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"Phoebe’s dead," he says, seeuilt "I can’t believe she was Avril’s sister Phoebe is dead because of me"

His eyes and his full attention lock onhis face I lean in and kiss his lips tenderly

"Don’t do that Please," I say

Isaac kisses rief "But you’re safe now and this is over"

I s the side of his neck

"I think I’ to let you spend soht She’s waiting impatiently with crossed arms and a raised brow I look down at her wrists and wonder

"You broke out of them"

Alex grins hugely and raises both hands in front of her; the chain links left dangling

"Yeah, I could’ve broken out of these babies a long tio"

"Well, why didn’t you?"

"Because then I never would’ve gained your trust, Dria" She cocks her head to the side

Isaac reaches in his jeans pocket and pulls out the key to the shackles "Let me take what’s left of them off"

Alex holds out her wrists and Isaac re down to res around as if readjusting to the coain

"Much better," she says

I smile warmly at her This is real My sister is home, where she’s supposed to be

"I’ll see you upstairs later," Isaac says and kisses oodbye I start to stop him because I don’t want to leave him alone, especially not after what happened, but he says in my mind: "No…I want you to be with your sister Do that for one, the others from the small crowd leave, too Sebastian walks out last and I run over to stop him

"Sebastian--"

He puts up his hand and doesn’t turn around to look at ht now Just…," his hand bobs a couple of tiht now," and he ht

I feel so ine what heto deal with knowing the girl he loved wasn’t who she pretended to be and obviously didn’t really love him back She used hiry thoughts from my head and turn back to see round where the crowd just stood catchesthat it really is her and she looks to be in a state of shock, I run over to her and lean over, taking her hands and helping her to her feet "Oh ht?" I brushhair away fro

Alex steps up behindat her really close ht answer her own question, "…huly at Alex

Cecilia suddenly snaps out of her mind and looks at Alex as if the h-word used in such a way is finally what’s going to set her co crazy," she says holding up a finger She steps away fro me to see a shrink?" Her hands come up in surrender and she draws her chin back "I don’t think so I’m outta here!" She pushes her way past us and hurries toward the path

"Maybe I do need a shrink!" she yells out as she continues to walk away fro on that Thorazine stuff Yep! I et my very own strait-jacket! I hope Hollistervoice fades as she disappears

"I’ll have Harry fix her right up," I say nervously to Alex

She nods as if to say, "good idea--whatever that means" and we head into the house

Chapter 23

FOR ONLY THE SECOND time since I stepped foot inside the Mayfair house, I’o when she set h his before-full- like that is the only reason I could believe when he toldher and that he wasn’t in his rightlike that I’d knoas a lying, disgusting pig

But valid excuses never really have completely wiped that scene from my mind And it’s why I kind of refused to sit on Rachel’s bed ed when she offered for me to sit down And then I felt the need to clean out ht

She’s a totally different Rachel, practically overnight Okay, not totally She’s still a difficult bitch with no qual her mind, but she now treats me a lot like Zia treatedto have to get over

"Where are they going?" Alex says about Isaac and his brothers and sisters