Page 74 of Want to Know a Secret?

Oh no. No no no no…

In my surprise, I stumble backward and knock into the dresser. A hardcover that was balanced on top of the dresser slips off and lands on the ground with a resounding thump.

This just got so much worse.

“Sean?” It’s Maria’s voice from downstairs. “Is that you?”

I freeze, not sure what to do.

“Sean?” she calls again.

And then she’s quiet for a moment. I don’t hear footsteps though. I would know if she was coming up the stairs. She’s just standing there. What is she doing?

Then I remember.

My shoes. I left them by the front door.

I stand there, trying to be as quiet as I can, wondering if I should attempt to hide. The closet is wide open and there’s enough room for me to slip inside. She can’t be here for long.

And then I hear my phone buzz inside my pocket.

My hand is shaking so badly, I almost drop the phone before I take it out. Once I get it safely in my hand, I look at the words taunting me from the screen:

I know you are inside the house, April.

And then I hear the creak of footsteps on the staircase.

Chapter 37

JULIE

Want to know a secret?

April Masterson is the evilest woman you’ll ever meet. Everything she has told you has been a lie.

I should know. She’s my best friend.

FIVE YEARS EARLIER

My heels clack noisily on the hardwood floor of my new house that was only erected one month earlier. The chimes of the doorbell echo through the living room, which still has a few boxes I haven’t unpacked yet. I’ll get to them tonight—I absolutely hate stacks of boxes.

I look through the peephole, because I’m still used to living in Manhattan, where there’s just as likely to be a burglar standing on the other side of the door as a neighbor holding a plate of cookies. But today, it’s the plate of cookies. A woman is standing there, smiling brightly at my closed door.

I throw open the door and force a smile, even though my head is still aching from being on hold with the cable company for two straight hours. “Hello…”

The woman standing at my front door is extremely pretty. Pretty in an open, friendly way, with her blond hair pulled into a perfectly messy bun, earnest blue eyes, and a smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose. She’s the sort of woman everybody instantly likes.

“Hi!” she chirps. “I’m April! I live two houses down the block. You must be Julie!”

“Uh, yes…”

She beams at me. “I brought you some cookies.”

“Oh.” I have to admit, her cookies look delicious. I could use a cookie right now. “Won’t you come in?”

“I’d love to!”

April follows me into my house, clutching her plate of chocolate chip cookies. Her lips part slightly as she looks around the living room. It’s extravagant—I know. Keith drew up the plans for the house, and I didn’t realize quite how big it was until I saw it being built. And then it was too late. Now I’m in this ridiculously large house for God knows how long. Probably at least until the boys are in college.