Getting REVENGE on Lauren Wood (23 page)

“Is Lauren home?” I held up the tote bag full of books I had brought. “I go to school with her. I have all her homework and stuff.”

“I’ll see that she gets it.” Mrs. Wood held out one perfectly manicured hand.

“I sort of need to see her. Some of it has to be explained.”

Mrs. Wood didn’t say anything else but led the way. I followed after her, past the designer kitchen that looked as if it had never been used, through the living room with its uncomfortably stiff furniture, and up the stairs. She tapped on the door to Lauren’s bedroom with her fingernail and walked away.

“Come in,” Lauren said.

I pushed open the door. Lauren was propped up in bed; she had the TV on showing a rerun of
Gossip Girl
. When she saw me she clicked it off. She sat up straighter and ran her fingers through her hair, which looked a bit grimy. I had felt panicky on the way over, but for some reason, now that I was in the middle of everything, I felt strangely calm.

“I brought you a bunch of stuff from school.”

If I had been waiting for her to say thanks, then it looked like it was going to be a long wait.

“Are you feeling okay?” I asked.

“I’m fine.”

The conversation seemed to have run out of steam again.

“Did you want anything else?” Lauren asked.

“I came to say I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“Remember when you said you started having all kinds of bad luck when I showed up? That wasn’t all by accident.”

“Did you do this too? Did you stick that stuff in my purse?”

“Yes.” From the look in Lauren’s eye I could tell she was already planning to sic her daddy’s lawyer on me like a pit bull. “I suppose you want to know why I did this?” I said.

“No,
Helen
, I know exactly why you did it.”

I backed up until I hit the wall. “How long have you known?”

“I suspected for a while. I didn’t know for sure until now. Did you really think you could keep it a secret forever? I
know
you. I know you better than anyone. I would have guessed even sooner except I didn’t think anyone could be that twisted.” Lauren got off the bed and walked across the room. She crossed her arms and looked at me. “I bet you’re really proud of yourself, huh?”

“Not really.”

“I doubt that.”

“I came to say I’m sorry.”

“You should be.” Lauren stepped closer so that our faces were inches apart. “Is this where you expect me to say I’m sorry too? To throw myself to the floor and beg you to forgive me? Maybe we could sit down and talk it all over and end up swearing to be best friends forever? Maybe your mom and dad could make a peace circle out in the woods and we could dance by the moonlight in some weird pagan ritual.”

“I don’t expect us to be friends, but you know we used to be. There was a time when I would have done anything for you.”

“That was your problem, not mine.”

“You’re right. It just took me a longer time to catch on than it should have. Friendship is supposed to go both ways.”

“Wow, that’s deep. You should make up T-shirts or something.”

“I came to tell you I’m sorry. What you did to me was wrong; what I did was wrong too. It’s even now. We’re done.”

“What if I say it’s not done? What if I have my dad get his lawyer and sue your family for every stupid trinket they own? You do own some things, don’t you? What do you think the kids at school are going to say when this comes out? You think they’re going to like you, knowing that you basically came here to stalk me? Why don’t you just admit you want to be me? This was all about trying to steal my life because you’re jealous.”

“I’ve been confused about a lot of stuff, but the one thing I’m certain of is I never want to be you.” But I realized as I said it that she was almost right. In getting the revenge, I almost turned into her, and that would have been the worst outcome I could imagine.

“Whatever. We’ll see what everyone has to say.”

“The people who matter to me already know who I am. As for telling everyone else, you don’t need to worry. I’m guessing it’s public knowledge by now.” I put the bag of books down on the floor and turned to leave. That’s when I saw them. How could I have missed that when I had been in her room last time? I walked across the room and ran my fingers across one of her
bookshelves, along her collection of hardcover Nancy Drew mysteries.

I picked one up and flipped through the pages. Stuffed in the back were our detective agency business cards and some pictures of the two of us together. I smiled when I saw one of the photos. It was a sleepover. I don’t remember the occasion, but my folks had allowed us to pretend we were pioneers. They’d turned the heat down in the house and we had slept in front of the fireplace. In the morning my mom had made pancakes, and we had drowned them in a lake of maple syrup. The photo was of the two of us sitting in front of the fireplace with our plates balanced in our laps. I could remember everything about that moment. The way the smoke of the fire mixed with the smell of pancakes and how I ended up with sticky syrup in my hair. We had laughed so much that night I couldn’t even remember if we ever went to sleep. I flipped the photo over so she could see it.

