Small town, big secrets...

After a freak car accident, seventeen-year-old Zoey Mulligan is shocked to discover she can hear people’s thoughts. She hates it at first, but then realizes she can use it to her advantage—like outsmarting her opponents on the soccer field and learning her crush likes her back.

But when she finds out her stepmother never liked her, her true friends weren’t true at all, and her father sees her as a burden, Zoey moves back in with her mother in the small town of Driftwood. When she arrives, she hears a dark thought planning to kill people in town soon but can’t figure out who it's coming from.

Through their thoughts, Zoey discovers that everyone in town has a secret—from her mother, aunt, and soon-to-be-uncle to her new friends—with some of them being blackmailed by a mysterious figure known as the Watcher. Zoey must sift through their secrets and find out who’s planning murder—and stop them before they wreak havoc on her small town.

---

	BUY THE BOOK
GENRE Paranormal Mystery	EBOOK Amazon Kindle Smashwords Nook Apple Google Play Kobo	PRINT Amazon
Available: December 3, 2024
Teen

---

Excerpt

Chapter One

It all started with a forbidden party.

A few of the popular kids were throwing their last summer party before our final year of high school. One of them had an uncle who owned a ranch just outside Toronto, and he had left on vacation. It meant they could play their music as loud as they wanted and raid the uncle’s liquor cabinet without the threat of police, adults, or angry neighbors.

I begged my friends not to go. Hey, I really did. Everyone knew me as the responsible friend in my group. The one who saw reason and weighed the risks. Naturally, they wouldn’t listen to me.

Story of my life.

“Don’t be such a party pooper,” my best friend, Carly, said to me. I’d known her since preschool, and she’d always been one to bend the rules. “Come with us tonight. It’ll be fun, Zo.”

“I don’t know...” I muttered, trying to whisper on the phone. She had called in the middle of dinner as my stepmother was setting the table. I checked my watch, realizing the party was only a few hours away.

“I know what’ll convince you,” Carly said, and I could hear her smirking through the phone. She started dialing another number for a three-way call.

“Who are you calling?” I asked.

A moment later, his smooth, dreamy voice answered. “Hey, girls. What’s up?”

Tyrese. I’d had a crush on him for years. Much longer than I could count on one hand. He was oblivious, but Carly knew.

“Zoey isn’t sure about the party tonight, Ty,” Carly said. “You don’t want to be the only one at Toronto High not going, do you, Zo? Everyone would think you’re some kind of prude.”

“She must have a reason,” Tyrese said. “What’s on your mind, Zo?”

I sighed. “I’m just worried. It’s out in the middle of nowhere, late at night, with no one else around...”

“You’re right about the first part,” Tyrese said, “but there will be people around. Us. You trust us to watch your back, don’t you?”

“Of course I do. It’s just—”

“Then come to the party. Nothing bad will happen,” Tyrese said. “Do it for me?”

Carly giggled as I rolled my eyes. “Fine but only if I can convince my dad to let me go.”

“Good luck with that,” Carly muttered. “Asking parents for permission is a waste of time. It’s just going to be a no. I plan to sneak out.”

“Me, too,” Tyrese said. “I have my little brother keeping watch. If our parents find out…”

“They won’t,” Carly said. “We’ll be back in the early morning, and no one will know a thing. Oh, and Zoey, borrow your dad’s car and come pick us up, will you?”

I scoffed. “Now you want me to sneak out and commit grand theft auto?”

Carly chuckled. “Really, Zo, you need to learn to live a little. You’re the best driver out of all of us, and you know where your dad keeps his keys. That makes you our chauffeur.”

“Lucky me,” I muttered.

“You can do it,” Carly said. “I have faith in you, Zo—even if you don’t have any in yourself. If you bail on us, we’ll have to let the class nerd drive us. And believe me, I don’t want to pull up to a party in a soccer mom van. That’s just embarrassing.”

“Me, either,” Tyrese said. “I hope to see you tonight, Zo. We’ll both be waiting for you outside at ten.”

