Ultimatum (Dirty Secrets #1) (5 page)

After dinner, Hailee helps me with the dishes. Just as I’m about to head upstairs, I look outside to see Trey playing one on one basketball with Thayer. Jace is sitting in the grass, just watching them play. I head outside and take a seat beside him.

“What’s up?” he asks. It’s pretty much his standard greeting for everybody.

“The usual,” I reply. “School, Daisy drama… you know.”

“Have you heard anything more from the police?”

“Detective Condie left me a message letting me know that my name is
cleared
from the suspect list, but that I could be called in for questioning a few more times until they find her,” I say. “They seem to think that she’s just a runaway, which is pretty accurate. She’ll be back.”

“Too bad she won’t stay gone,” Jace says.

“Auditions for the school play is tomorrow.”

“I don’t even know why they have auditions. You always get the lead.”

I smile. “That’s because I’m good.”

“You are
good
at being the center of attention,” he agrees. “The spotlight follows you. Not just on stage.”

“Whatever.”

“I’m serious,” he says. “Can I hear you sing that song you wrote?”

“I don’t know.” I play with a blade of grass, looking everywhere but at Jace. “It’s kind of personal.”

“All songs are personal.”

Finally, I will myself to look him in the eyes and kind of wish I hadn’t. His smoky green eyes are sparkling with humor. He thinks it’s funny that I’m embarrassed. He enjoys watching me suffer.

“Jace…” my voice catches in my throat.

“Just so you know, the guy’s an idiot.”

I look at him in confusion. “What guy?”

“The one you wrote the song about,” he answers. “If he doesn’t realize how special you really are, he doesn’t deserve you.”

Oh my God.

Jace doesn’t know.

How can he
not
see the way I look at him? All the flirting… Is he really that oblivious to my feeling towards him? Can he not see that I am one hundred percent in love with him? That nobody else could ever hold my heart the way he does?

“You deserve better, Mads,” he says.

Thayer scores the winning basket, so Jace gets up to play him… Trey always lets Thayer win, and Thayer pretends not to notice. I think he’s secretly grateful. Trey collapses into the grass beside me.

“Hey, sis,” he says, out of breath. “You flirting with my best friend?”

“Is it that obvious to everybody except for him?” I ask. I try to smile, but I can’t.

“He’ll get it. Eventually.”

“I just… don’t understand. I’ve done everything but straight up tell him how I feel.”

“Maybe you should just tell him,” Trey says. “I mean, it’s pretty obvious that he feels the same way.”

I sigh. “I know, but then I wonder
what if
. What if he doesn’t feel the same, Trey? What if I just make things awkward between us all? I don’t want to ruin our friendship.”

“I guess you just have to weigh the pros and cons,” he says, after a moment of consideration. “If you ask me, what the two of you have is special. You shouldn’t let fear stop you from going for something so great.”

“Thanks,” I say, then get off the grass and go inside.

I finish my homework and then think about what Trey said. Part of me wants to go for it, but I am not sure if I will. I just wish I knew what the outcome would be. The what-if’s in life are scary.

Wednesday, August 27

English

Do you believe in love at first sight?

Today in English, we are studying a poem. It’s a poem about love at first sight, which brings up the age old question,
do you believe in love at first sight?

I think about how I would answer that question, and to be honest I don’t know. I believe there can be attraction at first sight. And maybe lust… But love grows over a period of time. Sometimes it takes a while, but sometimes it happens very quickly.

Jace slyly hands me a piece of paper. The teacher is watching the class pretty close today, so he can’t sign to me.

Do you believe in love at first sight? - Jace

I pull out my pen and write back.

Definitely not. What about you? - Madi

I pass the note back to him as soon as the teacher turns to write something on the board. He immediately writes something back and hands it to me.

I fell in love with you at first sight. But I was 4, so it doesn’t count. - Jace

My heart beats hard against my chest.

Jace loved me when he was four?

It was a little slower for me. I fell in love with you the day you refused to get me help when I was stuck in that tree. I’m fearless because of you. - Madi

I watch as Jace reads the words, and he smiles big. He writes something back and passes it to me.

