Sara Shepard - Stunning

Footsteps sounded from inside after she rang the bell. Noel opened the door quietly, not looking her in the eye. Aria almost gasped at his appearance. His face was puffy and red, his eyes bloodshot. His hair looked like it hadn’t been washed that morning, and he had the exhausted, heavy-lidded look of someone who hadn’t slept.

“I got your stuff together,” Noel said woodenly, turning and heading toward the den. Aria followed. The house was unusually quiet and still, with no TVs blaring or music playing or Patrice humming jovially in the kitchen.

“Where is everyone?” she asked.

Noel sniffed, walking stiffly to a cardboard box that was sitting on the couch. “My mom went to that fund-raiser. My dad’s . . . somewhere.” He eyed her. “Why do you care, anyway?”

Aria flinched. It was weird to see Noel angry, especially at her. “I was just making conversation,” she said sheepishly. She grabbed the box and hefted it into her arms. “I’ll go, okay?”

“That’s probably a good idea,” Noel growled.

But then he awkwardly swallowed. Aria turned around and met his gaze. She stared at him for a long moment, trying to convey that breaking up was the only way she could make things right.

Noel looked away. “I’ll walk you out,” he said, heading downstairs. He held the door open for her, and Aria mumbled good-bye and scuttled out. As she stepped off the porch, the box slipped from her grasp and spilled onto the brick path. She scrambled to pick up the spilled CDs, books, and T-shirts, and then felt a hand on her arm.

“Here.” Noel leaned down, his voice softening. “I’ll get that.”

Aria allowed him to gather up her things and load them back into the box. When she stood up, she saw something move at the back of the Kahns’ property. Someone was skulking around by the guest house. At first, she feared it was A, but then a spotlight beamed down on the figure’s tall blond hairdo, frilly dress, and clunky heels.

The figure turned in the light, revealing her face. Aria tensed. It wasn’t Mrs. Kahn . . . it was Noel’s father. In drag. At home .

Aria gasped before she could stop herself and, as if in slow motion, watched Noel’s head turn in the direction she was looking. “No!” she shouted, throwing herself in front of Noel to obstruct his view.

“What are you doing?” Noel asked.

“Um, I was . . .” Aria peeked over her shoulder. Mr. Kahn was gone. “I, um, thought I saw a bat swoop for your head.”

Noel stared at her like she was nuts. A long, tense few seconds passed. Shrugging, he helped put Aria’s stuff in the back of her car, then turned toward the house. At the same time, the front door creaked open. Mr. Kahn had gotten through the house and to the front door, and now he stood on the porch in his lipstick and dress. He gawked at Noel, then Aria. The blood drained from his face.

“D-Dad,” Noel stammered.

“Oh,” he croaked, his voice gruff and deep. “I-I thought no one was home.”

Mr. Kahn did an about-face and marched back into the house. Aria covered her face in her hands. But surprisingly, Noel was making no noise at all. No gasps, no violent freak-outs, nothing . She peeked at him through her fingers. Instead of staring at the front door, which Mr. Kahn had just gone through, he was gaping at her.

“You blocked my way,” he said. “You were trying to stop me from seeing my dad, weren’t you?”

Aria shifted her weight. “Well, yeah.”

Noel studied her for a long time. His eyes widened. “You knew, didn’t you? Before just now, I mean. You knew about how my dad dresses like . . . that . And you thought I didn’t know. You were keeping it from me.”

Aria felt heat creep to her cheeks. “It wasn’t like that!” she cried. Then she stepped back. “Wait. You knew?”

“Well, yeah. I’ve known for years.” Noel’s eyes blazed. “How long have you known?”

Aria’s chin wobbled. “Only a few days. I saw your dad at Fresh Fields last week. I was afraid to tell you.”

“So you decided to break up with me instead?” Noel’s mouth was tight, and his eyes were wild. “Or was there some other mysterious reason why you did that?”

“Of course not!” Aria protested. “Please calm down! We can talk about this, can’t we?”

Suddenly, she was filled with hope. Maybe there was a silver lining to this. If Noel already knew about his dad, if this wasn’t some big, ruinous, earth-shattering revelation, A had nothing on her. It was just a bluff. “I’ve changed my mind. I was confused. I want to stay together.”

Noel barked out a cold, sinister laugh, the likes of which Aria had never heard before. “That train has left the station. I knew something was on your mind, Aria. I asked you a million times about it, and you told me you were fine. Just days ago I begged you to be honest with me about everything, and instead you lie?”

“You lied, too!” Aria said, grasping at straws. “You never told me that your dad . . . you know!”

Noel’s eyes narrowed, as though he didn’t particularly like this shift of gears. “You never asked me. And, for the record, I was going to tell you. I just didn’t want to do it when we were at my house, and lately you’ve seemed so distracted, and . . .” He trailed off, his mouth dropping open. “Do you think it’s weird ? Is that why you broke up with me?”

“Noel, no!” Aria cried, grabbing for his hands.

Noel wrenched away from her, a horrible twist of anger on his face. “And here I thought you were open-minded.” He spun around and went back inside, slamming the door so hard the house shook. A dreadful silence followed.

Aria stared at her shaking hands, questioning if what had just happened was real. She waited for Noel to come back, but he didn’t. How had this happened? She thought she’d done the right thing, when she’d just made things a million times worse.

And then it hit her: Maybe A had meant for things to play out this way. Maybe A had known that Mr. Kahn’s cross-dressing was an open secret all along but led her to believe it would destroy Noel’s family. After all, the only thing that was worse than A ruining a relationship was Aria sabotaging it all on her own.

“ Spencer. Psst! Spencer! ”

Spencer opened her eyes. She was lying on a small cot in the middle of a room that smelled pungently of antiseptic. Her limbs felt welded to the mattress, and she was certain someone had stuffed a torch down her throat. As her vision cleared, she saw a pretty girl with blond hair and big eyes standing at the foot of the bed. She was wearing a familiar yellow dress and had a knowing smile on her face.

Spencer shot up, recognizing her instantly. “ Tabitha? ”

Tabitha spread out her arms. “Nice to see you again. How are you feeling?”

Spencer touched her forehead. It felt wet, as though covered in sweat—or blood. “Not great. Where am I?”

Tabitha giggled. “Don’t you remember what happened?”

Spencer tried to think, but her mind was a deep, black hole. “I don’t remember anything.”

Tabitha’s heels rang out on the cold, hard floor as she stepped closer to Spencer. Her skin smelled like the same vanilla soap Ali used to use. “You’re here because of what you did,” she whispered, her breath hot on Spencer’s face. “What all of you did. She told me you’d pay for this, and she was right.”

“What do you mean, she ? Who?”

Tabitha pretended to zip her lips and throw away the key. “I swore I wouldn’t tell.”

“What happened to me?” Spencer tried to move her legs under the covers, but they were strapped down with thick leather belts. “Where am I?”