“When you made me go to Bronwyn’s piano recital and tell her how Ifelt. I would’ve been stubborn and stupid enough to let the best thing in mylife pass me by if it weren’t for you.”The ghost of a smile flits across Addy’s face. “You would have told hereventually.”“Not without a push,” I say. “I didn’t think I deserved anything good,but you? You wouldn’t shut up about it.” Addy laughs a little, and I add,“You’re a hell of a friend.”There’s nothing but silence for a few beats, other than Vanessa’s loudsniff from the back seat. Then Addy puts on her blinker for Bronwyn’sstreet and says, “Cut it out. You’re going to make me cry.”I wait until she pulls into Bronwyn’s driveway to respond. “You knowwhat? I always hated being an only child, and it’s kind of like I’ve got asister now.”“Oh my God,” Addy says tearfully. “I’m wearing mascara, you jerk.”She shifts into Park and flings her arms around my neck, and I hold herwhile she sobs on my shoulder. I’ve spent a lot of time with Addy thisweek, and I can tell when she’s about to break down. If she doesn’t get itout of the way now, she’s going to have a miserable time at the party.Vanessa, proving that she’s a pretty good third wheel after all, stays quietuntil Addy finally pulls away.“You good?” Vanessa asks in such a kind voice that I turn around tomake sure it’s actually her.“I’m good,” Addy says, wiping her eyes. “Let’s go.”We’re the last ones to show up. Bronwyn’s backyard is in full bloom,trees sparkling with lights that she and Maeve strung this afternoon. Apicnic table is set up along a smooth stretch of grass, and the smell ofgrilled hamburgers wafts our way.“I bet you anything that Kris is doing the cooking,” Addy says. Otherthan her red eyes, she looks a lot happier than she did when I first got intoher car.“I’ll take that bet, and you’ll lose, because Javier just bought somekind of space-age grill that nobody’s allowed to touch,” I say as we turn the
corner and the Rojases’ deck comes into sight—along with Bronwyn’sfather, flipping burgers. “Told you.”“Hey, there they are!” Cooper calls, waving at us. He’s the hero ofBayview once again; the guy who, along with Luis, swooped in at the lastminute to save the day. Even though it’s more complicated this time; forone thing, he couldn’t stop Chelsea from killing Jake and taking off, and foranother, I don’t think either Phoebe’s or Addy’s life was really in danger. Asfor me, I’ve made peace with the fact that Gavin bashed me over the headout of panic. I’m not worried about him ever trying to finish the job;wherever he is, I’m pretty sure his top priority is keeping his distance.“Here we are,” Addy says, waving back.There’s a lot of hugging after that. I mean, a lot. Anyone who didn’tknow that we’d all just been through some serious trauma bonding wouldhave thought we hadn’t seen each other in years. When everyone’s finallydone, we sit down at the table. Kris and Vanessa fall deep into conversationabout his sneakers, which she seems to admire a lot. Stranger things havehappened, I guess, than those two becoming friendly.“You guys excited for Germany next month?” I ask Cooper.He grins. “Man, I can’t wait. I’ve only ever met Kris’s family overFaceTime.” He reaches across the table and taps Phoebe on her arm.“You’re gonna check in on Nonny while I’m gone, right?”“Oh yeah,” Phoebe says. She’s sitting next to Knox and looks happierthan she has in a long time. “We have big plans. She’s going to teach mebridge, and I’m going to introduce her to reality dating shows. You sure youwant to go to Germany and miss all that?”Cooper laughs. “Tough call, but…nonrefundable tickets,” he says.“Everyone’s leaving,” Luis sighs. “You guys, Addy and Maeve—”“Only for a month,” Maeve points out. “Then we come back andBronwyn leaves.” She wipes an imaginary tear.“And I’ll start applying to college, finally,” Addy says. “That’s justhow it is now, I guess. Constant change.”“Not for those of us who still need to finish high school,” Knox says.Phoebe leans her head on his shoulder. “Just one more year,” she says.
