Unraveling Sarah Cresley by Marisa Maichel (best summer books .txt) 📕

I did, although she gave some of it to me. She didn't even want half the things she took, so she gave it to the rest of us. I remember there was this awful smelling conditioner that she took, and no one else wanted it, so she donated it. Imagine that. Stealing then donating." She chuckled.

"As our stealing got better, we got bigger. Some twelve year old girls saw Honey pocketing an eyeshadow, and wanted to know how she did it. So Honey got Scarlett, and we included them. They wanted to know the ins and outs of thievery. Eventually, our ring grew, and we got cocky. No one would have found us out, except that someone told on us. Someone from our group told our parents. No one knows for sure, and someone started a rumor that I was the one that told.

"The thing is, I never did tell anybody. Honestly, I think Jordan told to get back at Scarlett. To ruin her. But since I'm the one who openly crushed on Mike Nales, Scarlett went after me, especially since I was the weakest thief."

I gazed at Sarah in shock. Her, a thief? She stole from business owners?

"Did you steal from large businesses at least?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, I always targeted large businesses. The other girls chided me because of all the new security systems, but I refused to steal from someone who would lose more money over a stolen blouse." She pulled her knees up to her chest. "You probably hate me now."

"Sarah, I could never hate you. I admit that I'm shocked and a bit disappointed, but I could never hate you." She buried her head in her knees and started crying.

"I know that what I did was wrong," she whimpered, "I felt pressured into doing something I'm against."

"Sarah it's not your fault," I said. She looked up at me.

"Why do you do that? Say my name all the time?"

"Partly because I like the name Sarah, and also to get your attention and to get my point across. Don't change the subject. What else did they make you do?"

"That's all. I never drank a beauty potion, never drank a popularity potion. I don't need that shit. I get all I need from coconut and avocado oil." Clearly this was a joke to her, because she smiled.

"Do you drink avocado oil?" I asked her, cringing at the thought. She gave me a horrified look.

"No...I rub it in my skin and hair. It makes it soft and smooth." So that was one of her beauty secrets. Avocado oil. I had a feeling there was more going on than what she was telling me.

"Why do I get this feelling that you're holding something back?" I asked. She looked uncomfortable. "It doesn't matter," I said. I gently pushed her onto the bed. I counted four different eyeshadow shades on her eyes, including dark blue. It made her eyes seem brighter. I smelled her hair. It smelled floral. Her gardenia scent seemed stronger now.

"Sarah...do you use gardenia shampoo?" I asked. She looked confused.

"No...my shampoo smells like sweet alyssum. My usual perfume smells more like Spanish amber." Huh. I had noticed those scents, but nothing smelled as strong as her gardenia scent. She sat up. "Well, I should go."

"Sarah, please stay," I begged. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing? And my mother will be getting worried. I'm still in deep shit for breaking the law so many times."

"Who cares about the damn law?" I pulled her close to me and kissed her. "I love you. Can't you take the day off?"

"I really can't. I'm still paying back for all the stuff I took."

"How much do you need?" I asked.

"Honestly? It'll probably be hundreds of dollars."

I went out into the living room.

"Father, where's my checkbook?" I asked.

"In my desk drawer. What do you need it for?"

"I'll tell you later." I went into his office and pulled my checkbook out. I wrote a check for one thousand dollars.

"What are you doing?" Sarah asked.

"Take this. It'll help you relax."

"Oh, Reese..." Tears sprang into her eyes, especially when she saw the amount. "I can't take this."

"The money's not a problem. As for your pride, screw pride. Take it." She stared at it for a long moment, then wrapped her arms around me. I squeezed her tightly.

"My ribs are starting to hurt," she complained.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" I quickly released her.

"I have to go cash this. Then I'm going to quit my crappy job and get some sleep," she declared.

"Call me when you wake up."

