Page 99 of The Roommate Lie

I cave and tell them everything. Well, almost everything.

“My sister started acting strange last year, but she kept saying nothing was wrong. So I drove to her house a few states away on Christmas Eve to check up on her.”

My voice is shaky, my words rushed as I tell them how Nicki swore me to secrecy before she let me inside. How her eyesight had been slowly fading for months, and her husband had left. That she’s been living with me in Texas ever since, and it turns out she has a rare form of macular degeneration.

I don’t mention her condition is genetic—that one day there’s a slim chance I might get it too—but I tell them everything else. Including how Emma was the one who realized we were hiding something. That she uncovered our lie all on her own, and that’s why she’s so mad at me.

My voice breaks several times as I explain the situation. I still feel horrible about what I did. I was trying so hard to be there for Nicki, but I let everyone else down along the way.

“I shouldn’t have helped her keep such a big secret—especially from her own twin.”

Lydia shrugs. “It happens.”

I can tell she wants to leave it there, that Lydia has things she doesn’t want to share too. But Tyler gives her a gentle look, and she sighs. “I had some medical stuff happen in college—mental health stuff—and Tyler was the hardest person to tell. Believe me, twins lie to each other all the time.”

That makes me feel a little better, and I exhale a shaky breath. Lydia squeezes my hand. “How do you want us to handle this? It sounds like your family wants to fly you home tonight. Is that what you want to do?”

Absolutely not.

I don’t even have to think about it, and I shake my head. Thanks to the iron-clad date on my return ticket, I only had one full day left here anyway. Leaving Ponderosa Falls—and the Sharps and Charlie—is already going to be hard enough. I don’t want to cut anything shorter than it already is.

“I want to stay. I want to take the bus home on Wednesday like I planned.”

They nod, and Lydia extends her hand like we’re a sports team that’s about to take the field, like it’s time for our game-day chant. I’ve seen her do this with Tyler before too; it’s kind of their thing.

Usually they shoutTeam Sharpbefore they break away, but they can’t say that tonight. We need something new. After we all add our hand to the pile, we hesitate while the Sharp twins try to come up with a different chant for us to say.

Charlie’s hand rests on top of mine in the stack. It’s the first time he’s touched me all day, the first time we’ve been this close since we kissed in his kitchen last night. But it’s circumstantial—it doesn’t mean anything.

I accidentally catch his eye, and we both glance away.

“Team Ghost Squirrel on three,” Tyler says finally, and I can’t help the way my mood lightens. How those words make me smile, and how good it feels to be surrounded by three new friends who feel like family. No matter how complicated things are between Charlie and me.

All three of them give me a quiet smile before we count down, anI’ve got your backsmile, and I know it’s true. Whatever happens inside, I’m not in this alone. I’ve got an entire team with me.

Team Ghost Squirrel.

Chapter Fifty-Two

ALICE

When we go back inside to face my family, Muriel is telling them about the ghost of Old Man Harris in great detail, terrifying them for sport. Because that’s just the kind of woman she is.

It takes me a second to realize there’s a method to her madness, that she’s trying to distract them on purpose.Something happened while we were gone.Both of my sisters look more upset than they did before, my parents look exhausted, and apparently, they’ve had a family meeting of their own. A bad one.

I feel horrible. No matter how much anyone tries to convince me otherwise, this still seems like my fault. I was supposed to be the level-headed older sister. It was Nicki’s medical surprise, not mine, and I should’ve done a better job of talking some sense into her. Of convincing her to tell everyone what was going on instead of helping her keep her condition a secret.

I was too overwhelmed to think on my feet back then, too scared, but I should’ve figured it out. I had months to make this right. Instead I let all those secrets tear my family apart.

Lydia tries to rally. To stick with our plan. “Well, I guess we should get you all settled for the night. There will be plenty oftime to talk about this tomorrow. Alice isn’t scheduled to leave until Wednesday.”

Both of my parents start to nod, but Emma shakes her head. “We’re leaving. Now. With Alice.”

Lydia’s face scrunches, and it’s an expression I’ve never seen from her before. AnI’m so sorry, sweetie, but you’re wronglook if ever there was one. Bad news delivered with a smile.

Instead of responding to my sister, Lydia glances at the deputy across the room. He’s the guy from the sheriff’s office who helped my family track me down, and he’s leaning against the living room wall with a plate in his hand. Where he got such a pristine slice of strawberry pie in all this food-fight chaos, I’ll never know.

“Deputy Miller,” she asks sweetly, “does Alice have to leave?”

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