Can You Keep a Secret? Read Online Free

The tall old trees that dotted the graveyard shimmered in the late afternoon sunlight.
    Suddenly, Eddie stopped walking and turned to me. He took me by the shoulders and pulled me close. He kissed me, a long lingering kiss.
    “Hey, we’ll have fun tonight,” he said when the kiss had ended. “You didn’t tell your parents what we’re going to do—did you?”
    “Of course not,” I said.

 
    7.
    After dinner, I packed my overnight bag quickly. I knew we were going into the Fear Street Woods. But I couldn’t decide what I’d need. So I just tossed in my hairbrush, a toothbrush, a sweater, and an extra pair of jeans.
    The sun was almost down, and the sky outside the bedroom window was a beautiful clear violet color. A warm breeze fluttered the curtains. I felt fluttery, too. I’d never done anything like this.
    Humming to myself, I stuffed a gray hoodie into the bag in case it got colder in the middle of the night. Then I struggled to zip the bulging bag. I didn’t even see Sophie in the doorway. How long had she been watching me?
    “Oh, hi,” I said. “What’s up?”
    She strode into the room with her arms crossed in front of her. Her blue eyes studied me, like they were trying to pierce my brain. “Where are you really going?” she demanded.
    I played innocent. “Huh? What do you mean?”
    She lowered her hands to her waist. “You told Mom and Dad you were staying over at Rachel Martin’s,” she said. “But I know Rachel is away with her parents.”
    She had this triumphant gloating smile on her face. As if she’d just won some kind of contest. “You have to learn to stay out of my business,” I said softly.
    She flinched. You’d think I slapped her. Sophie always tries to confront me with things. I guess being the younger sister she feels she has to stand up for herself, or maybe prove that she’s as good as I am.
    She picks a fight and then she always backs down instantly. It’s such a weird pattern, and it happens all the time. She never wants me to be mad at her.
    Her eyes went dull and she stuck out her lips in the pouty expression she always puts on. “Emmy, you never invite me to come along on anything fun,” she whined.
    I frowned at her. Not this tired old speech again.
    “It’s because I don’t have a boyfriend—isn’t it,” she said.
    I sighed. “It’s because you have to have your own friends, Sophie. You know. Your own life. I like to spend time with you—”
    “No, you don’t.”
    “Come on. I have a right to be with my friends and my boyfriend.”
    Her mouth dropped open and her chin trembled. I could see how angry she was. But I didn’t care. I hoisted the bag onto my shoulder and edged past her and out the doorway.
    *   *   *
    I scooted around to the passenger side so Eddie could drive my mom’s car. He was in a good mood, laughing about his first day at the pet cemetery, joking about what a horrible job he had. It made me happy to see him like that. He’s usually too serious about himself and obsessed with his family’s problems. It was so nice to hear him laugh.
    He looked ready for our all-night party in the woods. He wore a maroon-and-white Shadyside High sweatshirt over his jeans, and a baseball cap pulled down over his dark hair with the words GO, REDBIRDS across the front.
    The last time he wore that cap, I asked him who the Redbirds are. He said he didn’t know. He found the cap on a curb when he was walking to school.
    He squealed the car onto the turn to Park Drive and gunned it. There were no other cars in sight. But I began to think maybe Eddie was too psyched for our adventure tonight.
    I grabbed his wrist. “Slow down.”
    “Can’t wait to get to the woods,” he said. He leaned to the side and nuzzled my cheek with his lips.
    “Eddie—please!” I cried, pulling away from him. “You’re not watching the road.” I had to shout over the music. Eddie has a Metallica Thrash Metal station on Pandora that he blasts so loud your ears wiggle.