Chapter 1.
When Effy saw in the parking Mickey Melrose, it seemed that the earth goes out from under her feet. The girl looked around to make sure that not only she sees the guy, but nobody cared about what is happening, the students were taken things from their parked cars, someone hugged old friends, some said goodbye to their parents.
Effy looked back at the guy. Maybe she was wrong? She hesitantly stepped forward, gazing at him. Although why she deceived herself? Could be no mistake, she would have learned these jet-black hair and expressive blue eyes. The guy slid over her eyes, but then he was distracted by a car drove up. Effy sneered, he did not recognize her. He dreamed of her nightmares, sometimes to her dismay she wanted him dead, he had been part of her life, and she for him was none.
The girl closed her eyes, not knowing what to do. Why is he here? What he forgot in her school, why in his hands a suitcase? Effy took a few steps toward him before her path was blocked by her brother, James.
"Let's move away" he uttered hoarsely, taking her sister's arm.
When they entered the spacious hall of the school, James carefully looked into her glazed eyes.
"How are you?" He was worried.
"I see you're not surprised." Effy started maliciously.
"Director warned the parents, and Alex told me." James lowered his gaze.
"And what about me?" Contemptuously spat Effy.
"Alec knew, that you will not go to school, if you knew." James chuckled.
"Clear" Effy smiled grimly, then added emphatically." I will not allow him to study with us.
"Effy, our brother has asked us to do nothing." James tried to reassure her.
"You know what he did, and you're ready to calmly watch every day on his face?
"Of course, it will be difficult. But please remember how it was when everyday we waited for news from a detective, lawyer, prosecutor. Alec just wants to forget about everything.
"Why is Mickey even here?"
"Nearby there were only two schools, that, he attended in the past year, with him in the same class was Mara.
"Ah, so he was not happy there, and he came here?" Effy closed her eyes with her hands, but then took her hands." You know, you do what you want, but I will not tolerate here." Effy wanted to leave, but her brother got in her way.
"Effy, just do not do anything stupid, we don't know what he's capable of."
Effy pushed brother, flew up the stairs and went to the familiar road into a residential wing for girls. Opening the door of her room, she sat down on the bed and pulled out a cell phone from the pocket of jeans.
The screen blinked missed a message from her brother, Alec, "Please call me as you're ready to discuss." Effy threw the phone into the far wall and collapsed on the bed.
"I can not believe he's here." flew into the room her friend and roommate, Marisha, behind her was her brother, Chris.
"Yes, I do." Grimly confirmed Effy.
"What are you gonna do?" Asked the girl.
"Not yet decided." Effy said dryly.
"And what do parents and Alec?" Chris asked carefully.
"They want to do nothing." automatically girl said, staring at the ceiling.
"Alec mind?" Marisha was surprised.
"After the prosecutor filed charges, he said he wanted to forget everything and move on." Effy explained.
"But maybe you will ask your father to influence, he can call the school board, for example." suggested Marisha.
"If he did not, so Alec forbade him."
"Well, talk to yout brother. How he can be calm, when in the same class with you will learn the killer."
"I can not ask him about something, if he wants to forget what happened."
"What are you gonna do?" ask girl.
"I do not know, Marisha." Effy jumped out of bed. "Go for a walk."
The legs themselves carried Effy to the main entrance, where students continued to arrive. The girl carefully considered by Mickey, recalling that fateful day on spring break, from which it started. Her brothers Franco and James went to some party, parents lingered in the restaurant and Effy stayed with Alec and his new girlfriend, Mara. Effy has wanted to meet her brother's girlfriend for a long, but Mara was a disappointment for Effy. Dyed blonde on high heels with chocolate tan, as if she had not heard about skin cancer. But it was not only provocative appearance, with Mara Effy felt like a fool, the brother's girlfriend was her junior year, but behaved as if Effy was fifth-grader. The evening turned into a real torture because Mara did not know about any decency, she clung to her brother in her presence, clearly wanting to be only with Alec. The last straw for Effy was when Mara became angry that Alec refused to fill the pool with water. And Effy finally come to terms with the fact that Mara will never be like her sister and left her with Alec in the annex building near the house.
Effy lonely roomed through the garden, pestering their maid Mary, while had not decided to go on a visit to Marisha across the road because of idleness. She was crossing the road when the blue jeep was parked right outside. An attractive man of twenty popped up.
"I'm sorry" he smiled to her, noting that almost hurt her.
Effy looked down sheepishly, not knowing what to say. Of course, she never and noone would admit that when she first saw Mickey Melrose, she thought that he came from advertising toilette for men: the flat posture, dark leather with contrasting white teeth a condescending smile, blue eyes, shaded blue shirt.
"Tell me, where is the house Burroughs?" He turned to the girl.
"Directly opposite." Effy said, she watched high stranger and not knowing exactly what she pointed Mickey Melrose goal.
Effy portrayed Mara, and exactly how she pouts and wags her butt when walking, when the laughter Marisha seen driving up to their house a fire truck with ambulance. They ran out of the house, Effy remained in a short tank top with a vest and short shorts.
People ran out from the huge fire engines, they swept through their garden to fuming annexe. A man rolled Effy, not allowing to rush forward.
