Julie could still remember the day the health board inspectors had come to their little house, accompanied by two disgusted-looking cops with a warrant. The inspectors had worn hazmat suits. Mrs. Redding had gone into hysterics, sobbing and pulling her own hair out, begging them not to take her “babies.” They finally handcuffed her. Julie sat next to her mother on the curb, watching as the inspectors carried cage after cage of sick, angry cats to their van. It hurt her to see her mother in so much pain. But a part of her wanted to yell, Take me, too!
“It was such a shock to learn. You seem so . . . together on the outside,” Ashley said. “Just goes to show: Never judge a bitch by her cover.”
Julie stared at Ashley, trembling. “You can’t tell anyone,” she whispered.
“And why not?” Ashley crossed her arms. “Secrets are meant to be shared. Especially dirty ones.” Her smile turned hard. “Enjoy your popularity while you still have it, Julie. Soon, I won’t be the only one to know the real you.”
And then she waved and stepped off the porch, carefully maneuvering around the rusty umbrella table and chairs that sat on the front lawn. Julie watched her car disappear down the street, then covered her face with her hands.
Julie had worked so hard to erase her past, to hide her secret in the present, but her house of cards was crumbling down around her. Parker was freaking out. The police were trying to frame her and her friends for something they didn’t do, and now it was only a matter of time before her secret came out. Julie wasn’t who she said she was, and before long, everyone would know the truth.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
WEDNESDAY EVENING, CAITLIN STOOD IN the girls’ locker room, shaking out her arms and legs and jumping up and down to keep warm. Her uniform had been freshly washed, and it smelled like fabric softener. Her socks were pulled up, her shin guards in place. She’d checked the hair band on her ponytail at least six times to make sure it was secure. Monk, her monkey keychain, was tucked into her gear bag, and she had a stash of blue-raspberry Gatorade for time-outs.
It was go time. The biggest game of her high school career. Outside the locker room, she could hear the stadium filling up. Before she changed, she’d met the UDub recruiter, a sporty-looking woman in her thirties named Monica. If she played well during this game, she’d be guaranteed a spot on next year’s team.
And if she didn’t . . .
Caitlin shut her eyes. She didn’t want to think that way.
She sat down and massaged her ankle, trying to ignore the twinges of pain she’d felt in the past few days. All of a sudden, she felt someone staring at her from across the room. Ursula, also in her soccer jersey and shorts, smirked at her from the water fountains.
“You feeling okay?” she teased, her gaze dropping to Caitlin’s ankle.
“I’m fine,” Caitlin said tightly.
“Good. I’d hate for you to mess up!” Ursula sang. Then, halfway out the door, she stopped and whirled around. “Oh. I forgot. Someone is looking for you.”
Caitlin frowned. “The UDub recruiter? I already met her.”
“No . . .” Ursula smiled, smug. “Actually, it was a cop.”
Caitlin’s heart stopped. “W-why?” she blurted.
“Oh, I guess the Nolan stuff,” Ursula said. “They’re totally getting in everyone’s business.”
Then she skipped out of the room. Caitlin’s heart pounded. Had they matched her handwriting sample? Stop thinking about it, she told herself. She’s just trying to get in your head.
Setting her jaw, she shouldered her gear bag and stormed out of the locker room and into the long, echoing hallway. Kids and their families crammed every nook. Ursula had run up to her parents and was boasting about something to her dad, a squat man in a T-shirt that said AAA POOL CARE AND LANDSCAPING.
Then Caitlin looked back and forth for a police officer, praying he wasn’t staked out here, hoping to catch her. When someone pulled on her sleeve from behind, she wrenched away, her heart leaping into her chest.
“Whoa!” Jeremy backed up, a startled smile on his face. “Sorry!”
Caitlin’s shoulders dropped. “I didn’t see you.” Then she peered at him. “What are you doing here?” As far as she knew, Jeremy had never been to a soccer game—not even one of Josh’s.
Jeremy cocked his head. “This is it, right? The big game? I wanted to cheer you on.”
“Oh.” Caitlin smiled nervously, then peered around the hall and out into the small courtyard that led to the field. Was Josh here? She hadn’t seen him, and they’d barely talked all week. But it seemed crazy for him not to come—he knew how much this meant to her. What if he was watching them right now?
“Uh, let’s go somewhere else,” she said, suddenly feeling paranoid.
She took Jeremy’s arm and led him outside and under the bleachers to a dark, secluded spot. Metallic sounds of people walking up and down the stands echoed from above. A group of kids burst into laughter. Then someone said, “Whoa!” and a river of cola-colored liquid seeped through a hole in the stands, almost on Jeremy’s head.
“Oops,” Caitlin said, shifting him out of harm’s way. “Soccer games are hazardous, you know.”
“Nervous? Excited?” Jeremy asked, his eyes shining.