Sis, Your Crush Is a Felony

My sister, Kelly Sutton, was totally lovestruck. The night her longtime crush finally said yes, she begged me not to tell our parents about their date. She stayed out all night, and I covered for her. Kelly was so happy, I couldn't help being happy for her. Three months later, she jumped off the roof of our apartment building. Dad had a heart attack and died on the spot. Mom never smiled again. Eventually, she ended up in a psychiatric hospital. More than a decade later, after I became a cop, I dug up an old case that made my blood run cold. Kelly's crush, Calvin Tilley, was a psychopath who used love as bait to deliberately spread HIV, destroying young women's lives. That was why my sister killed herself. Then I opened my eyes and found myself back on that night. Kelly leaned in, her voice low. "He said yes." "Please, Sophie. Keep this between us. Just tell Mom and Dad I'm sleeping over at my best friend's." She stood at the mirror in a floral dress, filling in her brows. My blood went cold. I grabbed her wrist. "No. You're not going anywhere tonight." Chapter 1 Kelly froze, then laughed and messed up my hair. "I swear I'll be home before midnight, okay?" "God, you're just as old-school as Mom and Dad." She turned back to the mirror, filling in her brows with this huge smile on her face. My eyes stung. "Kelly, please. Just stay with me tonight, okay?" "Don't go anywhere. I need you so much." She was still so young. Exactly how I remembered her. She had no idea I'd come back from more than ten years in the future. No idea how badly I'd missed her all that time. Kelly didn't even turn around. She probably thought I was just being clingy. "I'll bring you strawberry cream puffs when I get back, okay? The ones with extra cream." I still didn't move. She glanced back at me. "And that LEGO set you've been dying for. The castle one." I used to be obsessed with that set. Now the words hit me like a punch. She'd said the exact same thing last time. Same words. Same voice. Back then, I'd teased her for ditching her own sister for some guy. She'd blushed and bribed me with a limited-edition LEGO set. And I'd happily caved. When Mom and Dad came home asking where she was, I told them exactly what she'd told me to say. That she was sleeping over at a classmate's. Three months later, on the exact day she'd been dating Calvin for three months, that limited-edition LEGO set showed up. That same day, Kelly jumped off the roof. The box became a reminder of her death. For more than ten years, I never opened it. I couldn't. "No." I planted myself in the doorway, my back against the cold door. "I don't want anything." "No cream puffs. No LEGO. I just want you to stay home tonight." "Kelly, please don't go. I'm begging you." Kelly finally turned around. "What's with you? You look terrible." I stood in front of the door, arms spread wide. Her phone buzzed. She looked down, and her face instantly lit up. Calvin. A screenshot of two movie tickets filled the screen. [Seats: Row 7, 13 and 14.] Then another message popped up. [Don't be late for our first date.] Kelly's whole expression softened. She typed back fast. [On my way.] She grabbed her bag and headed for the door. "Okay, okay. I'm gonna be late. I'll deal with you when I get back." I stared at that message. And something inside me finally snapped. She reached over to mess up my hair again. I smacked her hand away. Kelly froze. My eyes burned. "He's a liar." "Everything he tells you is a lie!" "He doesn't like you! He's trying to hurt you!" Kelly frowned, her voice sharpening. "What are you talking about? Why are you acting like this?" "He's sick. He targets girls like you on purpose." Her face flushed. "Enough!" "Where are you getting this crap?" "Have you been reading those dumb posts online again?" "Keep it up and I'll have Mom take your phone." She took a breath, her voice softening. "Sophie, I know you're worried about me, but you can't just accuse people like that." I pulled out my phone and called Mom. One ring. Two. Kelly's eyes went wide. "What are you doing?!" She lunged for my phone. I dodged and held it over my head. In the struggle, it slipped from my hand and hit the floor. I didn't even look down. "Mom! My stomach really hurts! Come home!" Chapter 2 The second the call ended, Kelly stared at me like she couldn't believe it. Her voice went cold. "Sophie Sutton." "When did you start lying?" "I'm seriously disappointed in you." She wasn't mad. She was hurt. I couldn't say a word. Only one thought kept pounding through my head. 'I don't care if you hate me.' I knew exactly why Kelly fell for Calvin. Back in middle school, she gained weight after getting sick. And kids were brutal. They shoved trash into her backpack. No one wanted her as a partner in gym. At school assemblies, nobody wanted to stand next to her. Except Calvin. Kelly had worked like crazy to lose weight for him, dropping from around 155 pounds to barely over 100. Seven years of crushing on him. Seven years of loving him in secret. And now he'd finally said yes. She thought all that waiting had paid off. She thought this was the best day of her life. But I knew the truth. In college, Calvin got hooked on casual hookups and contracted HIV. After that, something in him snapped. He started pretending to date girls just to hurt them. In my last life, I'd read his case file. Every name on that list belonged to another girl whose life he'd wrecked. I looked Kelly straight in the eyes. "There's something seriously wrong with him. "He's sick. And he really will hurt you." Kelly shook her head. "How can you say that about him? "When you had that fever and Mom and Dad