The Third Lie's the Charm by Lisa Roecker Page A

the side spoke volumes about his mental state. The word “Victim” should have been written across his forehead like a bull’s-eye. Poor guy.
    â€œC’mon, Seth. We’ve gotta go.”
    Seth ducked under one of Mrs. LuvR’s outstretched arms and sprinted to the front door. “OkThanksForEverythingBye!” By the time I made it outside to the Jeep, Seth was panting in the front seat, buckled in and ready to go.
    â€œDid you get it?”
    â€œYeah, I’ve got it right here.” I slid into the backseat.
    â€œAnd?” Seth swiveled around to face me in the backseat.
    â€œAnd…it’s a picture of Sinclair and Ms. D.”
    â€œShut. Up.”
    Liam threw open the door and started the car without saying a word.
    â€œNow what?” Seth asked.
    â€œNow I go to the Sisterhood and I find out what the hell is going on.” I waved my phone in Seth’s direction. “They’ve called an emergency meeting first thing in the morning, and I’d bet my nonexistent trust fund it’s about what happened to Alistair and Sinclair.”
    Liam sped silently to my house. Every shift of the gears felt like an accusation. Seth must have picked up on the tension in the car because he never asked a single question, just did a lot of heavy mouth breathing from the passenger side.
    When Liam finally ripped up the parking brake, I scrambled out of the car.
    Seth looked worried. “Be careful. We worry, you know.”
    â€œI’ll be fine. Promise.” I took off into the garage. It was only a few yards, but it felt like miles. I wanted to look back at them so badly, but I knew I’d crumble if I did. Seth had this weird way of stripping me down and making me feel vulnerable. He didn’t care about looking cool or impressing anyone; he just said whatever he felt. It was unnerving, and unnerving was pretty much the last thing I needed.
    And Liam. I’d broken his heart tonight. And mine too. Looking back was pretty much the worst thing I could do for either of us at this point. I reminded myself that there was only one way out of this thing, and that was through. And the more I found out about Alistair and the Sisterhood, the more I realized that this might be something I’d have to get through alone.

Chapter 20
    As I peeled my eyes open in the morning, I cursed stupid Taylor and her stupid 6 a.m. emergency meetings with her stupid secret society. Uttering one word to someone before 7 a.m. should be illegal. I couldn’t fathom why anyone would intentionally schedule an important meeting where they actually expected people to converse fluently at six in the morning.
    A too-hot shower helped a little. Coffee a little more. By the time I made it back to campus, I felt semi-human. I breathed deeply before throwing my weight into the door of the clock tower. My first official Sisterhood meeting lay ahead of me, and I had no idea what to expect.
    The old stone walls were covered with pictures of students who had won the prestigious Time Keeper award, and I flipped over prim-looking Veronica Garvey’s photograph. She looked a little like pre-makeover Sandy from the movie Grease , and I suspected that was one of the reasons Taylor had selected her. After all, Taylor was pretty much the modern-day equivalent in all of her blond, blue-eyed, perpetual-stick-up-her-ass glory. After punching in the code abscondito , “secret,” a new trapdoor hidden between the planks of the floor popped open and I began my descent into the bowels of Pemberly Brown.
    The tunnels have always freaked me out. Ever since learning about the catacombs in Paris in World History when I was a first-year, I could never quite shake the feeling that the walls were lined with the bones of previous Pemberly Brown students. It was impossible not to feel like someone was watching you when you walked down the rickety steps and descended into the dimly lit underground where every footstep