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Laurel had been at Charlotte’s sleepover, too She’d slept next to Emma in Charlotte’s cavernous bedroom, which would’ve otten up for a drink She could’ve crept downstairs and strangled E of that locket, there was the photo of Laurel wearing the locket on Madeline’s phone It looked identical to the one that now hung around Emma’s neck

They looked identical to ht about the memories I now possessed How I had flown off the handle so quickly and thrown her copycat necklace into the darkness Laurel’s shattered expression Then I thought about those hands grabbingme into the car The trunk had been tiny and cramped, probably about the size of Laurel’s Jetta

But I kept returning to the flickering ether at the La Palo hands Friends What had driven us apart? Why hadn’t I tried to rekindle that relationship? I didn’t want to believe Laurel could’ve murdered h my blindfold when the assailant pulledtricks onaround the room She didn’t have any solid proof yet, but the snuff filht Sutton died It made sense Maybe when Laurel pulled the blindfold off Sutton’s head and discovered she wasn’t dead, she’d wrapped the necklace back around her sister’s neck and finished the job Maybe the actual murder happened after the video endedIf only the video were still online--it would be enough totheotten online anyway? Why would the killer post so that would seal her own doom?

Unless of course Laurel posted it online to attract Emma Maybe she someho that her adopted sister had a twin And maybe she knew the video would reach Emmaand Emma would reach out It had worked

Eainst the smooth white walls Muffled music sounded from Laurel’s bedroom next door For all E what to do next She walked over to the TV and shut it off All of a sudden, it felt dangerous to linger so close to the killer She felt like a prisoner in this room--a prisoner in her dead sister’s life She yanked the door open and started down the stairs Just as she was about to pull open the front door, so?"

Em away on a netbook There was a Bluetooth earpiece in his ear "Uh, out for a walk," Elasses "It’s after nine I don’t like you wandering around outside alone in the dark"

The corners of Emma’s mouth jerked into a smile Foster parents never cared when she came and went They never worried about her safety Even Becky let E in a et her Mountain Dew and goldfish crackers

Then again, he wasn’t worried about Ehter, Sutton Ehter was far frohter Eet the hell out of there She spied Sutton’s tennis racket leaning against the hall closet and grabbed it "I need to practice my serve"

"Fine" Mr Mercer turned back to the computer screen "But I want you back horound rules for your party"

"Okay," Eed down the center of the street Everyone had dragged their large green trash cans to the curb, and the air setables and dirty diapers The farther she got from Sutton’s house, the better--safer-- she felt She stopped at the park, noticing the faintest outline of a fa in an X on the tennis courts Her heart lifted

"Ethan?" Emma called out Ethan shot up at the sound of his na you here" It was too dark to see Ethan’s face, but Emma detected happiness in his voice She suddenly felt happier, too

"Can I join you?" she asked

"Sure"

She opened the chain-link gate without jahts The door slaaze on her as she walked to the net and lay down next to him The court was still warm from the heat of the day and smelled faintly of baked asphalt and spilled Gatorade The stars above glinted like bits of quartz in a sidewalk The Mom, Dad, and E that even after so ed, the stars were in exactly the sales on earth

Tears welled in Eht All the fantasies she’d concocted in her ht she and Sutton would have as sisters

"You okay, Sylvia Plath?" Ethan teased

The air had grown colder, and Emma pulled her arms closely into her sides for warmth "Not really"

"What’s up?"

Eue over her teeth "God, whenever I see you I’m a complete mental case"

"It’s cool I don’t mind mental cases"

But Eoing on, no matter how much she wanted to "It’sa party"

"Really?" Ethan propped himself up on one hand "Well, happy birthday"

"Thanks" Emma s jet as it sliced across the night sky In some ways, this would probably be the best birthday she’d ever had Most of Emma’s birthdays had been nonevents--she’d spent her sixteenth in the social worker’s office waiting to get reassigned to a new foster home, and she’d spent her eleventh as a runaith the kids at the campsite The only real birthday celebration she’d had hen Becky had taken her to a Renaissance fair near where they lived Eiant turkey leg, and reen and turquoise, her favorite colors at the ti lot at the end of the day, Eain the next year But by her next birthday, Becky was gone

E it for a moment "Will you come?"

"To what?"

"To my party I mean, if you’re not busy And if you want to" E hi deal

The ular profile Eet upset, she told herself Don’t take it personally

"Okay," Ethan said