“Then I’m getting out of this hellhole and going straight to Europe,”Maeve says. Luis blinks at her and she adds, “What? You can come.Wouldn’t you like to earn your first Michelin star in Paris?”At first, Luis looks like he’s trying to calculate the distance betweenthe Eiffel Tower and the nearest beach. Then he grins and says, “I wouldn’tnot like it.”“You know, I used to hate Bayview,” Kris says, glancing at Cooper.“All I knew about it, at first, was that it was the place where Coopercouldn’t be himself. Then it turned into something worse. I think we can allagree that nobody in their right mind would ever willingly move here. Andyet…” He gazes around Bronwyn’s backyard. “In a weird way, it’s homenow. And I might even miss it while I’m gone.”There’s a long moment of silence, until Cooper says—in his calmest,most patient voice—“Kris, babe, you’re out of your ever-loving mind.”Everyone cracks up as Javier Rojas calls, “Burgers are ready!” There’sa mad scramble for the deck, but I put an arm around Bronwyn’s waist tokeep her beside me.“Hold up,” I say.Her eyes go straight to the scar on my temple. “You feeling okay?” sheasks anxiously. I’ve gotten woozy in front of her a few times this week.“Yeah, I’m fine,” I say. “But Addy got me thinking, with all that talkabout change. You’re leaving soon, and—”“And we won’t have any of the problems we had last year,” Bronwynsays earnestly, grabbing both of my hands in hers. “We’ll talk every day,and I’ll come home every chance I get. And you’ll visit me, right?”“I will. I’m not worried about that. It’s just—look, Bronwyn, I knowyou have a five-year plan, and a ten-year plan”—I can tell she’s about tointerrupt me, so I start talking faster—“and so do I. I have a fifty-year plan,and you’re in it. It revolves around you, mostly. Because I’ve been in lovewith you since the fifth grade, and that’s never going to change.” She smilesthen, and I turn her hands around in mine, running my thumb down the bareindex finger of her left hand. “I don’t have a ring or anything, because I
know we still have a ways to go before that makes sense, and also, youdon’t like diamonds—”“They’re not sustainable,” she says breathlessly.“I know. So when the time comes, it’ll be something different, but—that time’s going to come, okay?” I gaze into her clear gray eyes, my chestaching with how much I love this girl. “I’m going to marry you, BronwynRojas. Just so you know.”She puts her hands on either side of my face and pulls me close enoughto kiss. But first, she says, “Oh, I know.”OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER FORTY-TWOAddyThursday, July 30“I thought you were ready,” Ashton says, gazing at the piles of clothesaround my room.“I am,” I say. “I’m ready to put all of these into my suitcase. Soon.”“You’re leaving tomorrow,” she reminds me.“I’m aware,” I say, adding a pair of flip-flops to one pile.Mom pokes her head in then, waving my passport in one hand. “Addy,you have got to stop leaving this lying around,” she says.“It’s not lying around,” I say. “It was exactly where I wanted it. I havea system, Mom. Can you put it back, please?”She heaves a theatrical sigh before withdrawing. “Do not blame me ifyou miss your flight tomorrow because your system fails,” she says on herway downstairs.“Thank you, G-Ma!” I call after her.Ashton perches at the edge of my bed, one hand on her ever-growingstomach. “You can’t tell her it’s not spelled G-E-E-M-A,” she says. “She’sstarted signing her emails like that. It’s very cute.”“It’ll be our little secret,” I say, miming a zip of my lips.“Is that the only one?” Ashton asks, arching her brows. I hesitate, notsure what she’s talking about. “Eli admitted last night that he never actually
threw away the note from the obstetrician. You’re both so sneaky,” shecomplains when I grin. “Did you take a look?”“I didn’t. Do you want it back?”“No,” she says. “I want you to destroy it, so I don’t ask for it in amoment of weakness when I’m nine months pregnant.”“Done,” I say. “I’ll toss it into the ocean.”“You don’t have to be so dramatic,” Ashton says with a smile.“Fine,” I sigh, and flop onto my back beside her on the bed.“Do you want to know another secret?” she asks.“Obviously I do.”“We decided on names.”Instantly, I’m upright. “What are they?”“If it’s a boy, William Elijah. After Eli, of course. We’ll call him Will.”“Love it. Perfect. And if it’s a girl? Don’t pick an A name,” I saybefore realizing that’s a terrible thing to say before Ashton reveals thename. “Unless it’s an awesome A name, of course. Which I’m sure it wouldbe. I’m just thinking about patterns, you know, and maybe…” Maybe weneed to start some new ones for the girls in this family.That’s silly, though. We already did.“It’s not an A name,” Ashton says. She pauses, enjoying the suspense,and I make a big show of gnawing on my knuckle. “If it’s a girl, we’regoing to call her Iris Adelaide.” I blink at her, tears springing into my eyes,as she adds, “After her kick-ass aunt.”“Oh my God,” I whimper. Into Ashton’s shoulder, since I’m halfstrangling her with a hug. “Really? That’s…that’s amazing. Thank you.”“What else would we call her?” Ashton says, hugging me back. “Icouldn’t use Adelaide for the first name, because there’s only one Addy, butI hope she’s just like you. I really, really do.”“Well.” I gulp, thinking of all the mistakes I’ve made over the past fewyears. The past few weeks, even. I don’t know if I could’ve done anythingdifferent to stop Chelsea, but I wish we’d been able to have a realconversation when I first got to know her as Evie. Before she did what shedid and forever changed the course of her life. I think I would have