Everything else Effy remembered some odd moments: the unbearable screams, and then on a stretcher doctors carried her brother, he was unconscious, the adjacent stretchers were covered with dark tarpaulins. After police questioned Alley reluctantly at first, but after talking about the stranger who came to them, all the more insistent and hard.
"What else can you say about him?" Policemen tried to find out to Effy, as her mother, Sarah, was not led her into the house. Sarah didn't cry and only calmed Effy, James and Franco, and said them that all will be well, urging them to go to the hospital until the morning. But in the end she could not resist to visit Alec.
The second- and third-degree burns were not the worst news, complete paralysis of the lower limbs, that's the verdict of Alec. They had plenty of time to cry before they went to Alec. They were calm with red eyes and trembling hands.
Riddle of stranger, who almost knocked Effy, was uncovered when police questioned Mara's mother and found out that the description of Effy ideally suited her ex-boyfriend. Charming blue-eyed stranger named Mickey Melrose, a rich spoiled guy studied class of over Mary Magin and was her boyfriend, when she left him for another, for the Allie's brother Alec.
Mickey came to their house to get revenge, he arson outhouse and killed a girl and broke Alec's life. So everything thought until the guy's lawyer did't find him an alibi, a girl who claimed that Mickey was with her. It was a battle of two families, the Melrose's and Burroughs's family, Effy word against the word of an unknown Tashi Kovano, which Mickey met at the bar. And Effy lost. The prosecutor's office refused to prosecute.
Of thought Effy brought her boyfriend Sebastian, whom she had not seen all summer. Effy looked surprised his tanned face with freckles stood out, she smiled at him, waiting to feel the joy of meeting and that the heart will freeze now, but realized that he no longer understands why they are together. Last year they started dating, because evrybody were waiting for this since the first grade, when they were sitting together in class arts and Sebastian gave her first valentine.
"I brought you a present from Italy." he said when he released her from his embrace. The guy handed her a bag of milk.
"Oh." utter astonishment girl.
"Do you remember the first class we were always forced to drink milk, and I always drank it for you?" He smiled at her.
"Yes, of course" she thought, shaking her head and taking Sebastian's hand. She suddenly felt ashamed of their thoughts.
"Milk is true from Italy? Because if so, I think, given the flights and the fact that you came back yesterday, I will have to conclude that you want to kill me." Joked Effy.
"No, I bought this morning." he laughed loudly, so that Effy turned around, checking whether looking at them one.
"How are you?" Sebastian ran a hand through her hair. "I've heard about this guy."
"Not well." Effy frowned. "Would love to have him expelled."
"You know, direction wanted to expel me after five of failed test in the past year? It seems that this is even in a position." Sebastian shrugged.
"That is, if he has five E, he leaves?" Effy thought.
"No, it turned out that you need six E." Sebastian replied indifferently. "But I do not think he would fail test."
"Why do you think so?"
"He is familiar with a couple of guys in our class, and they say that he did not have problems with their studies."
"He will have a problem no matter how he is learning." Effy began ominously.
"I love it when you're so." Sebastian reached out to her to kiss her, but Effy pulled away, trying to hide the disappointment on his behavior. Do not he see that now is not the place and not the time for foolish sentimentality?
She again looked at Mickey, Sebastian gave her a good idea. Effy smiled, six twos, it's not so difficult. She looked at her watch, she had eight hours to prepare a plan and take action, and she was not going to waste time.
"Effy, I have great news." flew into the room Marisha. "Just think, I have the answers to today's literature test."
"You don't need them." Effy said, not taking her eyes from his reflection in the mirror.
"Why?" Surprised her friend.
"Because I came up with this answers." Effy felt like the genius of evil, when she said that.
"How are you?" Marisha not understand. "They are from Pauline, she take them from mother."
"No, I asked Pauline to pass Jack and Fredrik phony answers to today's test, they surely passed them to Chris, and he." to you.
"Why did you do that?" Marisha don't understand.
"Because Jack went to elementary school with Mickey Melrose and Fredrik lives with him in the same street."
"What else do you know about it?" Anxiously held out Marisha.
"Much." Effy replied evasively, pulling her skirt at the waist.
"You understand that you set a bunch of people?"
"First of all, I do not care about it when I can get deductions of Mickey, second, only those fooles like Jack and Fredrik buy into the fact that Pauline has correct answers after last year she brought something like this, and then it found out that her mother had checked her for lice."
"Why do you think that someone will be dismissed because of today's test?" Marisha cringed.
"Not because of today." Effy chuckled. "School rules says that the score below the average for six consecutive tests will be result oа automatic dismissal, as well as eight breaches of discipline."
"I see you're prepared." Marisha shook her head. "You're getting ready for the test on a vacation? I hate the fact that some teachers give us the entrance test. By the way why are you wearing a skirt? Don't you hate them?"
Effy smiled, but said nothing.
"Are you wearing my jacket?" Marisha was surprised." Effy, it is small. Where are you even going?"
"This is another one of my plan."
"It is to lose on the road to class breasts?" Marisha shook her head.
Effy laughed:
"Thank you appreciated my efforts. Okay, I have to go, I can't be late."