After we hung up, I walked into the kitchen. The delicious aroma of spaghetti filled my nostrils as my stepmother, Shannon, finished plating the food. She had tied her red hair back in a bun to keep it from falling into the food, her pink apron strapped around her waist.

“Where’s Dad?” I asked.

“Almost home,” she muttered, keeping her back turned to me. “He texted and said he was running late. Extra work came up.”

“Oh,” was all I said.

She turned around, eyeing me suspiciously. “Is there something you want?”

“No, it’s okay,” I said. “I’ll just wait until Dad comes home.”

She stepped closer, placing her hands on her hips. “I’m your stepmother now, Zoey. You can ask me anything. So out with it.”

I played with the hem of my shirt. “Well…there’s this party tonight—”

“Absolutely not,” Shannon interrupted. “No parties.”

“But everyone’s going,” I whined. “I don’t want my friends to get hurt. Didn’t you go to parties when you were young?”

“That’s none of your business,” Shannon said, walking past me with dinner. “The answer is no. I’m sure your father will back me up on this one. Now, have a seat. Dinner’s ready.”

Over my shoulder, I heard the front door unlock. Dad walked in, dressed in his usual business suit with his briefcase in hand. He talked into the phone about business things and crunching numbers. He always took his work home with him. It was the most important thing in his life.

I rushed over as he kicked off his shoes. “Dad, can I talk to you—”

“Hang on, Stan,” he muttered into the phone, turning to me. “Look, Zoey, I’m very busy. If you have something to say, talk to your stepmother.”

I frowned. “But—”

“Not now,” he growled, rushing toward the dinner table. He sniffed the air with a grin. “Everything smells great, dear. Sorry, I have to eat again in my office. I’ve got work up to my eyeballs...”

“Don’t worry about it, honey,” Shannon said, smoothing out the wrinkles in his suit. “Go take care of things.”

“You’re the best,” he said, pecking her cheek as he took his plate and rushed off down the hallway to his home office.

Shannon’s smile faded as she looked at me. “Well? Are you coming to eat or not, Zoey? I didn’t make all this food for show.”

“Not hungry,” I muttered, rushing upstairs to my room.

All night, I thought about the party and whether or not I should go. I knew my friends would be drinking, and they could get irresponsible. I shuddered thinking about them driving drunk or getting lost.

I had to go. Not for me, but for them.

When 10:00 p.m. rolled around, I heard my stepmother and dad enter their bedroom and lock the door. I quickly got ready, combing my curly brown hair, putting on a little concealer, and dressing in a black skirt, red top, and flats. When I heard snoring down the hall, I figured it was safe and tip-toed down the stairs.

Dad had left his keys in his office—typical him. I quietly opened the door to the office, hearing it squeak. I rushed inside, finding the keys under the stack of paperwork, and closed the door behind me. I looked at the house over my shoulder before I snuck out the backdoor.

I could feel it in my bones then. I knew something bad was going to happen that night. I only wished I had listened to my intuition.

I started Dad’s black BMW quietly, glancing up at their window. The lights were still off, which meant they hadn’t heard me. I backed out of the driveway, turning the headlights on to see through the darkness. I drove to Carly’s house a few blocks away and found her waiting on the curb.

She had curled her blonde hair and put on too much make-up. Her little black dress was really little. It barely covered her butt. She wore high heels the length of my arm, and I knew she had gone through her older sister’s closet again. I could smell her sweet perfume as I rolled down the windows and unlocked the doors.

She grinned when she saw me, getting into the passenger seat. “I knew you wouldn’t let us down. Now this is a nice car to pull up to a party in.”

“I’m only coming to keep you safe,” I said, pulling away from her darkened house. “I’m not partying.”

“Whatever you say,” Carly said with a laugh.

“Look at that,” I said, pointing up at the sky. The moon had turned bright red and illuminated the starless sky.

“Oh, yeah. There’s some kind of blood moon tonight,” Carly said, applying more lipstick in the rear-view mirror. “My mom’s super into that kind of stuff. She thinks freaky things happen whenever there’s a blood moon.”

