We'll Never Be Apart: A Gripping Debut YA Thriller of Secrets, Fire, and a Sister's Dark Revenge

We'll Never Be Apart: A Gripping Debut YA Thriller of Secrets, Fire, and a Sister's Dark Revenge

Murder.   Fire.   Revenge.   That’s all seventeen-year-old Alice Monroe thinks about. Committed to a mental ward at Savage Isle, Alice is haunted by memories of the fire that killed her boyfriend, Jason. A blaze her twin sister Cellie set. But when Chase, a mysterious, charismatic patient, agrees to help her seek vengeance, Alice begins to rethink everything. Writing out the story of her troubled past in a journal, she must confront hidden truths. Is the one person she trusts only telling her half the story? Nothing is as it seems in this edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller from the debut author Emiko Jean.      "Realistic characters make good use of a gothic setting that will attract anyone with a taste for the edge." —Kirkus   "A clever psychological thriller that had me holding my breath to the bitter end. More please!" —Kimberly Derting, author of the Body Finder series   "Engaging and twisted, Emiko Jean's WE'LL NEVER BE APART will draw you in and leave you reeling. An intimate study of damaged people, the pain they're in, and the havoc they wreak." —Kendare Blake, author of Anna Dressed in Blood   “I love a wild psychological ride—and Emiko Jean elevates the genre with this taut, provocative thriller. Jealously, violence, and revenge are the sharp corners of a novel that holds at center themes of loss, love, and the warm, beating heart of human connection. Alice and Celia are fascinating as twins whose personae play out along a rich dynamic of entrapment, suspicion, trauma, and alienation—and raise always-intriguing issues of sisterhood, duality, and how existing as a double is also a splintering of self. A killer debut!”   —National Book Award finalist Adele Griffin   “Haunting and gripping, WE’LL NEVER BE APART is a twisty, thrilling debut that kept me completely riveted. I can’t wait to read whatever Emiko Jean writes next!” —Megan Miranda, author of Fracture   “Taut and disquieting, WE'LL NEVER BE APART will unsettle you long before it pulls the rug from under your feet. Like the institution that Alice and Cellie call home, this book comes with a warning: Once inside, be careful who you trust.” —Kat Rosenfield, author of Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone   Emiko Jean is the author of the psychological suspense novel, We'll Never Be Apart . Her second novel, Empress of All Seasons, is inspired by her Japanese heritage. Emiko lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and children. Aside from reading and writing, she loves hiking and travel. www.emikojean.com Twitter: @emikojeanbooks. We'll Never Be Apart By Emiko Jean Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company Copyright © 2015 Emiko Jean All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-544-81320-5 Contents Title Page, Contents, Copyright, Dedication, Celia, Savage Isle, The Girls' Wing, Vanilla Cake, Deals, Ward D, Group Therapy, Razorblades and Cigarette Burns, The Quiet Room, Jellyfish, Viking Funerals, Code Red, Seclusion, Comatose Mix, The Doctor's Office, Complicity, Hip-hop and Happiness, The Garden, Mates for Life, Chase's Room, Confessions, Purple, Escape, The Perfect Plan, Falling Down, Possibilities, Celia, Acknowledgments, About the Author, CHAPTER 1 SAVAGE ISLE In my mind there are black-and-white photos. They float around, landing softly here and there, resting on top of other memories, dreamscapes and nightmares. Sometimes they bloom color, like the one I'm focusing on now. It unfolds, like a flower opening for the sun, the petals wet and dark. Slowly it bleeds brilliant pigments. Dark sky. Clear rain. Yellow headlights. A boy with curly hair and a crooked grin. Jason in the rain. My favorite memory of him. "When was your last period?" the nurse asks me. "Alice?" The nurse's voice is like snapping fingers, calling me to attention. The image fades. White paper crinkles as I shift uncomfortably on the exam table. I try to count the hours, the suns and moons, and remember how much time has passed since the fire. It's been weeks, I think. Tsunamis have decimated cities in less time than that. I rub a hand over my chest where breathing is still difficult. The nurse's white ID badge reads NURSE DUMMEL, OREGON STATE MENTAL HEALTH HOSPITAL. I recognize her face from before, from my last stay here. The face of a bulldog. Round cheeks set over a row of bottom teeth that stick out just a smidge too far. Nurse Dummel clears her throat. "Uh, I don't know ..." I say. "I'm not sure. Maybe two weeks ago?" I swallow. Even though it's been a while since the fire, my tongue still tastes of ash. Maybe it always will. Nurse Dummel types something into a computer. "And how are the burns?" The burns that travel over each shoulder blade and down past my right wrist tingle. Miraculously, the fire didn't touch my left hand. The skin there is still soft and smooth. "Better," I say. Although I don't remember the fire, I do have some fuzzy recollections of my intensive care stay. The