Ultimatum (Dirty Secrets #1) (3 page)

“It doesn’t matter,” Trey says. “Let’s just put a number and an inanimate object together. Thirteen Rocks. There we go. Problem settled. Now can we just play?”

“We are
not
naming our band that,” I say, putting my hands on my hips. “I liked Stale Cereal better than that.”

Yes, Trey
did
suggest that we name our band Stale Cereal earlier.

“It doesn’t have to mean something, but I do want it to sound awesome,” Jace says. “I think it should just be something that comes to us randomly one day. Let’s just play and when we put out the flyers, we can say we don’t have a name yet.”

I sigh. “Fine.”

Without another word, Jace counts down the song. Trey starts playing the guitar right on cue. I watch as his hands slide up and down the neck. I’ve heard him play hundreds of times, but I never get tired of watching him. He is amazing, just like our dad was.

I can play the guitar some too, but I’m not that good. I know enough to write songs. Not that I’ve ever let anybody hear or read my songs. Jace and Trey have no idea that I’ve ever written any, and I’m going to keep it that way.

I start singing and am quickly lost in the beat.

Music might not be what I want to do the rest of my life, but I love the escape it offers.

When Dad died, Trey and I started learning the guitar together. We did it to honor his memory. Trey really excelled, so he would play and I would sing. We did it for fun. When we were thirteen, Jace decided he wanted to learn the drums, so we started a
band
. We sucked. Bad. But somehow over the years, we’ve gotten decent. I’m not sure I’d actually want anybody from school to hear me, but maybe someday.

When the song comes to an end, my heart is beating fast. For a moment, I imagine an audience applauding and yelling. But then I imagine being booed off stage, and I shudder at the thought.

Jace gets up from the drum set. “I should head home. Mom has to leave for work soon, and I have to watch Thayer.”

“Bring him over for dinner,” I say. “I’m making enchiladas.”

Enchiladas are Jace and Thayer’s favorite food that I make.

My mom is a nurse, so she’s hardly ever home for dinner. Trey, Hailee, and I all share responsibilities. I cook and clean the kitchen, Hailee cleans the living room, and Trey takes out the trash. We all take care of our own laundry and bedrooms. The house isn’t spotless or anything, but it looks nice considering our mom and her boyfriend don’t help at all. Before Trey and I learned to clean, the house was always really dirty. Dad was clean, but not Mom. And Ben, her boyfriend, is just lazy. He doesn’t technically live with us, but he’s always there when our mom is. He stays the night every night.

“I will,” Jace promises. “Thayer loves coming over here. I think he has a crush on you, Mads.”

If only his big brother had a crush on me too.

“Well, Thayer is the cutest nine year old on the planet,” I say.

“That’s because he looks just like me,” Jace says, smiling.

I roll my eyes and pretend to be annoyed, but Jace is right. Thayer does look a lot like him when he was nine. I’m glad that he got his looks after his mom and not his dad. I bet it would be harder if Thayer looked like his dad, considering what happened. We never discuss Thayer’s dad, but I know it’s a painful memory. I can see the pain in Jace’s eyes when he thinks Thayer isn’t looking. And his mom still has the scars from it. I hate it for them.

Jace leaves to go get Thayer, and I get started on the enchiladas. Haliee comes downstairs and helps me roll them up, and I can’t help but think how lucky my family is. I miss my dad like crazy, but I am blessed to have such amazing siblings. How could I ever ask for more?

8pm

Just the same old boring ones.

After dinner, I get online to see I have a new message from my grandma on Facebook.

My dad’s mom, Margret Grey, lives in Los Angeles. She thinks she’s really hip because she drives a convertible VW Beetle. She’s eccentric. Last year she decided to dye her hair blue. Thankfully that phase only lasted a few months before she dyed it back to dark brown. I love talking to her, because when I do, I feel closer to my dad in a small way. Last summer, I went to visit her for a couple of weeks when I had a break from softball. It was a lot of fun.

Margret Grey:
Hey, Madeline. How was your first day of school? Any cute new guys ask for your number?

Me:
Ha. No cute new guys… Just the same old boring ones. But today was awesome. I found out were doing Cinderella for the play this year… Also, my glee club teacher wants me to try out for a solo, which I’m super excited for! I hope I get it.