"Oh, I will! Thank you so much, Reese!" She hugged me again and then went downstairs. I followed her. She put her boots back on, grabbed her keys, and walked out.

~~~~~~~~~~

"And in other news, two teachers at North Hampton High School were found dead under strange circumstances. Darla Danielson and Matthew Herman were found in the parking lot, their bodies completely drained of blood and their hearts removed from their chests." I looked at my father. He was looking at my uncle, who was stretched out comfortably with his hands laced over his stomach.

"Soren, what have you done?" Father asked.

"I killed two birds with one bite. Those two tortured students. Danielson bullied students, even targeting specific ones, yelling at them, handing out punishments unjustly. The other one had a particular infatuation with several students, including Ariella and Sarah."

"Sarah never told me this," I said. "Neither did Ariella."

"I think Sarah's ashamed. He touched her on the behind several times and rubbed her shoulders a little too long for her comfort, even giving her a gift one usually gives to a girlfriend or wife."

"What did he give her?"

"A ring. A diamond ring, if I'm not mistaken."

"And you have no qualms with displaying their bodies?" Grandfather asked, frowning.

"I did that to send a message."

"What about evidence? DNA?"

"I wore latex gloves. I kept my hair tied up and out of the way. I made doubly sure that it couldn't be traced back to us."

"What is wrong with you?" I blurted out. My uncle frowned at me.

"I thought you of all people would be most pleased, Reese. Think about the things they've done." I thought for a moment. If I was in my uncle's place, would I do the same thing? I didn't know. Giving my girlfriend a diamond ring definitely constituted some sort of punishment, but taking their lives was quite violent and uncharacteristic for Uncle Soren.

I leaned against my father, who purred and kissed the top of my head. I had a headache.

"Father," I said, "Matthew Herman talked to me one day and said that if I ever needed to talk to him-"

"He WHAT?" Oops. I forgot how strong his instincts are. He cupped my face. "Tell me the truth, Reese, did he touch you? Make you feel uncomfortable?"

"He didn't touch me," I told him, trying to assauge his worries. "He did make me wonder what he wanted."

"Then I'm glad he's dead. He could have hurt my child!" He pulled me into a crushing hug. "I wish you'd left him to me, Soren."

"Be glad he's dead. When I think about what he could have done..." He shuddered. Father buried his nose in my hair. Burying his nose in my hair is both a way to distract and soothe himself and to make sure I was all right.

"Uncle Soren, how did their blood taste?" I asked. He wrinkled his nose.

"Foul. That bitch Danielson reeked of alcohol, and Herman's blood was downright terrible." He grinned. "But it felt good to kill them. Totally worth it."

"And yet you still have no qualms with displaying their bodies?" Grandfather said, sounding miffed.

"Get over it, Father. Yes, I may have screwed up, and I will take full responsibility if it is traced back to us. I will take care of it."

Grandfather still looked unsure. "I'm going to be honest. If anything were to happen to you...I don't know what I'd do."

"You'd break me out of prison."

"Of course I would. And I would send you out of the country as soon as possible."

My father made a gagging noise. Grandfather flicked his ear.

"Why did you need your checkbook, son? You rarely buy anything," Father said.

"Sarah needed some money. Earlier today, she told me that she...something private. She needed money, so I gave her some of mine as a gift."

"That was nice of you. How much did you give her?"

When I told him the number, he looked surprised.

"That much?" he said. "I mean, I'm not upset, it's nothing to us, but why so much?"

"She's...in debt. She-"

"She's a thief," Grandfather said. "We all heard her talk about what she did, Reese." I looked around. Father and Uncle Soren were looking at me.

"Okay, yes, I gave her the money to make up for her losses." I laid back and sulked.

"Don't get upset, Reese," Uncle Soren said. "We all understand where you're coming from." I didn't believe him. None of them could possibly understand the depth of my love. Okay, I was exaggerating. They had all felt love before.

I thought about Sarah and what she had told me. There was a lot more to her than I originally thought. Of course, I knew she was complicated. I was grateful that she shared her secrets with me. Father pulled me into his lap and rubbed my shoulders. I pulled away from him, and he gave me a hurt look.

"I have to talk to somebody," I said.

"Who?"

"Do you remember Mason Godfrey?"

"No."

"Okay, nevermind. I'll see you all later." I started to stand up, then I was suddenly grabbed around the waist and pulled back down. Father turned me around.

"Reese, tell me who he is. What is going on?"

"Father, he's just a guy I know. Now let me go." Father reluctantly released me.

"What is wrong with him?" Father asked as I walked away.

"Welcome to Parenting Teenagers 101," Uncle Soren replied sarcastically.

~~~~~~~~~~

I called Mason quickly.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Mason, it's Reese."

"Oh, hey. What's up?"

"We have to talk. When's a good time for us to meet up?"

"How about Monday after hell ends?" He meant school.

"That works. Say, Moore Park?"

"Whatever works for you. All right. See you then, buddy." He hung up. And called me buddy. After our talk, it unlikely that we would be "buddies" again.

~~~~~~~~

When I got to Moore Park, Mason was already there, leaning against a tree.

"What's up?" he said when he saw me.

"Scarlett and her clique. That's what's up. Start explaining."

"What?" He looked genuinely confused. "I don't know what you mean."

"I think you do," I said. He sighed.

"I'm a warlock," Mason said. "Scarlett's a witch. So is her sister. I...I've loved Scarlett for years. Our parents are friends. My parents are the most talented warlock and witch in the world. Scarlett's parents were taken under their wing. Scarlett and I go back to before babyhood. We were conceived a few months apart and were in our mothers' wombs together until I was born. I was born October thirty first, believe it or not, and Scarlett and Jordan were born three months after.

"We were all trained by my parents. My father, specifically. Over time, I slowly fell for Scarlett. Jordan always wants whatever Scarlett has, so she asked me out. I rejected her. That upset her, and she started teaching Scarlett about beauty and popularity spells. Scarlett was already quite beautiful, but the spells Jordan showed her made her even more so. Scarlett and Jordan's clique slowly grew, and so did their secrets. They showed many of the girls these spells.

"Every single one of them except Sarah cast a beauty and popularity spell. Sarah's the only one with a truly content heart. It shows in the way she walks, the way she talks, but you already know that. Soon after, Scarlett learned how to steal things, and she taught the other girls. Thus resulting in the current fight between clique members."

I looked at Mason in disbelief. I was happy to know that my Sarah was not involved in such magic. More proof of her goodness and happiness. It was proof that she was naturally beautiful and did