonds. “A grown-up ring for our grown-up girl,” her dad had said, and Sydney hadn’t even flinched.
Up on the podium, Principal Howard was still talking, but Sydney was only half-listening. She twisted around in her chair. The crowd was filled with people she knew, but it was Winslow itself that caught her attention. She still remembered the first time she saw the school. She’d been in second grade, and the building had seemed almost monstrous in size. She’d been so sure it would eat her alive. But here she was eleven years later, still in one piece.
A familiar name drew her focus back to the podium. “… like to honor the memory of Caitlin Thomas, Patricia Sutton, and Delancey Crane,” Principal Howard said. “All were exemplary students and highly valued members of the student body. So on behalf of the senior class, I’d like to bestow the Thomas, Sutton, and Crane families with honorary degrees. Winslow wouldn’t have been the same place without your daughters.”
Sydney swallowed back tears as Caitlin’s, Tricia’s, and Delancey’s parents went up to accept the honorary degrees. A few rows up, Emerson looked back at her. Her cheeks were wet, but there was a small, determined smile on her face. Sydney smiled back.
Of all the crazy things about this year, in some ways, this was the craziest: Someone could torch your whole existence, leaving only charred remains behind, and, still, new life could grow from the ashes.
She glanced at Tenley, who was sitting two rows behind her. She had a faraway look on her face, and Sydney wondered if it was Caitlin she was thinking about, or Calum. Just that morning, twin guilty verdicts had been delivered in the Bauer trials. Sydney had watched on TV as Calum and his dad were led away from the court in handcuffs. They were being sent to separate high-security prisons. In some ways it seemed fitting: She and Calum would leave Echo Bay on the same day.
“And now…” Up on the podium, Principal Howard broke into a smile. “I pronounce you all graduates of Winslow Academy!”
With a cheer, Sydney threw her cap into the air. She watched as it joined the others. They filled the sky, like a flock of birds flying to freedom.
“We are out of here!” Tenley came over to Sydney, her arms raised in triumph. “Sunny skies and outdoor parties, here I come!”
Sydney laughed. At the end of the summer, Tenley would be leaving for the University of California, San Diego. She swore she’d chosen UCSD because of its beach parties and sunny weather, but Sydney had a feeling the job Tim had accepted at a nearby surf school hadn’t hurt.
Emerson made a face at Tenley as she joined them. “You are going to be so annoyingly tan by Thanksgi
ving break.”
“And I plan to have a massive party to show it off.” Tenley hooked her arm through Sydney’s. “One that you will not get out of attending, Miss RISD.”
“I can’t believe you leave today, Syd.” Emerson hooked her own arm through Sydney’s free one so that they all stood linked: a single, solid chain. “I don’t leave for New York and FIT until August. It’s going to be really strange without you here.”
“Things I never thought I’d hear Emerson Cunningham say,” Sydney pointed out with a laugh. She looked down at the ground, where the caps had fallen in a haphazard pattern. “I can’t believe I leave today, either.”
She’d signed up for RISD’s summer program the very day she received news of her scholarship. She’d been so sure she’d want to get away from Echo Bay as soon as possible. But now that the day was here, she wished everything could move in slow motion.
In so many ways, she hated Echo Bay. It was the place where Calum had tortured and hurt them. It was the place where Caitlin and Tricia and Delancey had died. It was the place where she’d been watched and judged and baited and played. But it was also the place where she’d taken her first award-winning photo. It was the place where she’d jumped waves with her dad and had dozens of movie nights with her mom and, most recently, said good-bye to Guinness when he won his photography internship in Africa. It was the place where she’d kissed Joey for the very first time, and, as strange as it was, it was the place where she’d found her friends—Tenley and Emerson. She cleared her throat, embarrassed by the tears pricking at her eyes. “Thanksgiving,” she declared. “I’ll even come to your stupid party if I have to.”
