Dare Series Collection - Shantel Tessier Page 0,272

fucking God and holds that much power. It makes me think that is why my sister hasn’t done anything about it. Maybe he said something to her that I didn’t hear that night. Or since then. I don’t know how often they speak. I know Becky’s only friend in this town is Austin, and Deke lives with her and Cole, so they have to see each other on the regular.

I jump on the highway and head toward my mother’s house as the song changes to “Down” by Seven Day Sleep. I cut into traffic and ignore the guy who blows his horn at me and hit the gas. I’ve got shit to do.

Thirty minutes later, I’m pulling up to my mother’s gate, and it opens. I get out and enter the house. I take the left staircase and barge into Becky’s room. Her walls are a beige color. Her peach comforter and white sheets lie wadded at the end of her bed, unlike my room that I keep clean at all times. She has clothes thrown on the floor and draped over her computer desk by the windows. I almost trip over a shoe, making my way over to her walk-in closet. I start ripping the boxes open that she brought with her from Collins. She left quite a bit back at our dad’s, so I know whatever she did bring is important to her.

One is full of sweaters. I shove it to the side and pick another one. I rip it open to find a backpack and school shit. “Goddammit.” I hiss and push it aside as well. Then I come to a third box. I rip it open, and there’s a black and white notebook in it. I pick it up and flip through the pages. It’s a journal.

Funny. My sister has never kept one before. That I know of.

I go back to the very front and look at the first page.

He hit me today.

Not the first time. But it hurt like all the others.

He tried to put his hand up my skirt. I pushed him away, and he slapped me across the face. My mother saw the whole thing and all but shoved some weed in my hand and then pushed me out the front door.

I can’t wait to get the fuck out of here. I’m going to go live with my father. I’m not sure how that will be much better, but at least I know he’ll ignore me rather than touch me.

I flip the pages and then stop on a new one that has HELL scribbled across the top. Whose is this? My sister has horrible handwriting. I remember my dad used to make her erase her homework and rewrite it until it was readable. Whoever wrote this has beautiful handwriting. The cursive is easy to read. My sister’s looks like chicken scratch.

The devil doesn’t come to you as an ugly monster with fire breathing out of his ears. No. He is sent wrapped in a breathtaking smile and pretty eyes that can see to your soul.

Cole Reynolds is what was sent to me.

He is ugly on the inside but pretty to look at. He just dropped me off from Shelby’s house. He had her stitch up my arm. That he cut while in the cemetery last night. Where I watched him and four of his friends kill a guy.

“Shit.” I hiss. This is Austin’s. Why the hell does Becky have it?

He caught me watching them. He cut my arm without a thought and then placed the bloody knife in the body. Said if I turned him in, I’d go down with them. The fucker is too smart for his own good, but what he doesn’t know is that I’m better.

I burned that motherfucking body and then took a hammer to what bones remained before scattering the ashes into the ocean. They can try to pin it on me all they want. I won’t lie down and let some punk ass kids take what little life I have away from me. I’m gonna record every little thing I hear and see from now on. Consequences if I get caught, be damned.

“Holy fuck.” I like Austin more already. How did she end up being friends with my sister?

But my other problem is his friend Deke. He’s the only other one who knows I saw them. He wanted to shoot me right then and there, but Cole stopped him. What will they do when they tell the