Free Unbelievable by Sara Shepard

York, you know. And talk about your paper in front of a panel of judges. You’ll have to know the material inside out.”
    Spencer squeezed CEO Barbie tightly around her impossibly disproportionate waist. Even if her parents wouldn’t punish her for cheating, the Golden Orchid committee would.
    Melissa strolled to the back of the room. “You’ll do fine, though. You’ll probably win. And you know Mom and Dad will get you something amazing if you do.”
    Spencer blinked. “And you’d be okay with that? Even though it’s…your paper?”
    Melissa shrugged. “I’m over it.” She paused for a moment, then reached into a high cabinet Spencer hadn’t noticed before. Her hand emerged with a tall bottle of Grey Goose vodka. She shook it, the clear liquid swishing inside the glass. “Want some?”
    “S-sure,” Spencer sputtered.
    Melissa walked to the cabinet above the room’s mini fridge and pulled out two cups from the miniature china tea set. Using only her good hand, Melissa awkwardly poured vodka into two teacups. With a nostalgic smile, she handed Spencer her old favorite pale blue teacup—Spencer used to pitch a fit if she had to drink out of any of the others. She was astounded that Melissa remembered.
    Spencer sipped, feeling the vodka burn down her throat. “How did you know that bottle was here?”
    “Ian and I snuck here for Senior Week years ago,” Melissa explained. She sat down in a purple-and-pink-striped child-size chair, her knees piked up to her chin. “Cops were all over the roads, and we were terrified to bring it back with us, so we hid it here. We thought we’d come back for it later…only, we didn’t.”
    Melissa got a faraway look on her face. She and Ian had unexpectedly broken up shortly after Senior Week—that same summer Ali had gone missing. Melissa had been extra-industrious that summer, working two part-time jobs and volunteering at the Brandywine River Museum. Even though she never would have admitted it, Spencer suspected she’d been trying to keep herself busy because the breakup with Ian had really devastated her. Maybe it was the hurt look on Melissa’s face, or maybe it was that she’d just told Spencer she’d probably win the Golden Orchid after all, but suddenly, Spencer wanted to tell Melissa the truth.
    “There’s something you should know,” Spencer blurted out. “I kissed Ian when I was in seventh grade, when you guys were dating.” She swallowed hard. “It was only one kiss, and it didn’t mean anything. I swear.” Now that that was out, Spencer couldn’t stop herself. “It wasn’t like the thing Ian had with Ali.”
    “The thing Ian had with Ali,” Melissa repeated, staring down at the Barbie she was holding.
    “Yeah.” Spencer’s insides felt like a molten lava–filled volcano—rumbling, about to overflow. “Ali told me right before she disappeared, but I must’ve blocked it out.”
    Melissa began to brush the popular blond Barbie’s hair, her lips twitching slightly.
    “I blocked out some other stuff, too,” Spencer continued shakily, feeling a little uneasy. “That night, Ali really teased me—she said that I liked Ian, that I was trying to steal him away. It was like she wanted me to get mad. And then I shoved her. I didn’t mean to hurt her, but I’m afraid I…”
    Spencer covered her hands with her face. Repeating the story to Melissa revived that awful night all over again. Earthworms from the previous night’s rain wriggled across the path. Ali’s pink bra strap slid down her shoulder, and her toe ring glimmered in the moonlight. It was real. It had happened.
    Melissa put the Barbie down on her lap and took a slow drink of her vodka. “Actually, I knew Ian kissed you. And I knew that Ali and Ian were together.”
    Spencer gaped. “Ian told you?”
    Melissa shrugged. “I guessed. Ian wasn’t very good at keeping that kind of stuff a secret. Not from me.”
    Spencer stared at her sister, a shudder snaking down her spine.