Sealed with a Lie Read Online Free PDF Page A

karate competition, one of me and Rita, and one of me and Charlie. None of my parents.
    It’s been an insanely crappy day, and all I want is to hear a familiar voice from home. I flop on my bed, letting my hands and feet hang off the sides. I hear small footsteps clattering down the wooden stairs—Charlie’s. I close my eyes and deliberately bring Luke’s image to mind.
    Luke, who kissed me like he meant it before Charlie and I got on the plane to Paris. Luke, who said he didn’t care how many miles would be between us. Luke, who would never choke me unconscious in front of an entire classroom of people.
    I sit up. I’m going to call him. I just need to hear his voice. I grab my phone and walk to the window as I scroll down my contact list. Outside, in the backyard, I see Charlie on his knees in the frost-sprinkled dirt, collecting soil samples for some school science experiment.
    I find Luke’s name, highlight it, and hit the call button as I turn away from the window. Miraculously, he answers on the second ring. “Hello?”
    This is unheard of—we usually have to make appointments in advance to talk, especially with the six-hour time difference.
    “Hi, Luke. It’s me.” I check my watch—it’s about noon in Washington, D.C.
    “Kari! Hey . . . how are you?”
    “Um. Good,” I lie. “Just busy. You?”
    “Same. I miss you.”
    “I miss you, too. . . .” There’s a long, awkward pause. The thing is, Luke and I never really got a chance to hang out much before I left. We didn’t really go on any dates. So we’re together, but it’s a bit weird.
    “How’s Rita? How’s Lacey? Seen Kale at all?”
    “Yeah—they’re all good. Nothing really new.”
    “Oh.” I stare at the floor and try to pick up a fallen pen with my toes. It doesn’t work.
    He clears his throat. “Listen, Kari. I should probably tell you something. . . .”
    “What?”
    “But I don’t know how. I mean, I don’t want you to get any ideas or get upset or anything—”
    “Why?” I get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.
    “Well . . .”
    “Jeez, Luke, just say it already.”
    “Okay. Um, do you remember Tessa Wellington?”
    “Of course. How could I not?” I ask drily. Tessa Wellington is gorgeous. She’s a stunning brunette with long, natural corkscrew curls that cascade past her shoulder blades. She has huge blue-green eyes and the most perfect lips I’ve ever seen. But the worst thing about Tessa is that you can’t even hate her, because she’s nice. And funny. And . . . oh, God, why is Luke asking me if I remember her?
    “Well, she kind of invited me to the winter formal. And since you’re, uh, in Paris and all, I figured you wouldn’t mind. So I said yes.”
    “You what ?”
    “I said yes.”
    I’m struggling to bend my mind around what he’s telling me. Luke and Tessa? All dressed up, and dancing together, and maybe kissing each other in the heat of the moment? “You didn’t think I’d mind ?” My voice rises at least an octave.
    “Kari, she didn’t have a date, and I felt sorry for her.”
    “You felt sorry ? For Tessa ?” My voice is now yet another octave higher. “That’s BS, Luke. Give me creditfor some intelligence. Tessa is smoking hot. You may want to do her, but you definitely don’t feel sorry for her!”
    “Who said anything about doing anybody?” Luke’s tone goes hostile. “We’re just going to a freakin’ dance.”
    “Right. You know, Luke, we’ve never gone to one together.”
    “When would we have? You’re not here.”
    “That’s not my fault!”
    “Well, it’s not mine, either. It’s not like I asked you to move to Paris, Kari.”
    “It’s not like anyone asked me if I wanted to move here!”
    “Well, why are you there?”
    “You know I can’t talk about it.”
    Luke blows a raspberry into the phone. “Exactly. Because you’d have to kill me if you did, right? It’s Top Secret. Frankly, Kari, I get enough of that from my dad, and I