understood, better than she might have imagined, how it felt to learn thetruth about how her father died. “Maybe not just like me.”“Oh, hush,” Ashton says. “I wouldn’t change a thing.”—I could use a good night’s sleep before tomorrow’s marathon flight, butthere’s one more thing I need to do, and I wanted the beach to be nice anddeserted while I did it. It’s chilly at midnight, though, and I’m glad for myextra-thick hoodie and sweatpants.Back when I was in high school and we used to throw parties on thisbeach, I was never the one who started the bonfire. Jake always wanted todo it, and he liked to explain his methods in great detail. I’d made dozens ofcampfires with my father and Ashton when we were little, but I listenedpatiently instead of telling him that I already knew.And he never asked.The fire I make now is a small one, because this isn’t a party. While Iwas packing, I dropped a pair of socks behind my bed, and as I fishedaround for them, I pulled out a scrap of paper. It was a photo booth pictureof Jake and me, one from the sophomore-year school fair that I thought I’dthrown away long ago. We were fifteen years old, both of us making goofyfaces—my eyes popping wide, his tongue practically touching his nose. Alot of my memories of Jake are bad in retrospect, but I remember this day asnothing but fun. Jake had a lot of charm, and when he directed it towardme, I felt like the most important person in the world.I don’t know when Jake’s dark side took over. Maybe it was alwaysthere, given the kind of person the father he grew up with turned out to be.Maybe it was that sense of entitlement the media loves to talk about. I can’tspend any more time wondering, though, because I’ve already torturedmyself with enough what-ifs to last a lifetime. And I realized a while agothat I never really knew him.I take one last look at our happy faces, then drop the photo into thefire. “Good-bye, Jake,” I say as the edges blacken and curl. “I hope you’re
at peace.”Within seconds, the photo is nothing but ash. I watch the flames dancefor a few more minutes, then take a crumpled envelope out of my pocket. Iput a finger beneath the seal and tear, pulling out a sheet of paper. I unfoldit, read the single line, and start smiling so wide that my cheeks hurt. Then Icarefully refold the paper and put it back into my pocket. I’ll get rid of iteventually, because I promised I would, but not yet. I’m going to bring thispiece of news to Peru with me; it’ll be our first adventure together. The firstof many, I hope.I toss the envelope onto the fire and say, “I can’t wait to meet you, IrisAdelaide.”OceanofPDF.com
ACKNOWLEDGMENTSWith any book, there are many people to thank. For this one, I need to startwith my readers, because without you it wouldn’t exist. Thank you forloving these characters, and the world of Bayview, as much as I do. If itwasn’t for your continued enthusiasm, One of Us Is Lying would haveremained a stand-alone. Instead it’s now a trilogy, and I’m so happy thatI’ve been able to give my characters the ending that I’ve imagined in myhead for years. I hope this book was worth the wait for all of you.To my agents Rosemary Stimola and Allison Remcheck, thank you forbeing such fierce champions of this book and of my career. I don’t knowwhat I’d do without your wisdom and guidance (please don’t ever make mefind out). So much appreciation to the entire team at Stimola LiteraryStudio, especially Alli Hellegers for her work on the international side, andto Pete Ryan and Nick Croce for their help in operations.I remember getting an email from my agent more than six years ago,saying that Krista Marino at Delacorte Press wanted to publish my debut,One of Us Is Lying. I was thrilled, but I didn’t yet know how lucky I was.Now, after seven (seven?! what is time?!) books together, I’m so thankfulfor all we’ve accomplished. I’m grateful to my publishers BeverlyHorowitz, Judith Haut, and Barbara Marcus for all their support, and to theamazing team at Delacorte Press and Random House Children’s Books,including Kathy Dunn, Lydia Gregovic, Dominique Cimina, John Adamo,Kate Keating, Elizabeth Ward, Jules Kelly, Kelly McGauley, Jenn Inzetta,
Tricia Ryzner, Meredith Wagner, Stephania Villar, Elena Meuse, MadisonFurr, Adrienne Waintraub, Keri Horan, Katie Halata, Felicia Frazier, BeckyGreen, Enid Chaban, Kimberly Langus, Kerry Milliron, ColleenFellingham, Heather Hughes, Alison Impey, Ray Shappell, KennethCrossland, Martha Rago, Tracy Heydweiller, Linda Palladino, TamarSchwartz, and Janet Foley.Thank you to my wonderful international rights colleagues atIntercontinental Literary Agency, Thomas Schlueck Agency, and RightsPeople for finding homes around the world for One of Us Is Back. I’mgrateful for the support of my international editors and publishers, and soglad that I’ve had the opportunity to meet some of them in person.The young adult author community is something special; any time youhave a question, these brilliant people have answers. Thanks to KrystalSutherland, Adam Silvera, Becky Albertalli, Leigh Bardugo, DhonielleClayton, and Jennifer Mathieu for sharing your wisdom, and to KathleenGlasgow, Samira Ahmed, Sabaa Tahir, Tiffany Jackson, Stephanie Garber,Courtney Summers, Kara Thomas, and Kit Frick for being tremendouscolleagues and inspirations.Many thanks to Beth Stevens for generously sharing your legalexpertise, and thanks also to all the booksellers, librarians, teachers, andreviewers who have enthusiastically championed my books and helped togrow the YA thriller category.And finally, thanks to my parents for always supporting me; to my son,Jack, for always inspiring me; and to the rest of my family for all the loveand laughter.OceanofPDF.com
ABOUT THE AUTHORKaren M. McManus is a #1 New York Times and internationally bestsellingauthor of young adult thrillers. Her books include the One of Us Is Lyingseries, which has been turned into a television show on Peacock, as well asthe standalone novels Two Can Keep a Secret, The Cousins, You’ll Be theDeath of Me, and Nothing More to Tell. Karen’s critically acclaimed, awardwinning work has been translated into more than forty-two languages.OceanofPDF.com
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