Lauren’s lower lip was shaking.

“We had some good times,” I said softly. Lauren shrugged. She wouldn’t look me directly in the eye. “You take care of yourself, Lauren Wood.”

Chapter Forty-Five

I slipped out of Lauren’s room and down the stairs. I let myself out the door without saying good-bye to Mrs. Wood. I didn’t owe her anything.

I heard a honk and looked up. Christopher’s car was parked across the street. He and Brenda got out. I felt a smile break out across my face.

“How did it go?” Brenda asked.

“I don’t think she and I are going to be best friends, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Of course not, I’m your best friend. The position is already taken,” Brenda said.

“What are you guys doing here?”

“If you can believe it, she just admitted she’s never seen an Audrey Hepburn movie,” Christopher said, motioning to Brenda.

“What? I told you to watch those weeks ago,” I said.

“Things got a bit busy.”

“We’ve rented the whole series:
Sabrina
,
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
,
and of course,
My Fair Lady
.” Christopher counted them off on his fingers. “We’re going over to her place to order pizza.”

“And you came to get me?”

“How can I get to know you unless we spend time together?” Christopher leaned over and kissed the corner of my mouth. “Besides, Brenda tells me you’ve got only one night before you’re doomed to be grounded. I thought I better see you while I still had the chance.”

“Good point. Lockdown begins tomorrow. If Lauren gets my parents involved there may even be forced community service hours.”

“Don’t worry. In addition to heist movies, I’ve seen a lot of prison break movies. There’s hope for you yet.”

I was almost afraid to ask, but I had to know.

“So what was the response to my ad?”

“I think you should look at transferring schools,” Brenda said. My mouth fell open and she burst out laughing. “I’m joking.”

“Most people I heard talking about it thought the whole thing was sort of cool,” Christopher said. “Who knows, maybe it will make you even more popular.”

“I don’t care about being popular anymore. Well, except with the present company.”

We piled into Christopher’s car. While Brenda and Christopher debated the merits of different pizza toppings, I flipped through the DVD movie cases they had picked up.

Old movies are black-and-white; they’ve got good guys and bad guys. The thing was, I didn’t want to live in the past anymore. It was time for my life to go full color.

Acknowledgments

When I buy a book I always read the acknowledgments section. I think I’m hoping to see my name in it. In that spirit, my first thanks go to you for picking this book to read. Feel free to pencil your name in here. You deserve it.

Big thanks to my friends and family who put up with me. At times this is harder than you might think. You can’t choose your family, but if I could, I would choose the one I have. As for my friends, I couldn’t imagine better, and that is saying something because I make stuff up for a living.

One of the best parts of writing has been the support and friendship of other writers. For all the help with brainstorming, talking me off the ledge, and inspiring me with your writing, thanks go to Joelle Anthony, Allison Pritchard, Robyn Harding, Shanna Mahin, Carol Mason, Nancy Warren, Eileen Rendahl, Serena Robar, Carolyn Rapanos, Meg Cabot, everyone connected to the Debutante Ball, Joanne Levy, Brooke Chapman, Lani Diane Rich, Jen Lancaster, Allison Winn Scotch, Alison Pace, and Barrie Summy. A special nod to Dumas, who wrote
The Count of Monte Cristo
, the inspiration for this book.

My agent, Rachel Vater, continues to be both a great business partner and friend. Thanks for all your guidance, support, and late night discussions on skeptical topics. Huge thanks to my editor, Anica Mrose Rissi, who shares my love of good books, good food, and dogs, even when they’re being bad. Your feedback is wonderful and makes each book better. I’d write books with you anytime. The entire team at Simon Pulse is fantastic. Special thanks go to Cara Petrus, who designs covers that are so wonderful I want to lick them.

Special thanks to my husband, Bob, who always believed this was possible. You are my happy ending. My two dogs deserve thanks for providing me with disgusting half-chewed toys as a distraction. It’s like having a live action Cute Overload in the house.

Lastly a huge thanks to my readers. There are so many good books to choose from, I appreciate people giving mine a chance. Please be sure to drop by my website and let me know what you think of the book. I’d love to hear from you!
www.eileencook.com