Secrets We Keep (Thistle Cove 1)

I take a deep breath. She’s not going to make this easy. “I’m sorry. Everything has been a complete mess this week. The stuff with Rose freaked me out, talking to the police, and then suddenly having Finn, Ozzy, and Ezra back in my life. As if that’s not enough, we’re still seniors have college applications and AP classes...” I swallow. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you.”

She pets Felix. “Well, I probably should have watched my mouth.”

I snort. “Yeah, probably.”

She laughs and like that, things are a little easier.

“Want to come in?” she asks.

“Yeah, that’d be cool.”

I step in the foyer, the same as a million other times, and we head straight to Alice’s room. My friend may be many things; brash, a little jealous, fun, but most of all she’s a nerd. Her walls are covered in posters from her favorite TV shows and movies. There’s the anime streak, the Supernatural time period, Star Wars (original and new) and various other fandoms she’s dabbled in. In the corner is a big cabinet that holds all her cosplay supplies.

That’s why I’m here.

“I told the police about Rose coming to see me at the pool,” I say, sitting on her bed. She sits across from me. Felix hops up, not willing to be left out. “I told them everything, including what she said.”

“Oh?” she asks, trying her hardest to sound indifferent.

“She apologized,” I tell her. “And asked me for her help.”

Her eyes pop open wide. “Tell me you didn’t forgive her.”

“I didn’t. I told her to leave.”

That earns a smile, but the knot in my stomach twists.

“I don’t know if she was sincere, but it really is possible she needed my help. I feel like shit for turning her away. What if I could have helped her?”

“Rose made her bed,” Alice says. “She cut you out of her life—hard core. She stole your friend and your crush. She moved on without you and for all those years you just took what she dished out.” She winces. “That’s what I hate the most about all of it, you know that, right? That you just took it.”

“I didn’t know how to fight back.”

“Which is why you have me.”

I laugh. She’s right.

“What’s going on with the boys? Ozzy? Ezra? Finn?”

“I don’t really know. It’s strange having them back in my life, like, did Rose really keep us apart? It seems weird, but the instant she’s gone we’re all tossed back together again.” I pick at a loose thread on her Supernatural quilt. It’s right in Dean’s ear. “We were all really close friends before Juliette showed up. I hate to use the word mourning, but,” I shrug, “it kind of makes sense that we’re mourning her together.”

“And that’s all it is?” she asks quietly.

Alice is my best friend, but if I’ve learned one thing this week, it’s that she can’t be trusted with sensitive subjects. And I have no freaking idea what’s going on with me and Ozzy and Finn or even Ezra. I need more time to figure it out on my own.

“Yeah,” I say honestly, because it very well may be true, “I think that’s all it is.”

That seems to appease her, which isn’t a surprise. Alice is a jealous, possessive person, and adding in three new friends--two who had been my quasi-enemies until recently--wouldn’t be easy for her to accept.

“Hey,” I say, rubbing Felix’s belly, “Do you have a wig I can borrow? I have this stupid video for Spanish due on Monday.”

There’s a beat. One where I wonder if she’s going to ask more questions, and if I’ll be able to convincingly tell a lie. Because not only is what I need the wig for a secret from Alice, it’s a secret from everyone.

Fortunately, Alice doesn’t give a shit what I want the wig for—she’s just excited to talk about her favorite thing.

“Did you ask if I have a wig?” A smile tugs at her lips and she

jumps off the bed and opens the cabinet. Inside is a well-organized explosion of wigs, clothing, shoes, and accessories for a dozen different costumes. “The bigger question is what color are you looking for?”