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CHAPTER ONE

I looked around

Finally For good

For good

There was only one way I’d ever return to the town of Christmas, Florida, and it involved my dead body WhichI fished my iPod out of the front pocket ofin my earbuds, I did a quick inventory of my stuff

I hadthe evening shift at Fuddruckers didn’t exactly buy someone a passport to fashion What I did oas ed to collect a few prized possessions A vintage Pretenders T-shirt Fingerless gloves in an awesome plummy black color An ancient pair of Converse sneakers, broken in just right

My bag was heavy with books, too I was a little worried the zipper would pop from the strain, but there was no way I’d leave without them

My French-English dictionary was especially gigantic It was unabridged, and had cost several days of hard-aitressing tips But it held such pro off to Paris any day, where I’d sit around in bistros, grappling with issues and nibbling madeleines

And then there was est treasure of all: a framed picture offor its hard profile, checking for the umpteenth time that I’d packed it

She’d died when I was only four For soreat pains to assure me there was no way I could possibly reh, and I could still hear her voice and smell her crisp, lemony scent With her blond hair and wide eyes, she re a tight yellow pantsuit, kicking my dad’s ass, Kill Bill–style

Dad Ah, the sound of shouting and the stench of warems I wouldn’t stoay in the old duffel, even if I could

“Bye-bye, Daddy Dearest I am so out of here Not that you’ll notice ” I pulled h the playlist toup to check my drawers one last ti here”

“Annelise Drew!” Soed on the door “Shut the hell up!”

I scowled It was my stepmother, the Yatch

So I turned up the volu even louder “But I’m a creep”