Can You Keep a Secret? Read Online Free Page A

Seriously.
    The sprawling houses of North Hills whirred past, their window lights yellow-orange against the darkening sky. Eddie clicked off the music. “Let’s play our game,” he said.
    “You are in a good mood,” I said. He only likes to play the game when he’s feeling good. I gasped. “You just went through a stop sign.”
    “No one around,” he said. He slowed the car to make the turn onto Fear Street. “Ready to play?”
    Eddie’s game is called “Can You Keep a Secret?” It’s not really a game at all. The rules are simple. Each of us reveals some deep, dark secret that the other one must keep forever.
    I think it’s fun. But it’s the kind of thing Eddie usually hates. We were at a party a few months ago before we were going together, and he refused to play “Truth or Dare.” Instead, he walked out of the house, shaking his head.
    I was going out with his friend Danny Franklin then. Danny told me, “Eddie hates to tell people anything about himself. He likes to keep it all to himself.”
    “I think he’s just shy,” I said.
    Danny shrugged and didn’t reply.
    The old houses on Fear Street, set way back on tree-studded lawns, were mostly dark. Eddie slowed the car as we followed the winding road to the woods.
    “I’ll go first,” he said. “Here’s my secret.”
    “You’ve enrolled in astronaut school and you plan to spend the rest of your life alone on Mars,” I said.
    He slapped my hand gently. “Don’t try to guess. That’s not the game. You’re not supposed to guess.” His dark eyes flashed in the light of an oncoming car. “But, yes, you’re right,” he said. “That’s my secret.”
    I gave him a shove. “Seriously. What’s your secret?”
    His smile faded. “I don’t have a driver’s license. I lost my license after I was in that accident on River Ridge last month.”
    I stared at him, unable to hide my surprise. “For real?”
    He nodded. “That’s my secret. Now you have to keep it.”
    The trees of the Fear Street Woods rolled past, darker than the sky. Through my window, I glimpsed a sliver of a moon, still low over the trees. It looked just like the silver moon pendant I always wear, the pendant given to me by my Great Aunt Marta when I was little.
    “What’s your secret?” Eddie demanded. “Stop stalling.”
    “I wasn’t stalling,” I said. “I was looking at the moon.”
    “Emmy, you can look at the moon all night. What’s your secret?”
    “Well…” I hesitated. “You know how I’ve been trying not to eat meat. So … I have this huge craving for a cheeseburger.”
    Eddie laughed. “Good secret.”
    But I suddenly wished I hadn’t said it. I dreamed about being a wolf, I thought. And suddenly I have a strong craving for meat.
    That isn’t like me. That isn’t like me at all.
    Eddie pulled the car into a cul de sac at the edge of the Fear Street Woods. He cut the engine and turned off the headlights. The thick tangle of trees in front of us disappeared in a thick, inky blackness.
    The crescent moon had faded behind low clouds. I had my window rolled down. There had been a soft, warm breeze, but it seemed to stop here. The air grew still and heavy.
    I shivered. I’m not afraid of the dark, but this darkness felt eerie, as if it went on forever and would never lift. I leaned toward Eddie and he slid his arm around my shoulders.
    He turned and pulled me close. I raised my face to him and he kissed me. A soft kiss, tender at first, but then more urgent, more needy. A long kiss that made me breathless.
    I pulled my head back and pressed my cheek against his. We sat like that for a while, not speaking, not moving. Then Eddie raised my face with both of his hands, such warm hands, and we kissed again.
    I shrieked and jerked my head back as blinding white light filled the car. And then a voice boomed into the open window: “Step out of the car slowly—and keep your hands where I can see them.”

 
    8.
    Blinking in the bright light, I