Margret Grey:
You’re so much like your dad.

Me:
:) That’s pretty much the ultimate compliment. Thanks, Grandma.

Margret Grey:
How is your mom treating you?

Me:
You know how she is… Work, Ben, work, Ben.

Margret Grey:
After you graduate, you know you have a home here. Trey and you both.

Me:
But then Hailee wouldn’t have anybody to look after her. I can’t do that.

Margret Grey:
You’re a good big sister, but I think Hailee will be fine on her own. I’m here for you when you need me.

Me:
I know. Thanks… But I have to get off here for tonight. I’ll talk to you later.

Margret Grey:
Night, sweetie.

I shut my laptop and think about what Grandma said.

She’s right — Hailee would be fine on her own. Out of us all, she’s probably the most outspoken. I’m not sure if I’d want to move to California; I like living in Louisiana, but maybe I could apply to a college a little further from home. Maybe Florida or Georgia.

Really, I just want to go wherever my brother goes.

My phone starts ringing. I look to see a call from Frannie coming through. I sigh and answer.

“Hey,” I say.

“Hey, Mads,” Frannie greets me. “Have you given anymore thought to what I said earlier today?”

“I don’t know, Fran. I just want this year to be drama free. And Dee isn’t
always
bad. She’s always been a good friend to me,” I say, even though it’s not true. Daisy has done a lot of bad things to me. Sophomore year she told everybody I had an STD just because a guy she was crushing on asked
me
to homecoming. I turned him down, but that didn’t matter to her. And that is just the beginning of all the rumors she has spread about me. Nobody believes them anymore.

“You can’t lie to me,” Frannie says. “We’ve been friends since freshman year. Remember that time she told the school counselor that you had an eating disorder? She got to retake her finals because she said she couldn’t concentrate because she was so worried about you. And remember the time she told Oliver Bray that you were pregnant with Landry’s baby so he would take her to the school carnival instead of you? And remember…”

I cut her off. “Yeah, yeah. I know. Dee has it out for me. But am I really ready to go up against that? And why me? Why can’t you do it, Fran? I’d support you.”

“Because we want
you
,” Frannie says. “We all decided. You’re a leader. Everybody already likes you better than Dee. Why not make her last year of high school miserable? She deserves it.”

“You’re the captain of the cheerleading squad, Fran. You’re a leader too.”

“Just think about it.”

I sigh. “Fine. I will think about it.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

“Good,” she says. “I’ll talk to you later.”

The line goes dead.

I plug my phone up and sit it beside my bed. I turn it on vibrate, and then I pick up the first book assigned to us in English. I figure I might as well get started. But before I can even read the first sentence of the book, there is a knock on my door.

I get up and see Mom’s boyfriend, Ben, standing on the other side.

“Mom’s not here,” I tell him, hoping that he will go away.

“The kitchen is dirty,” he says. “You need to clean it up.”

I roll my eyes. “And you need to go to your own house.”

“If your mom comes home and sees that it’s dirty, she will be mad,” he says. “And if I tell her that you talked back to me, she will be furious.”

“I don’t give a crap what you tell her.”

Trey’s door opens up. He walks over beside me. “What’s the problem?”

“This little bitch is disrespecting me,” Ben tells Trey.

Trey steps closer to him. “Don’t
ever
call my sister a bitch… Got that?”

“Whatever,” Ben says, not tempting him. “Just make sure the kitchen is cleaned up.”

Ben heads back to Mom’s room. After the door shuts, I turn to Trey.

“Thank you,” I say. “I guess I better go check out the kitchen.”

“If he ever says anything like that to you again, come get me,” he says.

Trey goes back to his room. I go downstairs and check out the kitchen. All the dishes from dinner are clean, but there is a new plate in the sink. It’s Ben’s plate. I roll my eyes, and rinse it off and stick it in the dishwasher.

My mom sure can pick ‘em.

Tuesday, August 26

Daisy is missing.

When I wake up on Tuesday, I have a ton of missed calls. I look through them to see a lot of them are from Daisy’s house number, and a few are from Frannie, Cassidy, Hayden, and Emma. I listen to the voicemail from Daisy’s house.