They were all quiet for a moment, and time seemed to stretch out before them, impossibly big. “Are you scared?” Emerson asked.
Sydney shook her head. “I’m a million and one things, but after this year, not much scares me anymore.”
Emerson nodded. So did Tenley. They didn’t need to speak to know they were all thinking the same thing.
“There’s our graduate!” Sydney’s mom ran over and threw her arms around her daughter. “This calls for a picture.” Her engagement ring flashed in the sunlight as she handed her camera to Sydney’s dad.
“Wait.” Sydney smiled shyly at her dad. “You should be in the photo, too.” He slung his arm around her shoulders. Their relationship might still be a work in progress, but it got easier every day. It was like her mom said: Change was hard, but it wasn’t impossible.
“Ten Ten! There you are!” As Tenley’s mom pranced over in a skintight minidress, and Emerson’s parents wrapped her up in a hug, and cameras clicked and zoomed all around them, Sydney caught sight of a familiar face weaving through the crowd.
“Congrats, grad,” Joey said when he reached her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her. Like always, it felt like coming home. “Ready to hit the road?” Joey tossed his car keys into the air. “RISD waits for no man. Or woman,” he added graciously.
Sydney looked over her shoulder at her mom laughing with her dad, and Tenley tossing a tassel at Emerson, and suddenly she knew: She could drive a thousand miles, but there were some things she’d never leave behind.
She slipped her hand into Joey’s. “I’m ready.”
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
It has been a pleasure to work with such a smart, creative, and inspiring publishing team on this series. Thank you to Lexa Hillyer, Lauren Oliver, Rhoda Belleza, Angela Velez, Tara Sonin, and Kamilla Benko at Paper Lantern Lit, Stephen Barbara at Foundry Literary + Media, and the whole team at Little, Brown, especially Elizabeth Bewley, Pam Gruber, and Lisa Moraleda.
Mom, Dad, and Lauren: To have a family who treats your dreams as their own is the most incredible of gifts. Thank you for believing in me and supporting me every step of the way.
Nathan: As a writer, I find it embarrassingly difficult to express just how much your faith, pride, encouragement, and love have meant to me over the years. So I’ll just say this: Every day I’m married to you, I feel luckier than the last.
Finally, a huge, heartfelt thank-you to all the readers of this series! Knowing you were out there made me excited to sit down every day and write.
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Welcome
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter One: Sunday, 11:37 PM
Chapter Two: Monday, 7:50 AM
Chapter Three: Monday, 8:29 AM
Chapter Four: Tuesday, 7:30 AM
Chapter Five: Tuesday, 2:30 PM
Chapter Six: Tuesday, 3:15 PM
Chapter Seven: Tuesday, 4:30 PM
Chapter Eight: Wednesday, 12:00 PM
Chapter Nine: Wednesday, 7:00 PM
Chapter Ten: Thursday, 7:40 AM
Chapter Eleven: Thursday, 12:22 PM
Chapter Twelve: Thursday, 3:00 PM
Chapter Thirteen: Friday, 4:00 PM
Chapter Fourteen: Saturday, 9:25 PM
Chapter Fifteen: Sunday, 11:33 AM
Chapter Sixteen: Sunday, 2:48 PM
Chapter Seventeen: Sunday, 5:30 PM
Chapter Eighteen: Sunday, 6:45 PM
Chapter Nineteen: Tuesday, 12:05 PM
Chapter Twenty: Tuesday, 2:35 PM
Chapter Twenty-One: Tuesday, 3:45 PM
Chapter Twenty-Two: Tuesday, 5 PM
Chapter Twenty-Three: Tuesday, 5:50 PM
Epilogue: Eight months later
Acknowledgments
Copyright
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2015 by Paper Lantern Lit
Cover image © Getty Images
Cover © 2015 Hachette Book Group, Inc.
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
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The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.
First ebook edition: February 2015
ISBN 978-0-316-22032-3
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