Chapter 44

(Bakersville middle school)

***

“Is it true that you and Gabriel kissed at Ashley Brown’s party?” Julie asked.

Emily was stunned. Her eyes went wide in shock and she felt her knees go weak.

Julie had ushered her into the library during their lunch break, claiming that she had a secret to tell her. Emily was hoping that she was telling her about her own kiss that she had had at the party so that she could tell her about hers and that she felt less alone.

She had wanted to share it with Julie herself but what Gabriel had told her had left her feeling embarrassed. How was she supposed to tell her that her first kiss had been a fake? A dare? A game? But now she didn’t have to tell her and that scared Emily more because it meant that her fears were true. Julie clearly hadn’t heard it from Gabriel, which meant that it was just as she had suspected. It was either that Gabriel had told the other kids or worse, the kids who had dared Gabriel had been standing at the door that whole time, watch