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Click.
My gaze snaps back to the fence as a bright light illuminates across the darkness. I freeze in horror, half expecting a UFO to soar down from the sky and beam me up.
Click. Flash. Click. Flash. Click. Flash.
Just as quickly as the flashes and clicks started, they come to an abrupt halt.
I’m so tense I can’t even get oxygen into my lungs. What in the world just happened? Is someone messing with my head? Or is someone on the other side of the fence taking photos of me? Because that’s what the flashes looked like—the flash of a camera going off.
But who and why would someone want to take photos of me?
My heart hammers in my chest as darkness and silence encases me. Since the lights spotted my vision, I can’t see a dang thing. The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end as I grip the handles of the chair and push to my feet. Blinking several times, my vision gradually returns to normal. But without the porch light on, I can’t make out anything except unidentifiable outlines.
“Hello?” I call out in a hushed whisper as I back toward the door.
Thump.
The noise comes from where the gate to the backyard is. I whirl around, ready to run in the house, lock the door, and set the alarm. But I freeze as I hear a recognizable voice.
“What’re you doing out here?” My twin sister Alexis staggers into the backyard through the gate, her thick boots thudding against the grass. “Aren’t you supposed to be in bed like a good little girl.”
I internally sigh. While Alexis and I may be twins, we’re completely the opposite. Well, that is if I’m comparing her to the good girl version of me. We’re also not identical twins and dress nothing alike. People who don’t know us, often assume she’s my older sister, because she dresses a lot more maturely. She doesn’t act more mature, though. Ever since my parents died, she’s gotten into a lot of trouble, constantly breaking curfew and staying up into the late hours of the night, even on school nights. Now that she’s eighteen and graduated, she barely comes home anymore. And when she does, she’s usually grumpy.
“I couldn’t sleep,” I tell her as she trudges up the stairs. “I have too much on my mind.”
She snorts a laugh. “Miss Perfect has too much on her mind? I highly doubt that.” She stops in front of me and grabs hold of the railing. “I mean, how can someone so perfect have anything to worry about?”
I ball my hands into fists, battling to remain calm. “I’m not perfect.”
“Yeah, maybe you should tell that to everyone else.” Mocking laughter rings in her tone. “Because I’m pretty sure people think birds dress you in the morning and your shit don’t stink and all of that.”
I lean back as the bitter stench of her breath hits my nostrils. “Are you drunk?”
“Does it really matter?” She moves to step by me, but I sidestep, blocking her way. She’s so stunned by my move that she nearly smashes into me, but manages to stop at the last second. “What the hell?” She grabs hold of the railing as she teeters to the side. “Get out of my way.”
“Not until you tell me why you’re drunk?” My weak voice doesn’t match my words, but I don’t care. Alexis has never been much of a big drinker so the fact that she smells like that drink Benton gave Taylor has got me concerned. “This isn’t like you.”
Her hollow laugh sends a chill through the air. “Like any of us actually knows each other anymore.” She regains her balance and pushes me out of the way. “We all stopped knowing each other the day mom and dad died and honestly, I have no desire to change that.” With that, she glides the sliding door open and stomps inside, not bothering to be quiet.
The upstairs light clicks on, which means she’s probably woken up Loki. She may be eighteen but he’s going to get pissed off, mostly because Nik, our younger brother, has football camp all summer and has to get up early.
About a minute later, I hear the two of them arguing. I tell myself not to budge, that I’ve had hardly any rest and the last thing I need to do is get involved in their argument. But about five seconds later, my good girl side creeps up in me and with an exhausted sigh, I head inside to do what I do best—play mediator.
But I swear as I’m walking through the door, I catch one more flash of light. But it happens so quickly, I wonder if it’s just a trick of the stars.
Bad Liar
By the time I break up the argument between Alexis and Loki, the stars have gone to sleep and the sun has risen over the shallow hills that encompass the town. I’m so tired that all I want to do is go up to bed and sleep for the rest of the day; my insomnia gone and now replaced with exhaustion. But I can’t go to sleep until I take Nikoli to football practice, even though it’s supposed to be Alexis turn to drive him. But since she’s still drunk and Loki has to open his bookstore, I volunteered.
“Are you sure you’re okay with taking him?” Loki asks as he fills up a coffee pot with water. “I know you didn’t get very much sleep.”
“I’ll be fine.” I fight back a yawn. “I always am.”
He gives me a strange look as if he doubts I’m being truthful.
“I am,” I feel the need to say. But I’m lying. I haven’t been fine in a while. Still, between school, work, and taking care of us, Loki has a lot on his plate. The least I can do is drive my little brother to football practice. So, I plaster on a plastic smile. “All I need is a cup of coffee and I’ll be good to go.”
Wariness floods his eyes as he shuts off the faucet. “Maybe I should have him ask one of his friends if he can get a ride.”
Okay, then. Apparently I’m not a very good liar.
That’s because you’re a good girl, Zhara, and good girls don’t lie.
But as my thoughts float back to Benton kissing me in the bathroom, I have to question how good of a girl I am. Doesn’t letting a guy, who I barely know, kiss me make me the tiniest bit bad?
“Loki, I promise I’m fine,” I try to lie better. “After I drive Nik, I’ll take a little nap, but honestly, all that yelling Alexis was doing has got me wide awake.”
He still doesn’t seem to be buying my lie, but decides to let the subject drop. “All right. But he needs to leave fifteen minutes early so he can stop at the store and buy a new water bottle.”
“What happened to his old one?”
“I ran over it.”
“How?”
He shrugs as he turns the coffeemaker on. “He left it in the driveway. I didn’t see it.” He leans against the counter. “I love that kid to death, but he seriously needs to stop leaving his shit in randomly weird places.”
I nod in agreement. Nik is a good kid, but he forgets to clean up after himself a lot. “He probably should start working on getting his driver’s license. I don’t know why he hasn’t done it yet—he’s almost seventeen years old.”
Loki shifts his weight, loosening the tie around his neck. “I have a theory on why he won’t.”
“What is it?” I ask as I grab a couple of granola bars from the pantry.
“I think he’s afraid.”
“Of what?” I step out of the pantry and peel the wrapper off a granola bar.
He releases a weighted breath. “I think he’s afraid of getting behind the wheel because of how mom and dad died.”
My lips form an o. “I don’t know why I haven’t ever thought about that before, but it does make sense.” I break a chunk of the granola bar off and pop it into my mouth. “The rest of us had already at least taken a drivers ed class, but Nik was so young.”
Loki nods in agreement then opens a cupboard to get two coffee mugs. “We need to find a way to help him get over his fear. Because with you going to college and Alexis… Well, doing whatever she does, it’s going to get harder and harder to find rides for him.” He closes the cupboard, turns to me, then frowns when he notes my expression. “Zhara, I’m glad you’re going to college. Will it be hard without you around? Probably. But the Bakers are tough and you deserve to go.” He sets the mugs down on the
counter. “You’ve worked so hard.”
“I’m not worried about that,” I lie, my voice thick.
He arches his brow. “You know, you’ve always been a really bad liar.”
“I have not.”
“Have too.”
I don’t know why, but I feel offended. “Why? What gives me away?”
He reaches over and taps my temple. “Your eyes and your expression—you have a terrible poker face.”
“That’s not always true,” I tell him, remembering how I manage to trick Tank and Ralpho into believing I was Benton’s girlfriend. Or perhaps they didn’t believe me and were just pretending. Who knows, since I have no clue who Tank and Ralpho are.
Loki crosses his arms, his eyes glimmering with amusement. “Oh yeah? What have you been lying about and getting away with?”
