A year after losing her older sister in a tragic accident, Charlie's Mom marries the father of the most popular boys in school. Still grieving, Charlie struggles to accept her new family and gets involved with her stepbrothers worst enemy, the capta...
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I sat on the roof, my mind racing, the evening air cool against my skin. A cold certainty had settled deep in my stomach; Sebastian was hiding something, and for the first time all week, the house was empty.
This was my chance.
I was about to climb back inside and head straight for his room when a stone pinged against my shoe with a sharp, unexpected sound. My breath hitched. I looked down to see a dark figure in the shadowy garden. Panic seized me, but then a familiar voice called out my name.
"Charlie, I need to talk to you."
It was Billy.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, my voice edged with annoyance.
"I don't remember saying I wanted to talk to you." I snarled.
He ignored me and tried to plead with me, but I cut him off.
"Have they not put you in jail yet?"
He went quiet for a moment, then looked up at my window. "Can I come up?"
I scoffed.
"Why don't you try and climb up here?" I suggested, hoping to watch him struggle now that the vines had been taken down. But to my surprise, he scaled the wall with ease.
"I used to go rock climbing," he said with a casual shrug, sitting beside me.
I raised my eyebrows and pretended to be unimpressed. If I'd known Billy could get up smoothly, I would never have given him permission to.
"Well, I hope you enjoyed the view, because this conversation is not happening."
"Well, I hope you enjoyed it because this conversation is not happening," I replied, standing up and climbing back through the window.
I heard him call after me before his voice was tuned out by me shutting the window. I couldn't help the small, mischievous smile that crept onto my face. Seeing him locked outside was satisfying. Part of me wished my stepbrothers could have seen it too.
Through the glass, I could hear his muffled voice telling me this wasn't funny. But I was sick of people telling me what I should and shouldn't do.
I walked over to my bedroom door and I gave him a small, mischievous wave before turning off the light and walking away. I could still see him, but I knew he couldn't see me. The last thing I saw before I walked out of the bedroom door was Billy's face falling.
I went straight to Sebastian's bedroom. My mind was consumed by the plan. I wasn't going to let Billy get in the way of finding whatever I was looking for.
Sebastian's room was much tidier than mine, but lightly littered with school things and clothes.
I started looking in the obvious places, checking his desk drawers and wardrobe. When I didn't find anything, I turned to the rest of the room, trying to think like a teenage boy. I looked under the mattress, under the bed, and under the dresser before I felt like giving up. There was nothing.