You were always so stubborn… Now tell me, who is this guy you’re crushing on? Was it love at first sight? Please tell me it’s NOT Landry. (Though I’d guess not considering he’s been in love with you since junior high and you always turn him down). - Jace

It’s definitely not Landry. - Madi

Then WHO? - Jace

For a moment, I think about writing down
you
. If only I was brave enough, but I’m not.

Just somebody I’ve known a long time. - Madi

Do I know him? - Jace

Yeah. - Madi

Mason Holt? Him and Emma just broke up, and I know he has a crush on you. - Jace

Yuck. No. And you should stop guessing, because you will never get it right. - Madi

I still say he doesn’t deserve you. - Jace

And who do YOU think deserves me? - Madi

Somebody who has the guts to tell you how he feels. - Jace

I don’t know how to respond to the last statement. I just fold up the note and put it in my backpack.

When the bell rings I gather my things and start to walk to my next class. Jace runs up next to me.

“Come on, Mads,” he says, putting his hand on my elbow. “Tell me.”

“Ask Trey,” I say. “He knows.”

“You
know
he won’t tell me… Just give me a hint.”

I grin at him. “I’d rather watch you figure it out on your own. It’s kind of fun watching you sweat.”

“I
will
figure it out,” he says, turning the opposite way. “Bye, Mads!”

“Bye, Jace.” I stand there and watch him walk towards his class. He turns around and smiles when he sees I’m still watching him.

I
really
hope he feels the same.

Lunch

We need to talk.

In the lunchroom, everybody is still staring. I mean, they
always
stare, but this time it’s different. Like they’re waiting for one of us to break down… or maybe like they think one of us did something to Daisy.

“This is getting ridiculous,” Emma says, as she takes her seat.

“Right?” Hayden says. “Some freshman accused
me
of killing Dee. Like I would ever murder somebody.”

“Nobody has said anything to me,” I admit.

“That’s because everybody knows you would never do anything to Daisy. You’re too nice,” Frannie says. “A girl in my English Lit class asked to be moved because she didn’t want to sit so close to a
murder suspect
. We don’t even know if Daisy is dead. I bet anything she will show up tomorrow.”

“Detective Condie called me yesterday and said I was no longer on the suspect list, but that he’d probably continue interviewing me until they find Daisy,” I tell them. “I didn’t even know I was
on
the suspect list to being with.”

“I didn’t get a call like that,” Frannie says. “Does that mean they consider me a suspect?”

“I didn’t either,” Hayden says.

Emma and Cassidy both murmur similar answers.

“Phew.” Frannie wipes her forehead. “I’m glad I’m not the
only
suspect.”

“Maybe they never even considered you guys suspects,” I say. Though I’m not sure why they would consider me a suspect either.

Cassidy keeps her eyes on the tray and stays quiet through most of our lunchroom conversation. It’s weird, because Cassidy is a social butterfly. You would think she and Frannie were real sisters and not stepsisters in the way they are both so outgoing.

“Cass, are you okay?” I ask her quietly.

Before she can answer, Landry, Mason, Robbie, and Luke take a seat at the table. Landry sits beside me a little closer than I’m comfortable with, so I scoot over slightly to get away from him. He just doesn’t understand the words
I’m not interested
for some reason.

“You girls are the talk of the school,” Mason says. “All the guys on the football team are betting on which one of you killed Daisy.”

“That’s awful!” Cassidy says, finally talking.

“My money is on Emma,” Mason tells her. “Don’t worry, only a few guys have said it was you.”

“Nobody has put any money on Mads,” Landry says. “Fran, you by far have the most votes.”

Frannie rolls her eyes. “Well, it wasn’t me. And why is everybody saying she’s dead? She’s missing. We don’t
know
anything.”

Landry raises his hands. “Hey, I never said it was any of you guys. I said she ran away and will come back making a big dramatic appearance. That’s just how she is. We all know it. But this is the most excitement our town has ever seen. Might as well have fun with it until she gets back. Then I’m going to make a
ton
of money off of this.”