weren't home, who drove you to the hospital?" I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. He had been good to me. That was why I'd always thought he'd make a great brother-in-law. Only later did I realize how cruel the irony was. Kelly's phone buzzed again. Two messages popped up. [The movie's about to start. Are you seriously not coming?] [Guess you aren't into me that much after all.] Kelly bit her lip, snatched her bag off the table, and rushed for the door. I grabbed her arm so hard my knuckles went white. Then I glanced at her still-unlocked phone and snapped, "Don't pull that manipulative crap on my sister!" I turned back to Kelly. "If you walk out that door tonight, I'm telling Mom and Dad everything. "You know what Dad's like. Think about it." Kelly went pale. No one scared her more than Dad. But if my choices were losing her or making her hate me forever, I'd take the hate. Chapter 3 She was scared that Calvin's message—"Guess you aren't into me that much after all"—would crush everything she'd hoped for. But she was even more scared of Dad. Dad was a veteran—strict, hot-tempered, and big on rules. Kelly froze for three seconds. That was all I needed. I pulled up Dad's number and called. He answered. I looked Kelly dead in the eye. "Dad, Kelly's going out with a guy tonight, and she's planning to stay out all night." Silence. Then Dad's voice boomed through the phone. "Put her on!" I handed Kelly the phone. "Kelly Sutton, you've got some nerve! "I'm paying for college, not for you to run around dating! "Just try walking out that door tonight!" When the call ended, tears clung to Kelly's lashes. I squeezed her cold fingers. "Kelly, please. Just listen to me. Don't go." She shook her head. Then the tears spilled onto our joined hands. "Do you know how long I've waited for this day?" The warmth of her tears made my chest tighten. I had no choice. I let go of her hand, stepped back, and looked her straight in the eyes. "That guy has HIV. "He only started chasing you after he got diagnosed. "He wants to hurt people. He doesn't love you!" Kelly's voice shook. "Are you insane? Do you even hear yourself?" She just stared at me. She didn't believe me. I'd scared her. Then her phone rang. One name lit up the screen. [Calvin] Her finger automatically swiped to answer. Silence for two seconds. Then Calvin's voice came through. Soft. Gentle. Just hurt enough. "If you don't want to come, you don't have to make up some excuse about staying with your sister. "I thought you were the kind of girl who could make her own choices. "It's fine. We just won't talk anymore. "But I still hope you'll live for yourself for once." Kelly burst into tears. Then she ran down the hall, rushed into her room, and slammed the door. The lock clicked. Muffled sobs came through the door. I didn't knock. As long as she stayed inside, that was enough. Half an hour later, Mom came home and asked if my stomach still hurt. I brushed her off and hurried to Kelly's room. I knocked. Nothing. I knocked again. Still nothing. My stomach dropped. "Mom! Get the key!" Frowning, she grabbed the spare. "Why'd she lock the door?" The door swung open. The window was wide open, curtains blowing in the breeze. Kelly was gone. Chapter 4 Dad rushed in, his face going hard. He called Kelly. No answer. I snapped into action, grabbed my jacket off the couch, and ran for the door. Mom yelled after me. Dad demanded to know where I was going. I ignored them both. The second my cab pulled away, I called the cops. My old instincts kicked in. I gave them the facts fast and clear. "A young woman may have been lured somewhere, and someone may be trying to infect her with a communicable disease. "She could be at the Hilton Hotel in Borevia. I need officers there now." After I hung up, I sat in the back seat, shaking. I ran through the timeline over and over. Last time, Kelly stayed out all night and didn't come home until noon the next day. Back then, I'd stupidly teased her about it. She'd blushed, smacked me, and refused to explain. Three months later, she came down with a low fever that wouldn't go away. The next morning, she jumped off the roof. Tonight was when everything changed. Tonight. The second I rushed into the hotel lobby, I froze. Calvin was guiding Kelly toward the elevator. One arm was around her waist. His other hand had already hit the button. "Get your hands off her!" I charged across the lobby, my voice echoing off the walls. The front desk clerk looked up. Security by the entrance turned toward us. Calvin glanced back at me, completely calm. "Sophie? Your sister had too much to drink. I'm just taking her upstairs to rest." I stepped in front of the elevator, breathing hard. "Let her go." Calvin looked down at Kelly, then back at me. "Sophie, your sister came with me willingly. "Stop making a scene." I stared him down. "I already called the cops." Right then, two officers walked through the doors. I pointed at Calvin, keeping my voice steady. "Officer, that's him. She may have been drugged. She needs medical attention now." The officers immediately separated us. Calvin stood off to the side, insisting it was all a misunderstanding. That this was just a normal date. A female officer crouched beside Kelly and gently tapped her cheek. Kelly mumbled something, then her head dropped. The officer looked up at her partner, her face turning serious. "Get her to the hospital now. Possible drug ingestion." Calvin's smile finally slipped. One officer stepped in front of him. "We need you to come with us and give a statement. "And based on information from the caller, we also need you to take an HIV test." Calvin's entire expression changed.