“Sounds scary,” I said, tightening my grip on the steering wheel.

“And made up,” Carly said. “My mom’s so weird. I wish I had your parents.”

You really don’t, I wanted to say.

Tyrese lived farther away from Carly, so it took us fifteen minutes to get there. He waited on the curb as promised in a black shirt and jeans. I had to admit it. He looked hot. He smiled when he saw us and started walking toward the car.

“There’s your boyfriend,” Carly taunted, poking my side.

“Be quiet,” I muttered.

“Sweet ride,” Tyrese said as he got into the backseat. “Thanks for coming, Zo. It means a lot.”

“Yeah, no problem,” I said as Carly smirked.

The drive to the ranch took us forty-five minutes with Carly reading off the directions. As we left the city and the houses became smaller behind us, I grew worried. What if something bad happened? What if my dad and stepmom couldn’t get to us in time?

After a long stretch of land, we reached the countryside. My jaw dropped when I noticed the ranch in the distance. It was huge, even bigger than my house. A bunch of teenagers had already arrived, parking on the dirt road and grass. They hung red beer cups with Christmas lights on the trees surrounding the farm so people would know where to go.

“Whose ranch is it, anyway?” I asked.

“Who cares?” Carly said, reaching for her door handle. “Just enjoy the party.”

As I parked on the road and stepped out, I could hear the loud music in the distance. Some teenagers partied on the lawn, drinking beer upside down from a keg. Others were making out and hooking up.

“Looks like the party started without us,” Tyrese said. “We’d better catch up.”

As we entered the foyer, I could barely hear myself think with the music and chatting. Most people stood around, drinking and dancing. I caught a few playing beer pong on a nearby tennis table.

“Oh, beer pong, my favorite!” Carly said, linking my arm with hers. “We need to play!”

I shook my head, pulling away from her. “I’m your designated driver, remember? That means I need to stay sober.”

“Buzzkill,” Carly muttered. “Well, we’re going to play beer pong. Right, Ty?”

“Sure,” he said. “I bet I can beat you.”

Carly’s eyes twinkled. “You’re on.”

Half an hour later, both my friends were drunk from beer pong and I had a headache. The party wasn’t fun. I found it too loud, too bright, and too crowded. I needed a break from the beer pong, so I walked away and looked around the house. As I bent down to pick up a picture frame that had gotten smashed, I felt a presence behind me.

When I spun around, a college guy in his early twenties grinned at me. He had a university jacket on, dark hair, and a handsome face with a red cup in his hands. “Hey, there. What’s your name?”

“Zoey Mulligan,” I said. “You?”

“Chase,” he replied, speaking loudly over the music. “You here alone?”

“No, my friends are over there,” I said, pointing toward the beer pong table. I frowned when I didn’t see them there anymore. “Or they were. I don’t know where they went...”

He cornered me, making me hit my back on the mantel of the fireplace. “Who cares about them? You’ve got me now. What do you say we head upstairs and have some fun?”

I slipped underneath his arm, and he was too drunk to stop me. “No, thanks, I need to find my friends. See you later.”

I rushed away from that college boy, my heart pounding. When I walked toward the beer pong table, two other kids were playing. I started to panic when I looked through the crowd and couldn’t find either of them.

“Has anyone seen my friends?” I asked, loudly. “Carly Whitehead and Tyrese Burnham?”

Everyone around me shrugged. I opened the nearby door to the bathroom, seeing two people making out. I apologized and closed it but they didn’t seem to notice me. I continued my search, walking into the kitchen. Kids overcrowded it while raiding the cupboards and fridge for more drinks and snacks.

When I opened the door to the walk-in pantry, that was when I found them—making out in each other’s arms.

I felt my heart shatter in two. Carly knew I had a huge crush on Tyrese. How could she do this to me?

Carly must’ve heard the pantry door open because she pulled away. When she noticed me standing there, her eyes widened in fear. They both said nothing for a few seconds. I stood there in silence, shocked, too.

