Free The Third Lie's the Charm by Lisa Roecker

in front of me.
    God, I hated her. She was intentionally trying to get me fired up, and it worked. And now it was time for her grand finale.
    â€œHonestly, the only reason I asked is because I’m curious about Liam.”
    I choked on air.
    â€œLiam?” She had to be joking.
    â€œYeah, is he,” she ran her fingers through her long hair, “is he, like, available?”
    I rolled my eyes at her. There was no chance in hell that Liam would ever go for a girl like Bethany.
    â€œTotally. All yours. He’s a free man. Bet he’s just been waiting for the chance to get it on with you after you told the entire school that he has herpes and blackmailed him for months about what he saw the night Grace died. Good luck with that, B.” I gave her one last parting smile, slammed my locker shut, and started toward class.
    â€œGood to know! I was hoping you’d say that.” Bethany flipped her long hair and adjusted the books in her arms. “Nice hair, by the way. Wherever do you get your color done?”
    But she didn’t wait around for an answer. I heard her snicker as she walked away. Bitch.
    I slid into my homeroom desk right before the bell rang. As Verbum began, the morning announcements read by two kids I recognized from Concilium, I slipped my phone out of my backpack and sent a quick text to Bradley. Screw Bethany. I was on a mission.
    1:12. Stacks.
    I had a little over six hours to plan out exactly what we were supposed to do with this information about Headmaster Sinclair. Six hours to decide whether or not I should let Bradley hold my hand again. Six hours.

Chapter 14
    The clock tower, Station 2, loomed ahead, imposing as it ticked past the one o’clock hour. Year-two students had Open this period, and the most popular loitered around the brick behemoth happy and loud, their free period slipping away with every laugh or friendly punch. Tempus edax rerum. “Time is the devourer of all things.” Time always seemed hungriest during Open.
    I loved the tower. The long shadows it cast on the green, the five-degree temperature change when you entered the darkened space. I made it a point to walk past it every day after school, and I spent a lot of time within its cool walls reading by one of the windows, thinking, or talking to Grace. But today I veered early. At the center of the popular crowd stood Taylor and beside her Bethany, and I didn’t have time for them. It was hard enough to avoid Liam and Maddie all day. At the rate my people-to-avoid list was growing, I wasn’t going to be able to leave my house by the end of the week.
    Sure enough, I heard my name carried sweetly across the green, a slight question mark tacked at the end. I figured it had to do with my new blood-red locks.
    When I turned (because you always turned for Taylor Wright), she waved me over, her white teeth catching the sun. She didn’t even wait to see if I’d come, because everyone always came when she called them. Instead she turned, continuing her conversation, assuming that I’d be scampering over like her well-trained dog.
    â€œI can’t! I have a study group,” I yelled over, referencing the pile of books in my arms for effect. A hush fell over Taylor’s lackeys. Taylor’s eyes narrowed, and she took a breath like she might yell something back at me, but she pursed her lips instead.
    I just tucked the books closer to my chest and rushed nerd-alert style across the remainder of the green toward the Pemberly Brown library. Toward Bradley Farrow. Toward ex-Headmaster Sinclair. Swallowing back any nervousness, I swiped my student ID to enter.
    I braced myself to see the ex-headmaster, totally focused on keeping my face impassive. Worried that he would take one look at me and know that I knew about his half brother.
    But I shouldn’t have worried. A new guy manned Sinclair’s post. His security hat was pulled low over his eyes and he was