To Tell An Altswood Lie (The Altswood Saga #3)

Chapter 1 - Anew

Back on the first day of Altswood High's second semester, Gabriel and Jules had been absent while they recovered from their wounds. I had met Annabelle at the front of the school, and we didn't think too much of walking in through the front gates, chattering about whatever mundane topic we had arrived at—it could have been about the principles of denim on denim, it could have been about the latest episode of Riverdale.

We didn't think the entire courtyard would fall silent.

It got worst before it got better. Later that day, my entrance into the cafeteria had caused a hush to immediately hiss through the entire room. I had thrown my hands up in defeat and eaten outside. When I spoke to Principal Melrose about it, she told me not to worry. Apparently, aiming a gun at a serial killer and putting him in jail was a surefire way to getting yourself a fan club.

A fan club that tracked my movements as I made my way across the court and stopped in front of Gabriel.

The prickling on my neck told me everything.

"They're still watching, aren't they?" I asked.

Gabriel winced, immediately knowing what I was talking about. "Maybe they're just admiring your hair."

I patted the dark red wig, smoothing down the edges. In such a humid room, the top would always begin to frizz.

"I think they're stalking us."

It wasn't that I was paranoid. I had been dodging my medication, sure, but as long as there wasn't a catalyst event to set me off, I would be fine.

By now, almost a month had passed since Joshua Koi was arrested for multiple counts of murder. A month since he had stabbed Gabriel through the chest. A month since I had shot him twice and tricked him into surrender. Last I heard, Joshua had been sentenced to the same jail time as his deranged girlfriend, Rebekah Gray, which meant they were going to be behind bars for as long as they lived.

Bottle Island had returned to its sleepy, tropical state since then, its stormy skies and dark blue-green forests almost transforming overnight. If I held up a tourist brochure of Altswood to the view outside my bedroom window, the two images would be almost identical.

With day after day of no excitement, Bottle Island had at last become the place that Dad had moved us here for.

Apart from the tween girls who watched me with a little more than a glint in their eyes.

"Let's get out of here," Gabriel said, offering a hand.

I took it.

"So your team won back there, right?" I asked as we left the gym. Though the temperature was warming as the season set back into spring, the breeze that curled around my neck and sighed contently down my bones was cool, blown in from the ocean. The day was still light, though tinged a deep, dreamy orange as the sun prepared to set.

Gabriel snorted, as if he couldn't believe I just asked that. "Yes, that would be why people were cheering."

"Well, it's hard to tell," I argued. I ran my finger along the length of the school gate as we passed it, gathering dust on my skin. "They would have cheered for the other team as well. It's home versus home. Who does that?"

"Islands that only have one high school."

I looked up at him, narrowing my eyes. "Smartass."

"You love it."

We crossed the street and approached his car, squeezing through the other tightly crammed vehicles. He had parked along the grass because the curb had run out of space; this was a constant problem when Altswood High didn't have a parking lot.