Free Unbelievable by Sara Shepard Page A

Melissa’s voice was singsongy, almost like she was suppressing a giggle. Then Melissa turned to face Spencer head-on. She smiled widely, weirdly. “As for being worried that you were the one who killed Ali, I don’t think you have it in you.”
    “You… don’t ?”
    Melissa shook her head slowly, and then made the doll in her lap shake her head, too. “It takes a very unique person to kill, and that’s not you.”
    She tipped her teacup of vodka to the ceiling, draining it. Then, with her good hand, Melissa picked the Barbie up by its neck and popped its plastic head clean off. She handed the dismembered head to Spencer, her eyes open wide. “That’s not you at all.”
    The doll’s head fit perfectly in the pit of Spencer’s palm, the lips pursed in a flirtatious smile, the eyes a brilliant sapphire blue. A wave of nausea went through Spencer. She’d never noticed before, but the doll looked exactly like…Ali.

8
    DOESN’T EVERYONE TALK ABOUT THIS STUFF IN A HOSPITAL ROOM?
    Monday morning, instead of rushing to English class before the bell rang, Aria was running toward the Rosewood Day exit. She’d just received a text message on her Treo from Lucas. Aria, come to the hospital if you can, it said. They’re finally letting people in to see Hanna.
    She was so engrossed and focused, she didn’t see her brother, Mike, until he was standing right in front of her. He wore a Playboy bunny–icon T-shirt underneath his Rosewood Day jacket and a blue Rosewood Day varsity lacrosse bracelet. Engraved in the bracelet’s rubber was his team nickname, which, for whatever reason, was Buffalo. Aria didn’t dare ask why—it was probably an inside joke about his penis or something. The lacrosse team was becoming more and more of a frat every day.
    “Hey,” Aria said, a bit distracted. “How are you?”
    Mike’s hands seemed welded to his hips. The sneer on his face indicated he wasn’t up for small talk. “I hear you’re living with Dad now.”
    “As a last resort,” Aria said quickly. “Sean and I broke up.”
    Mike narrowed his ice blue eyes. “I know. I heard that too.”
    Aria stepped back, surprised. Mike didn’t know about Ezra, did he? “I just wanted to tell you that you and Dad deserve each other,” Mike snapped, whipping around and nearly colliding with a girl in a cheerleading uniform. “See ya later.”
    “Mike, wait!” Aria cried. “I’m going to fix this, I promise!”
    But he just kept going. Last week, Mike had found out that Aria had known about their dad’s affair for three years. On the surface, he’d acted all tough and cool about their parents’ dissolving marriage. He played varsity lacrosse, made lewd comments to girls, and tried to give his teammates titty twisters in the hallways. But Mike was like a Björk song—all happy and giddy and fun on the surface, but bubbling with turmoil and pain underneath. She couldn’t imagine what Mike would think if he found out Byron and Meredith were planning to get married.
    As she heaved a huge sigh and continued toward the side door, she noticed a figure in a three-piece suit staring at her from across the hall.
    “Going somewhere, Ms. Montgomery?” Principal Appleton asked.
    Aria flinched, her face growing hot. She hadn’t seen Appleton since Sean had told the Rosewood staff about Ezra. But Appleton didn’t exactly look pissed—more like…nervous. Almost as if Aria was someone he had to treat very, very delicately. Aria tried to hide a smirk. Appleton probably didn’t want Aria to press charges against Ezra or talk about the incident ever again. It would draw indecent attention to the school, and Rosewood Day could never have that.
    Aria turned, fueled with power. “There’s somewhere I have to be,” she insisted.
    It was against Rosewood Day policy to walk out of a class, but Appleton did nothing to stop her. Perhaps the Ezra mess was good for something, after all.
    She reached the hospital quickly and sprinted up to the