Prologue
Julie shoved her books unconsciously inside her backpack, slammed her locker shut and walked away, heading for her first class. Today wasn't a very good day for her, considering that her little brother, Aiden, woke her with a bucket of water for the first day of school and her breakfast was infuriatingly sabotaged by hooligans who lived a few blocks away, throwing empty cans and soda bottles at their window.
8 months ago, before her mother died, she finally told Julie the truth about her father and the fact that her father was so well known didn't make things easier. Julie understood that her father was trying to fill in the gap between her and Aiden ever since he knew about them, but some wounds just don't heal that easily. People would make fun of her, calling her a bastard, making fun of her, but a part of her knew that this year, her senior year, would turn out to be either something wonderful or something she'd want to forget.
"Ouch!" Julie said through gritted teeth. She was more surprised than hurt. When she turned around she saw Mackenzie McAlister, her friend whom she met in camp last summer, sitting at the desk behind her. "What?" she mouthed.
Mackenzie leaned forward and whispered, her lips curling into a grin. "I hear he's coming."
Julie felt blood rush to her cheeks and an unfamiliar feeling fluttered inside of her, making her stomach twist and twirl. For the past month, she has managed to forget everything that she has done last summer, but everything came back in a flash that very instant, that moment in the bonfire, the game and things after that. EVERYTHING. Replaying in her mind like a broken disk. She told Mack and Elle everything last summer, about the lake and what happened in the forest, but she kept one secret to herself.
"Macks!" she whispered back, annoyed. She quickly turned away from her and fixed her eyes on the discussing Professor, hoping that Mackenzie would just shut up and let the topic drop, but of course, she didn't.
"You know that boy could do wonders," she heard her say, Julie knew she was grinning. "We all know how much you love the mystery." By 'we' she meant her and her other friend whom she met at camp: Elle and she were right. She loved the mysteries of people. She loved the sensation of having mysteries in her palms. She loved the case and she loved proving people that she can do it. There's just a zeal inside her that never decreased and that's what kept her itching to be with him. She wanted to prove to him that she can do it. She wanted to win, but of course, winning meant something else would bound to happen. Something she swore would never happen again.
"Ms. Vinson and Ms. McAlister?" A voice boomed, snapping Julie from her thoughts. It was Prof. Carter, their English teacher, calling their attention. "Eyes on the board."
Hours passed in a jiff and without even knowing it, it was time for lunch. Julie grabbed her backpack pack and as she neatly placed her things inside, she heard a commotion just outside the classroom.
"Goodness, what's that about?" Elle cried as soon as she reached Julie's side. Her British accent echoing inside the white-walled room. Julie shrugged in response. Her heart beating fast, knowing what was coming.
Outside the room was too crowded that only half of the students inside the classroom got out. The trio were already standing by the door way, trying to find out what was going on.
"Oh, my goodness, he's really here!" Julie heard a girl say to her friend.
"What? I thought he was transferring somewhere out of the country," her friend whispered back.
"Oh gosh, did you hear?" another girl, blonde and slender, snooped in the conversation. "He's staying!" The two girls held hands and jumped in utter happiness. "But," blonde said, raising a finger. "Someone said he was staying because of a new girl in school."
An arm looped around Julie's shoulder. She froze. She could smell his scent of expensive cologn and imported leather. She felt his silky hair against her cheek. His familiar warmth radiated through her body. She heard the people surrounding her gasp and bursted into chatter and whispers. Silently she prayed that her brother would once again throw water at her face, waking her up from this horrid nightmare, but of course, he didn't.