“Madeline, this is Megan, Daisy’s mom. I just checked on Dee and she’s not in her room. I’m really worried about her. If she’s with you, please call me so I know she’s okay.” The voicemail was left at 2 a.m. I have a few more from her mom, each one getting more frantic.

I read through my texts.

Frannie:
Oh my God, Mads. Daisy is missing. Her mom called the police and everything. CALL ME!

All of my friends sent similar messages.

I call Frannie.

“Finally!” Frannie says. “You’re on speaker with Cass and me.”

“What’s going on?” I ask. “Did Dee show back up at her house?”

“NO!” Cassidy basically screams into the phone. “She’s missing, Mads. I’m so worried.”

“This is Dee we’re talking about,” I say. “I’m sure she’s fine. She probably fell asleep at some guy’s house and her phone died.”

“Maybe,” she says, calming down a little bit. “But her mom called the police. I have to go in for questioning before school. We all do.”

Just as she says the words, a call comes through on my cell phone. It’s a number I don’t recognize, so I answer it.

“Hello.”

“Is this Madeline Grey?” an older guy’s voice asks.

“Yes,” I answer.

“This is Detective Condie,” he says. “I’m calling in regards to the recent disappearance of Daisy Lewis. I understand that you and Miss Lewis are good friends, is that correct?”

“Yeah, we are.”

“I was wondering if you could come down to our office this morning for questioning,” he says. “Since you’re under eighteen, you can have a parent or guardian present at the time of questioning.”

I think about going into my mom’s room and waking her and Ben up, but immediately reject the thought.

“Do I have to bring a parent?” I ask. “My mom worked all night, so she just got home not too long ago.”

“You don’t have to,” Detective Condie says. “When you come here, ask for me. See you soon.”

The line goes dead, so I text Frannie back.

Me:
Looks like I’m going in for questioning too.

Frannie:
I’m nervous. Are we suspects or something?

Me:
I’m sure everything is fine. We are her best friends… It’s probably standard protocol.

As I hit send, I can’t help but think maybe it’s not.

I head out to my morning run about fifteen minutes later than normal, so I have to get ready in a hurry. The whole time, I feel nervous. I’ve never been questioned by the police before.

I just hope Daisy is alright.

7am

Does Daisy have any enemies?

“Does Daisy Lewis have any enemies?” Detective Condie asks.

I start to say no, but then I remember I shouldn’t lie. This is the police.

“Daisy was kind of mean to a lot of people at school,” I answer truthfully. “So, I guess she does have a lot of enemies.”

“Was she mean to you?”

“Yeah, kind of.” I bite my lip, hoping that my answers
help
, but also wondering why he’s asking about
me
.

“Her mom said the two of you had a rivalry going on,” he says. “Is that correct?”

“No,” I answer. “Maybe in Daisy’s eyes, but not in mine.”

“Do you know where Daisy is?” he asks.

“No, I don’t. Though, knowing her, she’s probably at some guy’s house and forgot to charge her phone.”

“So she stays the night with guys a lot?” He writes something down on his paper.

“Yeah,” I answer. “To be honest, I’m kind of surprised her mom actually checked on her. Usually, Dee gets away with sneaking out.”

“Whose house do you think she could be at?”

“I don’t know. Maybe Luke Brentwood’s house? They aren’t dating or anything, but they hooked up frequently last year.”

“Do you have a crush on this Luke guy?” the detective asks.

“Luke? Gross, no,” I answer.

“When was the last time you talked to Daisy?”

“Yesterday after school. We talked for a few minutes before we left.”

“And what did you do after school?” he asks.

“I went straight home. I’m in a band with my twin brother, Trey, and his best friend, Jace. We had practice. Then I cooked dinner, did some homework, and went to bed,” I answer.

“So you didn’t call, text, or message Daisy?”

“No.”

“Okay,” the detective says, standing up. “That’s all I need for now. If I need you again, I’ll give you a call.”

English

We belong together.

I get to class ten minutes late. I’m excused, of course. When I walk into class I give Mrs. Duff my note from the office and take a seat beside Jace.