I wrinkle my nose in disgust. “I can’t believe you guys are trying to make money off of a girl disappearing. Even if that girl
is
Daisy, it’s just wrong. What if something really
did
happen to her?”

“You know just as well as I do that Daisy is fine,” Landry says. “That girl can take care of herself.”

“That’s not the point,” Frannie says. “The point is, you’re making bets on
who killed Daisy
when we don’t even know if she’s dead. And the fact that you’re blaming her
best friends
is just wrong.”

Luke burst out laughing. “Come on, you girls hate her just as much as the rest of us.”

“Exactly,” Robbie says. “Everybody in this school is secretly relieved that she isn’t here. Nobody liked her. You girls only tolerated her because she took you to cool places on her daddy’s private jet.”

“That was only once,” Hayden says, rolling her eyes. “And we had to leave early because Dee’s mom got that DUI and had to go to rehab. I spent three hours on the jet puking, four hours in the hotel bed trying to get over my airsickness, and then another three hours puking on the way back. That trip was miserable.”

“Like you don’t make yourself throw up already,” Robbie says. “Nobody can eat as much as you do and be as skinny are you are.”

Hayden’s face turns as red as Cassidy’s hair. She has a temper and what Robbie said is the ultimate insult. He knows that Hayden doesn’t have an eating disorder. She works her butt off to look as good as she does. Between cheerleading and running track, she puts in about three hours each day working out. She even runs on the weekend when she’s not at school.

I decide to step in before things get too explosive.

“Everybody knows how hard you work to look as good as you do,” I tell Hayden. “And we all know how miserable that trip was. Daisy complained the whole time, and the next time she invited us, we turned her down.”

“And we weren’t friends with her because of her money,” Cassidy says.

It’s true.

But what she doesn’t say is that we became her friend because of the power. Each one of us wanted to be popular. If that means putting up with Dee, well then, it is worth it. Or at least, it used to be worth it. Now I’m not so sure.

Thankfully the subject of Daisy is dropped, and we all talk about the upcoming weekend. Everybody is excited for the party at Luke’s house. I can’t believe he’s still having it, considering Dee’s disappearance, but that hasn’t put a damper on anybody’s party mood.

Cassidy is still acting strange, and I’m wondering what’s up. The lunch bell rings, and we all shuffle out of the lunchroom towards our next class. Just before I head to my drama class, Cassidy stops me and pulls me into the nearest girl’s bathroom. She looks under each of the stalls to make sure nobody is inside before she speaks.

“We need to talk,” she whispers so quiet I almost can’t make out what she’s saying. “Meet me at the library at five tonight. Nobody will see us there.”

Without another word, Cassidy turns and walks out of the bathroom, and I watch as the door swings shut.

What is going on with Cass?

And what is so important that we need to meet at the library to talk?

I guess I will find out tonight at five.

Auditions

Cinderella

After school, I head to auditions for the winter play. I, of course, try out for the part of Cinderella. Mr. Matthews lets me go first, and I sit by him and watch the other girls try out. Nobody is nearly as good as me. I smile when he tells me I got the part.

I’m excited when Lexie gets the part of Cinderella’s wicked stepmom. She and I have a lot of chemistry on stage, especially when we play mortal enemies. After the auctions are over, Lexie and I head to get a celebratory milkshake from the local ice cream shop.

“I swear the spotlight follows you,” Lexie says, taking a sip of her strawberry shake. “None of those other girls had a chance. I don’t even know why they tried.”

“I don’t understand why I’m good. It’s not like I’ve had any training.” I take a sip of my banana malt.

“It’s so natural for you, I’m jealous. I bet you will have your lines memorized within a few weeks. You always make the rest of us feel like slackers,” she says, and then laughs to let me know she’s joking.

“I’m just an overachiever.” It’s the truth. I like to study and memorizing the words to the play is fun for me. I don’t just memorize my lines. I memorize everybody’s. It beats hanging out with Mom and Ben, though I don’t tell anybody that. As far as people at school are concerned, I have a happy home life. It’s really not any of their business anyway.

“So how are you doing?” she asks me, lowering her voice so nobody can hear her. “I know Daisy disappearing has got to be hard on you.”