Tyrese looked embarrassed with Carly’s lipstick smeared across his mouth. “Oh, hey, Zo. What’s going on?”

I glared at Carly whose mouth hung open like a fish out of water. “I can’t believe you.”

When I turned and started pushing through the crowd, Carly followed. “Zoey, I can explain this—”

“You knew,” I spat, turning around. “You knew I liked him but you still kissed him anyway!”

Some of the teenagers in the kitchen looked at us. I knew I was making a scene, but I didn’t care.

Carly ran a hand through her hair. “Zo, we’re both tipsy. One thing led to another, and...”

“I don’t want to hear your excuses,” I spat. “I never would’ve done that to a guy you liked. Ever. But maybe I’m just a better friend than you.”

Carly froze in shock. Tyrese walked up behind her, his eyes wide. I wondered if he had heard my confession.

“We’re leaving,” I huffed. “Coming to this party was a mistake and I knew it. Get in the car, both of you.”

Tyrese stepped forward, looking upset. “But Zo, the party just started—”

“Then I’ll leave without you. Your choice. Good luck getting home without me, though.”

Carly and Tyrese glanced at each other but didn’t say anything. As I walked through the living room, I spotted that Chase guy again, glaring at him when he stepped toward me. His smile faded into a frown and he backed off.

When I reached the car, I sighed in relief to escape the pounding music. As I unlocked the doors, Tyrese and Carly caught up, out of breath. The party raged on behind us.

“Zo, wait,” Tyrese said. “We should talk about what happened back there. What you said to Carly…about liking me...”

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” I said. “You two forced me to come to this party, then ditched me. I don’t feel like talking to either of you right now.”

When I got into the driver’s seat and started the car, Tyrese and Carly sighed. They both got into the backseat, and I felt relieved. I didn’t want Carly to sit next to me. I could barely look at her.

On the drive through the darkened country roads, I noticed Carly cross her arms in the backseat. She had taken one of the beer cups with her as a souvenir. “Look, it’s not my fault what happened. You never told Tyrese you liked him.”

I glanced at Tyrese in the mirror who seemed uncomfortable. I didn’t want to argue about this in front of him, but it seemed like I had no choice.

“It’s not your fault? Really?” I asked, my hands shaking on the steering wheel. The blood moon was the only source of light in the sky. “So, what? You just accidentally kissed him? You just accidentally went after the guy I’d had a crush on for years?”

“For years?” Tyrese asked. “Zoey, I had no idea—”

“Stay out of this, Ty,” Carly muttered. “It’s like I said, it’s not my fault you’re a coward and couldn’t tell him how you feel. Maybe you should’ve grown some balls and ‘fessed up.”

“Am I a coward,” I asked, craning my neck to look back at her, “or are you just a tramp?”

When I turned back to face the road, Carly unbuckled her seatbelt and looked pissed in the rear-view mirror. “Take that back, Zoey. I mean it.”

“Why should I take back the truth?” I asked. “Maybe you planned this out. Maybe you only asked me to this party so you could make a move on Ty—”

I gasped when Carly leaned forward, dumping her cup of beer on my head. It trickled down my clothes and onto the leather seat. I removed my seatbelt in case she tried to attack me again and I needed to defend myself. When Carly buckled herself back up, Tyrese looked shocked.

“I warned you,” Carly taunted.

“Stop it, both of you,” Tyrese said, looking between us. “You’re best friends, damnit!”

“Not anymore. I don’t ever want to see her again,” I said, using my sleeve to wipe beer off my face. “Typical Carly, throwing a temper tantrum when she doesn’t get her way. I hope you and Ty are very happy together—”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a deer sprint across the street in front of us. Before I could slam on the brakes, the deer collided with our car, sending it spiraling off the road.

Without my seatbelt on, I flew through the windshield and smacked my head on the pavement. I saw our car roll over and catch on fire as my world faded to black with the blood-red moon above me.

 

↑ Return to Top ↑