Julie’s heart was thudding fast. She knew who had written on Nolan, and it wasn’t Mark. She turned away and instantly collided into someone. Cold beer spilled down her back and onto her shoes. Julie cried out, jumping away.
Julie turned around and found herself face-to-face with Carson Wells, the new boy from Australia. He was something of a mystery to everyone at Beacon. The only verifiable fact was that he was drop-dead gorgeous, with coffee-colored skin, a close-shaved head, olive-green eyes, and a killer accent.
“I am so sorry,” he said.
“It’s okay,” Julie breathed, and Carson scuttled for some napkins and began to blot Julie’s shoes. “Oh my goodness,” Julie said, suddenly embarrassed. “Don’t worry about it. You hardly got me.”
“Are you sure?” Carson stood up again. His eyes were still apologetic. “You’re Julie, right?”
“That’s right,” Julie said softly.
“I’m Carson,” he said. Then he looked at the now empty beer cup. “I guess I’m due for a refill, huh? Can I get you one, too?”
Julie felt heat rise to her cheeks. “I suppose it’d be the least you could do.”
They walked to the back of the keg line, which led through the living room to the bathroom. Music blared, and an enormous flat-screen TV was on but muted.
“So is this your first party in Beacon?” Julie asked.
Carson shook his head. “Actually, the one last week was. Nolan’s.”
“Oh.” Julie looked down. She hadn’t noticed Carson there—of course, she’d had other things on her mind. “That wasn’t a great start to the year, unfortunately.”
“Seriously.” Carson shoved his hands in his pockets. “I should have stuck to my planned evening of chamomile tea and Jane Austen novels.”
“Right.” Julie laughed. “So how do you like it here so far?” She almost slapped her forehead once she’d said it. That’s a question your grandmother might ask!
“Not too bad,” Carson said. “Aside from the fact that the first question most people ask me is either what I got on my SATs, how many APs I’ve already taken, or, when I tell them I’m a runner, what my mile PR is.”
Julie snickered. “That’s Beacon High for you.”
Carson grimaced. “And the weather’s awful. I don’t know how I’m going to get through six months of rain.”
“Try nine,” she said with a laugh. “Yeah, it gets to me, too. I used to live in California.”
“You lived in California?” He perked up. “Man, I’d love to live there. Dad almost took a job at USC, but UDub offered him a better deal. I was kind of bummed at first. But it’s all good. If I were in California, I wouldn’t be here talking to you.” He smiled. “Why’d you move?”
“Uh, family,” she said vaguely. “My mom wanted to be closer to my grandmother.” It was partially true, after all. “She passed away,” she added, in case Carson asked if they still saw each other.
“Sorry to hear about that.” Carson’s voice was gentle.
Julie’s throat began to feel itchy, which it always did when she lied. She wondered what he’d say if she told him the truth: that they’d had to move. That her dad had abandoned them years ago. That even her grandmother couldn’t deal with her mother.
This was why she’d never had a boyfriend. She could get away with not telling her friend about her home life, but a boyfriend would be a different story. There would be questions she couldn’t answer, the “meet the parents” her mother could never manage. Only Parker knew the truth about Julie’s mom, and Julie had only told her after the accident. By then it was clear that Parker’s home life was worse—and more dangerous—than Julie’s. Now Parker had her own key to Julie’s place, and she protected Julie’s secret fiercely. “To the grave,” Parker had vowed, and Julie couldn’t imagine trusting anyone else like she trusted Parker. Someday, in college maybe, when she’d gotten the hell out of here and was on her own, then she could consider falling in love and baring her soul. But not now. Not when she risked so much. Not when someone could see . . . everything.
And now there was an even bigger secret to hide.
Just like that, a crack formed in her mind, and Julie was suddenly back in the film studies classroom on the day everything started. In all other respects, it had been a completely ordinary day. Nolan Hotchkiss had made fun of three kids in rapid succession in the first minute of class—first Laurie Odenton, who had a lazy eye; then Ursula Winters, who had ham-hock legs and was, Nolan said, basically undateable; and then Oliver Hodges, who was gay and proud and pretty much immune to teasing at that point. Mr. Granger had put on a movie called And Then There Were None, the third movie in their mystery series.