Page 3 of Chloé

“Wow.” Shayla plucked it from her hands and turned away from her.

“Hey, give that back.”

“Uh uh…” Shayla moved back to the bed and plopped down on it. “You got the key for this thing?”

“Considering I just remembered where it was, I’m thinking no?”

“Huh.” Shayla brought the book up and inspected the gold locking mechanism, then raised her eyes to Chloé’s. “I need a butter knife.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Chloé rolled her eyes but then headed out of her room with Shayla hot on her heels.

“So what were you writing about four years ago that had you stashing your most private thoughts in a secret hiding space?”

“I can’t even remember. Nothing that exciting, I’m sure.”

“Well, definitely not as exciting as the secrets you’ve been keeping lately, but still.”

Chloé eyed Shayla across the kitchen counter and pulled open the drawer.

“I don’t haveanysecrets anymore, thank you very much.”

“Yeah, I still can’t believe Ethan blurted out that they own a sex club at the dinner table. I would’ve loved to have been there for that one.”

“Trust me.” Chloé handed over the knife. “Be happy you weren’t.”

Shayla grinned then went to work on the little lock, and a couple seconds later it snapped open.

“Ta-da!”

Chloé frowned. “That wasn’t very secure.”

“It’s for a child, not state secrets. Now, let’s see what you wrote in here.” Shayla flipped open the diary, but before she could start to read, Chloé snatched it out of her hands.

She flicked through the pages, spotting her cursive handwriting and doodles in the column, and when the book stopped on one well-worn entry that had an ugly cross through it, Chloé rememberedexactlywhy she’d hidden her book.

She slammed the diary shut and held it to her chest, and Shayla walked around the counter and reached for her arm.

“Hey. You okay?”

Chloé blinked and looked her cousin in the eye, all of the feelings her fifteen-year-old self had felt writing that journal entry flooding in. Then she plastered on her best smile and tried to deflect. “Yeah, I’m good.”

Shayla gently reached for the diary. “I don’t think so.”

Chloé didn’t bother trying to take it from her this time as she opened the diary to the page Chloé had just been looking at.

Shayla’s eyes moved over the entry that had been written in an angry, frantic scrawl, and as a frown pulled at her brow, Chloé turned away.

God, it had been so long since she’d hidden that book and those feelings away that she’d all but forgotten about it. But to find it here and now? Today of all days…

“Chloé?” Shayla’s voice was soft, and when she touched Chloé’s shoulder, she pulled her back from her thoughts. “You know none of this is true, right?”

She turned to face Shayla, who reached out to push a stray curl behind her ear.

“Whoever this teacher was—”

---