Six Little Secrets(36)

Zoe rubbed her forehead. Jackie lying about her virginity didn’t seem like such a terrible thing. Jackie started a lot of rumors, Zoe doubted all of them were true. Was she telling the truth now?

As each of the secrets were revealed, Zoe became even more confused as to how all of them were connected. Even in their personal lives, they all took part in activities that were totally separate from the rest.

‘Are you sure that’s it?’ Holly asked.

Jackie narrowed her eyes. ‘That might not seem like a big deal to someone like you, but my reputation is everything. I’m done talking about this. Q, you’re up.’

He held his bandaged hands in front of him. ‘Since there hasn’t been any videos of me or wiping of my bank accounts, I’m in the same position as Jackie. I think my punishment was my mission.’

‘That doesn’t make any sense,’ Cece said.

‘I like to burn things,’ he said, under his breath. ‘I like to set things on fire. It’s my extracurricular activity, I guess.’

‘The floor was meant to catch on fire?’ Zoe asked.

‘I’m not sure,’ Q said. ‘But it appears that way. Nothing happened to me after I fell and burned myself.’

‘You could have come off a lot worse than you did,’ Jackie said, reaching out. As if she thought better of touching him, she placed her hand on the table directly in front of him.

These tasks were getting quite serious. Zoe feared for her mission. If it had anything to do with her secret, she knew it wouldn’t be good.

How could anyone have found out? She was careful, though apparently not careful enough.

‘So what do a drug dealer, klepto, virgin, and pyromaniac have in common?’ Teddy asked.

‘It sounds like the start to an awful joke,’ Q said, smirking.

At least Q held onto his humor. It was one thing Jacob couldn’t take away. At least not yet.

Q turned his attention to Zoe. Her insides squirmed. She knew he was about to push her to find out what her secret was.

But before he could ask, Holly said, ‘I think we’ve reached the end of this little game.’





CHAPTER SEVENTEEN




HOLLY



One Year Ago


The stiff black dress rubbed against Holly’s skin like sandpaper over her neckline. No amount of scratching helped, so eventually, she left it alone.

Holly tried to concentrate on the priest’s words, but all she could think about was the person inside the closed casket only a few feet in front of her.

She squeezed her dad’s hand, looking for some confirmation that this was happening.

Even though it had been a few days since she saw Jacob alive, the image of his wide-open stare and bloodied face marred each one of her memories.

Dad hadn’t wanted her to be there when he identified the body, but she’d insisted. She wanted to see what someone had done to him. She wanted the image burned in her brain, fueling the rage inside of her.

The idea came to her the day before the funeral, after she and Dad went to the police station to ask the detective about any updates on the case. There were none. Someone had run over Jacob and left him for dead on the road.

There was no confirmation, but there might have been a chance that he could have survived if the paramedics had been alerted.

If one person would have helped him, then they wouldn’t be burying him in the ground.

And that’s when Holly came up with the idea. She was going to piece together what happened to Jacob that night and get vengeance for his death.

It took several weeks after the funeral to figure out who might be involved. And as Holly came to that realization, her revenge plot grew into a complicated web. It wasn’t one person, but several people who created the ripple effect leading to Jacob’s death.

Those people led her to Pioneer Haven High School. Was it coincidence or fate that those involved with Jacob’s death lived in Pioneer Haven? As her solitary plan took shape, it was only a matter of time before she realized she needed an accomplice. Someone who she could trust and had as much at stake as she did.

She would exact her revenge against these people and get the justice deserved for her sweet Jacob.





CHAPTER EIGHTEEN




HOLLY



Saturday


Holly glanced at her classmates, dropping her gaze to each of them. Cece couldn’t stop blinking. Jackie’s mouth was open wide enough to look almost cartoonish. She wondered if her tongue would roll out onto the table at any moment.

‘What are you talking about?’ Zoe asked in a small voice.

Poor Zoe. Her punishment was on hold until another piece fell into place. Mr. Curtis. He’d fought Holly every step of the way, but she’d expected him to. She wanted him to crash and burn for the disgusting deed, but she also liked playing with him. She enjoyed playing with all of them. Much more than she ever expected to.

‘You’re not making any sense,’ Teddy said.

‘Did you do this?’ Q asked, standing up from his chair. ‘Did you burn my hands, Holly?’

‘Yes,’ Holly said. ‘I did.’

Q rushed at the table, moving it a good two feet from its spot before Jackie and Teddy grabbed both of his arms. ‘What the hell is wrong with you?’